Driver Averages | Laps Led Leaders | Driver Ratings | Past Winners
Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen.
Who’s HOT at Watkins Glen
- Kyle Busch has finished in the top 10 in 11 of his last 12 starts, including two wins (2008, 2013).
- Martin Truex Jr. has finished in the top 10 in his last two starts, including a win last season.
- Denny Hamlin has recorded an average finish of 2.5 in his last two starts, including a win in 2016.
- AJ Allmendinger has finished in the top 10 in six of his last seven starts, including a win in 2014.
- Joey Logano has finished seventh or better in four of the last five races, including a win in 2015
- Matt Kenseth (making first road course start of season with Roush Fenway Racing) is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last four races (with Joe Gibbs Racing).
Keep an Eye On at Watkins Glen
- Kevin Harvick, winner at The Glen in 2006 with Richard Childress Racing, has finished in the top 10 in two of his four Watkins Glen starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. His last two starts resulted in a 24.5 average finish. He will return in the same car (chassis No. 1034) that he led 35 laps with at Sonoma in June en route to a second-place finish.
- Clint Bowyer has posted a 3.3 average finish in his three road course starts with Stewart-Hass Racing.
- Daniel Suarez, who finished second last weekend at Pocono Raceway, led 14 laps and finished third last year in his first Watkins Glen Monster Energy Cup Series start.
- Kurt Busch (8.8), Brad Keselowski (9.0), Erik Jones (10.0, 1 start) and Jamie McMurray (11.0) rank in the top 10 in average finish in the two races since Watkins Glen was repaved. Keselowski leads all drivers with 48 laps led.
- Ryan Blaney finished eighth and earned seven stage points last year at Watkins Glen.
- Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Kyle Larson and Logano will also compete in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.
- Chase Elliott has finished 13th in his two starts at The Glen and ranks in the top 10 in Driver Ratings since 2015.
- Paul Menard has completed the most green flag passes (146) at Watkins Glen since 2015. Michael McDowell completed the most at Sonoma in June with 100.
Notes: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series teams will run the same tire combination this weekend…The tire combination is the same one that was used at The Glen in 2017…The pole position has produced the most winners (9) in the 35 races…Kyle Busch, who last won from the pole in 2008, is the only repeat winner at The Glen in the last 10 years…Sixty-Three percent of Watkins Glen winners have come from a top five starting spot…Hendrick Motorsports leads all organizations with 15 road course wins, but has not scored one since Jimmie Johnson won at Sonoma in 2010…Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman have not won a Cup race at a road course but have multiple second-place finishes with two and three, respectively…The last two winners at Watkins Glen each made two pit stops during the race…Spencer Gallagher is making his Cup debut this weekend driving for BK Racing.
*Best Average Finish at Watkins Glen
| Last # of Races | Driver | Average Finish |
| Two Races | Denny Hamlin | 2.5 |
| Four Races | Kurt Busch/Matt Kenseth | 6.2 |
| Six Races | Matt Kenseth | 9.3 |
| Eight Races | Kyle Busch | 9.2 |
| Ten Races | Kyle Busch | 7.9 |
* – The best average finish is based off a driver entered in the race who has competed in EVERY race during that time span.
Laps Led Leaders at Watkins Glen
| Last # of Races | Driver | Laps Led |
| Two Races | Brad Keselowski | 48 |
| Four Races | Brad Keselowski | 75 |
| Six Races | Brad Keselowski | 112 |
| Eight Races | Kyle Busch | 149 |
| Ten Races | Kyle Busch | 216 |
Click Here to view all laps led leaders at The Glen over the past 10 races.
Watkins Glen Loop Data Stat Leaders (2005-2017, 13 Races)
| Average Running Pos. | Laps in Top 15 |
| 1. Daniel Suarez – 5.9 (1 start) | 1. Kyle Busch – 884 |
| 2. Erik Jones – 10.6 (1 start) | 2. Jimmie Johnson – 820 |
| 3. Kyle Busch – 11.2 | 3. Martin Truex Jr. – 771 |
| 4. Brad Keselowski – 11.5 | 4. Kurt Busch – 770 |
| 5. Martin Truex Jr. – 11.6 | 5. Kevin Harvick – 697 |
| Fastest Laps Run | Driver Rating |
| 1. Kyle Busch – 125 | 1. Daniel Suarez – 113.1 (1 start) |
| 2. Brad Keselowski – 66 | 2. Kyle Busch – 110.7 |
| 3. Kurt Busch – 53 | 3. Brad Keselowski – 102.8 |
| 4. Martin Truex Jr. – 38 | 4. AJ Allmendinger – 97.1 |
| 5. Jimmie Johnson – 31 | 5. Martin Truex Jr. – 95.8 |
Top 10 Stage 1 &2 Points Earned at Watkins Glen
One Race
| Driver | Points Earned |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 18 |
| Kyle Busch | 12 |
| Brad Keselowski | 10 |
| Daniel Suarez | 10 |
| Chase Elliott | 8 |
| Matt Kenseth | 8 |
| Kyle Larson | 7 |
| Ryan Blaney | 7 |
| Erik Jones | 6 |
| Denny Hamlin/Jamie McMurray | 5 |
2017 Watkins Glen Stage Finishes
| Stage 1 | Stage 2 |
| 1. Kyle Busch | 1. Daniel Suarez |
| 2. Martin Truex Jr. | 2. Martin Truex Jr. |
| 3. Chase Elliott | 3. Matt Kenseth |
| 4. Kyle Larson | 4. Ryan Blaney |
| 5. Brad Keselowski | 5. Erik Jones |
| 6. Jamie McMurray | 6. Denny Hamlin |
| 7. Joey Logano | 7. Brad Keselowski |
| 8. AJ Allmendinger | 8. Kurt Busch |
| 9. Kasey Kahne | 9. Kyle Busch |
| 10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 10. AJ Allmendinger |
Rookie Report
Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates William Byron and Bubba Wallace each will be making their first Monster Energy Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International. Byron, who leads the rookie standings by 71 points, finished 10th last year in his lone Xfinity Series start at the track. He also finished seventh in the 2015 K&N Pro Series East race there. Wallace, who will compete in Friday’s K&N Pro Series East race, has a 22.5 average finish in two Xfinity Series starts at The Glen. Byron and Wallace finished 25th and 29th, respectively, at Sonoma in June.
