The NASCAR Cup Series will join the Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen this weekend. This will be race No. 25 on the Cup Series schedule. That means there are only two races left in the regular season. Hendrick Motorsports won the last four races at Watkins Glen. Kyle Larson won the last two races (2021 and 2022) and Chase Elliott won in 2018 and 2019 (The Cup Series did not race at Watkins Glen in 2020). Will it be another win for HMS at The Glen, or will another team find their way to Victory Lane? It should be fun to see how it all plays out.
Here is the schedule for the races at Watkins Glen this weekend…
Watkins Glen is the most familiar track for the Cup Series drivers because the Cup and Xfinity Series have been competing at this track for a long time. Some teams have this track figured out, while others continue to struggle at this high-speed road course. We can learn a lot by looking at how the races played out at Watkins Glen in the past. I will be focusing on how the Gen-7 car ran at this track last year.
The race at Watkins Glen last year started in wet conditions. Most of the drivers could not see with so much spray from the other cars. Chase Elliott dominated the early portion of the race. He led 29 laps and finished fourth. Michael McDowell ran down Elliott and took the lead for 14 laps. McDowell finished sixth. Other drivers who looked fast included Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, AJ Allemdinger, Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher. In the end, it was Kyle Larson who was able to go to Victory Lane. It was his second consecutive win at the track.
You can watch the highlight of the last year’s race at Watkins Glen in the Race Rewind for the Go Bowling at the Glen
STATS FOR ROAD COURSES
Watkins Glen is a unique road course. Some of the drivers who run well here do not run well at the other road courses (Joey Logano is one driver who comes to mind). There are also a group of drivers who run well at all road courses (Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, AJ Allmendinger, and Michael McDowell to name a few). It will be important to look at the drivers stats from the road course races in the Gen-7 car. I will also use the data from the last three races at Watkins Glen so that the model puts an emphasis on the racing at this track.
Here are the Driver Rankings from the races on the road courses in 2022 and 2023 and the last three races at Watkins Glen…
NASCAR STRATEGY
This is a good race to use some of the drivers that you have not used much this season. That is going to be my strategy in the Driver Group Game. Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson have won the last four races at Watkins Glen. They are locks for Group A. Tyler Reddick is a lock in Group B. I will most likely pair Michael McDowell, Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher will Reddick this week. AJ Allmendinger has not been as good this year as he has been in the past on the road courses, be he is still the best choice in Group C. Ty Gibbs is a good choice, but we need to save him for the oval tracks.
I used my allocations with the top drivers in the Fantasy Live game. I still have many starts left with the drivers who are very good on the road courses though. Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and Michael McDowell will likely be in my lineups. I will also be looking at Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric and Daniel Suarez.
The strategy for DFS this week is simply. Select as many drivers as possible who can finish in the top-12. The race is only 90 laps, so there are not as many dominator points as there are on the oval tracks. Our lineups will score well if we place all six drivers in the top-12 Sunday.
EARLY WEEK PICKS FOR WATKINS GLEN
ONE & DONE PICK: KYLE LARSON
DRIVER GROUP GAME PICKS: CHASE ELLIOTT, KYLE LARSON, TYLER REDDICK, MICHAEL MCDOWELL, DANIEL SUAREZ, CHRIS BUESCHER, AJ ALLMENDINGER, TY GIBBS
FANTASY LIVE PICKS: TYLER REDDICK, CHASE ELLIOTT, KYLE LARSON, CHRISTOPHER BELL, MICHAEL MCDOWELL (GARAGE) DANIEL SUAREZ
Good luck this weekend!
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