Watkins Glen Event Info: Date: Sunday, Sept. 15 Time: 3 p.m. ET Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Location: Watkins Glen, New York Format: 90 Laps, 220.5 Miles, Stages: 20-20-50 TV: USA Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)
Weekend Schedule: Saturday: 11:30 a.m. ET, Practice (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Saturday: 1 p.m. ET, Qualifying (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Sunday: 3 p.m. ET, Race (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Pace Laps:
Race two of the NASCAR Playoffs rolls from New York this weekend as Watkins Glen International hosts a playoff race for the first time in its history.
The 2.45-mile course stands as the middle race in the opening slate in the Round of 16, with Bristol Motor Speedway set to determine the Round of 12 next weekend.
Despite recent struggles on road courses, Keselowski and the No. 6 team finished 13th in Sonoma back in June, and 18th in Chicago after qualifying 10th in that race.
Chris Buescher has notably been one of the better drivers in the Cup Series on road courses as of late. His 9.6 average finish since the start of the 2021 season is second-best among all drivers as he has 12 top-10s in that 20-race stretch.
Jack Roush has six wins all-time at The Glen, with three in the Cup Series.
6 Team Info: Crew Chief: Matt McCall Partner: King’s Hawaiian Pretzel Bites
17 Team Info: Crew Chief: Scott Graves Partner: BuildSubmarines.com
Watkins Glen stands as Keselowski’s best road course statistically with a 13.9 average finish in 13 starts.
He has six top-10 finishes, including four inside the top five, with three career runner-up results – all of which came in consecutive races from 2011-13. Most recently, he finished 15th a season ago after starting 24th.
Keselowski has an average starting position of 12.5 at The Glen with six starts inside the top-10, and one pole in 2021.
He also made 10 Xfinity Series starts at WGI with one win (2013) and nine top-10s.
Buescher lines up for his ninth Cup start at The Glen this weekend, where he carries an average finish of 18th.
He’s coming off back-to-back top-10s at the road course after a P7 result last year.
His best qualifying effort also came two summers ago (P7), as he has a 19.3 average starting position overall.
Buescher also made a pair of Xfinity starts at WGI in 2014-15, earning a third-place finish in 2015.
RFK Historically at Watkins Glen Cup Wins: 3 (Mark Martin, 1993, 1994, 1995)
There’s Nothing You Can’t Do, Now, You’re in New York: In 111 NCS starts at WGI, RFK has three wins, 23 top-five and 43 top-10 finishes along with four poles. All three of RFK’s victories came with former driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin (1993, 1994, 1995).
Top of the List, King of the Hill: Martin secured three-straight wins for RFK at the famed New York road course from 1993-95. He started on the pole for each of the three races and led a combined 183 laps during the three-year streak.
Tale of the Tape – Road Courses: In 264 road course starts all-time in the NCS, Jack Roush’s Fords have won five races and tallied 43 top-five and 93 top-10 finishes, along with six poles. In those 264 starts, an RFK Ford has led 625 laps for an average finish of 17.3.
RFK Watkins Glen Wins
1993 Martin Cup
1994 Martin Cup
1995 Martin Cup
1998 Ruttman Truck
2000 Biffle Truck
2012 Edwards NXS
Last Time Out & Where They Stand Atlanta: Keselowski finished 19th in one of the more uneventful Superspeedway races to date Sunday afternoon, as Buescher was caught up in an incident in stage three to DNF.
Points Standings (6: 13th, 17: 18th): Through just one race in the playoffs, Keselowski is currently P13 and on the bubble, just one point out of 12th, and two points behind 11th.