MRN.com Staff Picks
Jeff Wackerlin: Martin Truex Jr.
Pete Pistone: Martin Truex Jr.
Tyler Burnett: Denny Hamlin
Driver Notes – Ordered by Average Finish (Top 15) in the Last Five Races at The Glen
Daniel Suarez led 14 laps and finished third last season in his first Watkins Glen Monster Energy Series start. Suarez, who scored a career-best second-place finish last weekend at Pocono, has an 11.3 average finish in his three Cup Series starts on road courses at Sonoma and Watkins Glen.
Kurt Busch has finished 11th or better in his last five starts including four top 10s. He finished sixth at Sonoma in June to mark his third consecutive finish of seventh or better on a road course.
Joey Logano finished 24th last season to snap a streak of four consecutive top 10s at Watkins Glen International, which includes a win in 2015. Logano finished second in 2016 in the first race on the current track surface. That finish is his only top 10 in the last three road-course events (Sonoma and Watkins Glen). Logano will compete in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, where he’s a two-time winner.
AJ Allmendinger has finished in the top 10 in six of his last seven starts at Watkins Glen International. Almendinger, winner at the Glen in 2014, has finished in the top 10 in the two races since the 2.45-mile track was repaved but did not lead a lap in those events. Allmendinger also will compete in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, driving for GMS Racing.
Matt Kenseth is making his eighth start of the season – first on a road course – with Roush Fenway Racing. He finished second in this race last year driving for Joe Gibbs Racing for his fourth consecutive top 10 with JGR at the track.
Martin Truex Jr. led 24 laps en route to his win in this race last year. He’s combined to lead 111 laps in the last three road-course races, including 62 in June on his way to winning at Sonoma.
Erik Jones finished 10th last year in his first Cup Series start at Watkins Glen. He finished seventh in June at Sonoma for his second top 10 in three road-course starts.
Kyle Busch has finished in the top 10 in 11 of his 13 starts at Watkins Glen including two wins (2008 and 2013). Last year, Busch led 21 laps from the pole en route to a seventh-place finish. He leads all active drivers with four road-course wins and has finished in the top 10 in his last seven RC starts (Sonoma and Watkins Glen).
Clint Bowyer finished fifth last season in his first Watkins Glen start with Stewart-Haas Racing. He finished third at Sonoma in June and has now finished in the top five in his last three road-course starts with SHR.
Brad Keselowski has finished in the top 10 in five of his eight starts at Watkins Glen including three runner-up finishes. He’s combined to lead 75 laps in the last three races, which leads all drivers. Keselowski will also run Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.
Chase Elliott has finished 13th in his two Watkins Glen Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts. Elliott has an 11.8 average finish in his five overall road-course starts, which includes top 10s in his last two starts at Sonoma.
Ryan Blaney is coming off his first top 10 (eighth) in two starts at Watkins Glen International.
Kevin Harvick has posted two top 10s in his four Watkins Glen starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick, who won in 2006 at The Glen with Richard Childress Racing, finished second at Sonoma in June after leading 35 laps.
Denny Hamlin won the first race on the current Watkins Glen track surface in 2016. He finished fourth last year to give him the best average finish (2.5) in the last two races at The Glen. Hamlin finished 10th at Sonoma in June for his fifth consecutive top 10 at a road course.
Kyle Larson has posted a 5.2 average start and an 18.1 average finish in nine road-course starts. Larson finished fourth in his first Watkins Glen start in 2014, but has posted a 21.3 average finish in his last three starts there. Larson will run Saturday’s Xfinity Series (has won his last three NXS starts) race to gain more track time.
