The Cup Series returns to Watkins Glen International today for the 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen. The seven turn, 2.454 mile asphalt track has been a mainstay of NASCAR for decades, hosting its first Cup race in 1957 and has been an annual part of the schedule nearly every year since 1986. With five straight victories in this race, can somebody step up and dethrone Hendrick Motorsports and their run of dominance here at The Glen? Or will one of the road course ringers step up and throw a wrench into the plans of our Cup Series regulars?
The biggest X-factor for today’s race is undoubtedly the new tire compound NASCAR is rolling out. The new tire compound is supposed to fall off dramatically over the course of a green flag run, with expectations of roughly three seconds of fall off. If this is indeed the case, drivers will need to be more cautious in terms of how hard they push their equipment. If you burn your tires up early, the back half of the run will be a long one for you. At road courses, track position is king. Especially of late, where passing on road courses in the Gen 7 car has come at a premium. Passing can be done if you have a fast enough car and a lot of patience, but starting up front is going to be of even greater benefit today. Finally, just staying patient and managing your equipment will go a long way towards finding success. Road courses are difficult to pass on and with a bunch of beating and banging, aggression always goes through the roof. Just taking care of your equipment and not making any boneheaded moves will go a long way towards finding success this afternoon.
The Go Bowling at The Glen was first held in 1957 and has produced an impressive list of winners throughout the years. Past winners include Buck Baker, Billy Wade, Marvin Panch, Tim Richmond, Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Ernie Irvan, Kyle Petty, Mark Martin, Geoffrey Bodine, Jeff Gordon, Steve Park, Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya, Marcos Ambrose, AJ Allmendinger, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson and William Byron, just to name a few.
Tony Stewart has won this race the most times, taking the victory five times. Jeff Gordon had four victories here in his career, while Mark Martin found victory lane three times. Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Marcos Ambrose, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson each have two career wins at Watkins Glen.
Last year’s edition was won by William Byron, who started on the front row and led 66 laps on his way to victory. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell finished second and third, while AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top five. Michael McDowell finished in 36th place while battling electrical issues after leading 17 laps and winning stage one.
Coverage of the Go Bowling at The Glen can be seen on the USA Network, with pre-race beginning at 2:30 PM EST and green flag coverage beginning at 3 PM EST.
Josh Berry has been atrocious on road courses this season, and that’s putting it nicely. 35th at Circuit of the Americas, 32nd at Sonoma and 36th at the Chicago Street Race are not exactly inspiring results. So far this weekend, it looks to be much of the same for Berry, who ranked an abysmal 36th in Practice and will begin today’s race from the 31st position. Berry just doesn’t have any sort of luck on road courses this season and I predict that today will be much of the same, as Berry will finish outside the top 25 again this afternoon.
Chris Buescher has had a quiet, but consistent season this year, with five top 5’s and 12 top 10 finishes. Buescher has yet to find a victory on a road course, but he has put together some solid showings of late, with three top 5’s and 12 top 10’s in 15 road course starts since joining Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing in 2022. Buescher has not looked the strongest this weekend, laying down the 16th fastest lap of Practice and qualifying in 24th place for this afternoon’s race, but Buescher has proven before that qualifying doesn’t always matter, as he qualified 20th at Circuit of the Americas in the spring on the way to an 8th place finish, while he qualified 26th at Sonoma on the way to a 3rd place finish. Buescher is a perennial favorite when it comes to road course racing and there is no doubt in my mind that he will keep up his recent successes and bring home another top 10 finish.
The real road course king, AJ Allmendinger will always have a special connection with Watkins Glen, as it was the site of his first Cup Series win 10 years ago. With 15 career road course wins across both the Cup Series and Xfinity Series, Allmendinger is a threat to win anytime we go to a track with both right and left-handed turns. Allmendinger has fared pretty well here in the Cup Series, with one win, five top 5’s and eight top 10’s in 12 career starts at Watkins Glen, including back-to-back top four finishes, as well as a third place finish here in the Xfinity Series race yesterday. Allmendinger will start today’s race from the third row in the 6th position and will undoubtedly be one of the favorites to take home the win today. Given his road course prowess, a top 10 finish is a lock today for The Dinger.
It’s so tough to bet against this man on a road course. Shane Van Gisbergen has given Allmendinger a run for his money for the title of road course king and the stats prove it. In five road course starts in the Xfinity Series this season, Van Gisbergen has three wins and four top 5’s. Not too shabby. The Cup Series starts aren’t as stellar, but still respectable: one win and two top 10’s in four road course starts. Van Gisbergen struggled at the start of the Xfinity Series race yesterday, but continued to improve all race long on the way to a 5th place finish. Van Gisbergen looks to continue that success today, as he logged the fourth fastest lap of Practice yesterday and will start today’s race from the third position. We may be in the midst of the Playoffs, but I predict we will have a disputer find victory today, as I predict that Shane Van Gisbergen will drive his way to victory lane at Watkins Glen!
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