The Cup Series will travel to Watkins Glen this week for another road course race. This is race No. 25 on the schedule and that means there are only two races left in the regular season. The race last week at the Brickyard was a battle of the bubble drivers. Will we see the drivers fighting for a playoff spot running up front Sunday? I think there is a good possibility it will happen. The Go Bowling at the Glen can be seen Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
STRATEGY FOR WATKINS GLEN
The strategy this week is the same as it was last week at Indianapolis. We can use the best drivers possible in Group A because there is enough talent in that group to get us to the race at Phoenix. We need to save out allocations in Group B with our top drivers (Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski). We need to use the drivers who are good on the road courses, but not as good on the ovals. Michael McDowell, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe and Chris Buescher are all good choices this week. Group C is tough. AJ Allmendinger has not been as good on the road courses this year as he has been in the past, but you still need to take a chance with him. Ty Gibbs is the best choice, but he needs to be saved for the oval tracks.
Here are the picks for the Go Bowling at the Glen …
GROUP A DRIVERS
CHASE ELLIOTT (6): Elliott has not won a road course race in the Gen-7 car, but he has been knocking on Victory Lane’s door. He finished second last week at Indianapolis and now he gets to compete at his best road course track. Elliott won this race in 2018 and 2019. He finished second in 2021 and fourth last year (NASCAR did not race at Watkins Glen in 2020). Elliott is averaging 40 laps led and he has won two poles in his last four races at Watkins Glen. The No. 9 team needs a win to make the playoffs. I think Elliott gets the job done Sunday.
KYLE LARSON (6): I will put all of my eggs in the Hendrick Motorsports basket this week. HMS has won the last four races at Watkins Glen and Larson has won the last two races at this track. Larson is almost a lock to score bonus points for qualifying Saturday. He has not qualified outside the top-five at Watkins Glen since 2015. I plan to use Chase Elliott in the race and Larson for qualifying points. That should max out our points in Group A this week.
(OTHER PICK) CHRISTOPHER BELL (6): Joe Gibbs Racing has had a lot of speed this summer. I expect the JGR cars will be faster this week than what we saw last week at the Brickyard. Bell has competed in two Cup Series races at Watkins Glen. He finished seventh in 2021 and eighth last year. Bell is a good pivot if you do not want to use two Hendrick Motorsports drivers in Group A.
GROUP A DRIVER RANKINGS: 1) Chase Elliott 2) Kyle Larson 3) Christopher Bell 4) William Byron 5) Joey Logano 6) Denny Hamlin 7) Ryan Blaney 8) Ross Chastain
GROUP B DRIVERS
TYLER REDDICK (4): I would love to get through the race at Watkins Glen without having to use an allocation with Reddick, but I at least need to have him on my team. Watkins Glen is the worst road course track for Reddick. His average finishing position at this track is eighth. That is still better than every driver in the field, except Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell. The closest races to Watkins Glen are COTA and Indy. Reddick won at COTA and he finished fourth last week at the Brickyard. He should finish in the top-five again Sunday.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL (7): I knew McDowell was a good road course racer, but I did not know he was “blow away the field” good. It is hard to fade McDowell after what we saw last week at the Brickyard. McDowell has now finished 1st, 7th, 7th and 12th in the four road course races this year. That is the best in the Cup Series. McDowell qualified third, led 14 laps, scored 11 Stage Points and finished sixth at Watkins Glen last year. I expect a similar race from the No. 34 team Sunday.
DANIEL SUAREZ (5): Suarez is a good road course racer. The problem is that he is inconsistent. He will win at Sonoma, or run up front at Indy and then he finishes 27th at COTA and 27th at Chicago. I am not sure what Suarez we will get this week, but I have to have him in my lineup just in case the No. 99 team has the same speed they had last week. Suarez qualified ninth, scored 8 Stage Points and finished fifth at Watkins Glen last year. He needs a win to make the playoffs, so I expect the good Suarez to show up this weekend.
CHRIS BUESCHER (7): I have an inconsistent Daniel Suarez in my lineup, so I will pair him with one of the most consistent road course racers in the field Sunday. Buescher has finished nine consecutive road course races in the top-11. He quailed seventh and finished ninth in this race last year. I doubt Buescher will win the race but he is a good insurance policy to have in your lineup. Buescher is almost a lock for a top-10 finish Sunday.
(OTHER PICK) CHASE BRISCOE (8): I like what I saw from Briscoe last week. He qualified 13th and finished sixth. Indianapolis is by far the best track for Briscoe. Can he bring the same speed to Watkins Glen? Briscoe said in his post-race interview, “It took us a while to get the rear wheels to hook up with the track. We figured something out half-way through the race and I think it will help us next week at Watkins Glen.” Briscoe is worth a spot in your lineup if you want to save Tyler Reddick for the oval tracks.
GROUP B DRIVER RANKINGS: 1) Tyler Reddick 2) Michael McDowell 3) Daniel Saurez 4) Chris Buescher 5) Martin Truex Jr. 6) Kyle Busch 7) Chase Briscoe 8) Austin Cindric 9) Alex Bowman 10) Austin Dillon
GROUP C DRIVERS
AJ ALLMENDINGER (4): I am sure glad I added Shane Van Gisbergen to Group C in my league because Allmendinger looked bad last week. I have to go back to him though at Watkins Glen. Allmendinger finished second in this race last year. He also won at Watkins Glen in 2014. There is no doubt that Allmendinger has the talent to get to Victory Lane Sunday. He just needs his team to give him a car that is not a lemon. I sure hope the real Allmendinger shows up this week, because there are not as many good choices in Group C as there were at Indianapolis.
TY GIBBS (4): I am not using Gibbs in the race Sunday. I have him in my lineup for qualifying points only. I need to save my final four allocations with Gibbs for the oval tracks. His average starting position in the four road course races this year is 12th. That is not good enough to get us any bonus points, but Gibbs is the best choice in Group C this week to pair with Allmendinger.
(OTHER CHOICE) RICKY STENHOUSE JR. (7): I about died laughing last week when Dale Jr. said, “Stenhouse needs to wreck one more international driver to make it a clean sweep this week.” I am not sure what Stenhouse has against foreigners, but he did wreck almost all of them last week. Stenhouse should be better at Watkins Glen. His average finishing position in his last four races at Watkins Glen is 16th. Stenhouse finished seventh at COTA and 12th at Sonoma this year. He should have a decent chance to finish in the top-15 Sunday.
GROUP C DRIVER RANKINGS: 1) Ty Gibbs 2) AJ Allmendinger 3) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 4) Todd Gilliland 5) Harrison Burton
* Be sure to check back Sunday morning for my starting lineup.
XFINITY SERIES PICKS
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