NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Can Fifth Road Course at Watkins Glen Give Another Upset Winner?
Only two weeks remain now in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular season. Up next for the world’s best stock car racers is the picturesque road course at Watkins Glen. As the fifth road course of the year, we do have some intriguing trends heading into week 25. The first three road course races all saw first-time Cup winners, but the last two have seen one breakout star. Tyler Reddick has smoked the competition in each of the last two road races, taking both victories in commanding fashion. Can Reddick earn a road course hat trick, or will Watkins Glen give a 16th different winner? Here are some favorites heading to the upstate New York circuit.
Kyle Larson
Starting off with the most recent Watkins Glen winner, this race was win number five for Kyle Larson a year ago. That day, the 5 led 27 laps, taking the win by two seconds over Chase Elliott. This year though, Larson is still searching for win number two, being winless in the last 22 races since Auto Club. Larson will not be lacking track time this weekend, as he will also race Saturday’s Xfinity race in the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. Trying to become the eighth multi-time winner of 2022, how does Larson feel pulling off double duty this weekend?
“At Road America, the braking points were pretty similar, which was surprising,” Larson said. “I thought the Cup car would brake much deeper. I hope it’s the same this weekend at Watkins Glen because it would really, really help getting into a rhythm quickly for the entire weekend.”
Trying to build up some momentum before the Playoffs, the 5 could be a winning contender Sunday. Larson’s team has been quite a bit off from their 2021 domination. Despite just one win all the way back in February, the 5 is still third in points. It will be interesting to see how they fare heading into the Playoffs with less of a target on their backs.
Tyler Reddick
Is Tyler Reddick the new road course king? The Richard Childress Racing 8 team has won the last two events on road courses, taking Road America in July and Indianapolis three weeks ago. Both days, the 8 was the class of the field. In July, Reddick took the lead from Chase Elliott late and never looked back; he then led 38 laps at the Brickyard. Looking for a third-straight road course victory, just how confident is Reddick entering The Glen?
“Yeah we circle [road courses], but we know each one is a bit different than the other,” Reddick said. “I would say that maybe Road America and COTA are two that are kind of similar in how you approach them. But Watkins Glen is very different from Sonoma and Indy as well. We do get excited about going to them, but we realize that things we had going for us, whether at Road America or Indy, don’t apply for the most part going into Watkins Glen. So we have to start over, get back to work, and really understand what we got to bring in a car in order to be competitive.”
Despite differences across road courses, Tyler Reddick still enters Watkins Glen as a favorite. Expect the 8 to return with similar speed from both Road America and Indy, where he was unbeaten. In 2021, Kyle Larson became the first man in NASCAR history with three road course wins in one season; Reddick looks to join this exclusive club at Watkins Glen.
Chase Elliott
Can Chase Elliott reclaim his place as the best road course racer in NASCAR? Despite two Watkins Glen wins (2018-2019) and a second last year, Elliott is 0-4 on road courses this year. Elliott’s best road race result this year was second at Road America, losing command late to Reddick. Coming back to a track he’s seemingly always favored at, Elliott is poised to take win five of 2022.
“Watkins Glen was where I got my first win so it’s of course a place that holds some great memories for me,” Elliott said. “We’ve had a good amount of success there as a team and I feel like this year we’ve come a long way in our road course program with the new car. This is a track that I feel like we can really go and have a good run and get some momentum back heading into the playoffs.”
The 9 team should also clinch the 2022 regular season championship this weekend. Elliott hopes to take home two big trophies Sunday, as he will be gunning for road course win number eight. The points leader and championship favorite will be going for win five on the season.
Chris Buescher
Coming off a strong third-place effort in Richmond, Chris Buescher has had Watkins Glen circled on his calendar. The No. 17 RFK Racing team tested at the New York track in May. The Ford team believes that they found a big advantage for this weekend. Buescher has been stout on road courses already this year, with three top-10s in four races. This is highlighted by a close runner-up day at Sonoma. Entering The Glen with both recent speed and confidence for this track, Buescher eyes a win for the 17 on Sunday.
“Honestly for about three months now I haven’t been able to wait to get to each and every racetrack,” Buescher said. “That’s where I feel like the company’s gotten to. I think that our results haven’t always showed it, because we’ve had some freak deals. We’ve been making highlight reels for all the wrong reasons right? Whether we’ve been upside down, or on fire, we were fast at those events before our misfortunes. We’ve had a bunch of speed at a ton of different racetracks. That being said, The Glen is circled as a pretty high spot. Road course races have been really good to us. The tire test went really well there awhile back. We were able to learn a lot that’s probably applied everywhere. We’re still learning though, so is the rest of the field. We know that we’re not going to stroll in there and have it be easy, but I think we’re going to have a heck of an opportunity. I’m excited and ready for the win.”
After a near-upset at a track he previously struggled on, Buescher has much higher hopes this weekend. The 17 is a real contender to become winner number 16 of 2022 at Watkins Glen, putting an RFK car into the Playoffs.
Martin Truex Jr.
In desperate need of a win, Martin Truex Jr. has one past Watkins Glen triumph, from 2017. In 15 career races at The Glen, MTJ has 10 top-10s, including in each of the last five trips here. A top 10 won’t cut it this week for Truex though. He now trails Ryan Blaney by 26 points now for the final Playoff spot. With Toyotas admittedly struggling on road courses so far in 2022, it’s a must-perform weekend for the 19 team. Having a long history himself of racing at The Glen, Truex touched on just how special this road course is.
“There’s a lot of history if you look at how far back it goes to when they used to race down into town,” Truex said on what makes The Glen unique. “Now, there’s obviously a great fan following with the racetrack and the local fans show up and really blow it out. The camping there is amazing. Overall, it’s just a fun track; the fastest road course we go to. It’s definitely unique in its own right, but it’s a really fun track to race on and one I’ve always enjoyed going to.”
While Richmond was an opportunity missed, Watkins Glen may be the last great chance Truex has to make the Playoffs. With Daytona’s regular season finale being the ultimate wildcard, MTJ can control his own fate on this road course. After only one 2022 road course top 10 though, a win may be an uphill battle for the 19 team.
Michael McDowell
Perhaps the best chance at a Playoff-busting underdog win this weekend belongs to Michael McDowell. The No. 34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports has been close to a few road course victories already this year: third at Sonoma and eighth at each Road America and Indianapolis have McDowell positioned for another great run at The Glen.
“Watkins Glen is a different style of road course that is in some way is like Road America,” McDowell said. “This is a fast road course, and we’re carry a lot of speed around Watkins Glen. But this year has been different. I’ve always felt that no matter the road course that I can be up front. Now we have cars that are allowing us to do that. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s now time to finish the job and get a win. We have had great cars all year, and the team has been working hard to prepare this car for Watkins Glen. We know we need to win to get into the Playoffs, and with two races left, we know this week more than others is our best opportunity to do that. Road courses have been our strong point this season, so we’re putting a lot into this race.”
Front Row Motorsports should be carefully observed all weekend long. Not only does McDowell have three-straight road course top-10s, but Todd Gilliland was also fourth at Indianapolis. In the midst of his best season ever, McDowell has two great chances to cap off the regular season in victory lane.
Coverage of the Go Bowling at The Glen is Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Road courses have been wildcard events all year long. Don’t expect that to change for Watkins Glen, as the Playoffs near.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter
Photo Credit to Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCAR
