RFK Advance | Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen Event Info:
Track Info: Watkins Glen International, 7-Turn Road Course
Date: Sunday, Aug. 20
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: 12:30 p.m. ET, Practice (USA, NBC Sports App)
Saturday: 1:30 p.m. ET, Qualifying (USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 3 p.m. ET, Race (USA, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Pace Laps:

  • Watkins Glen hosts the final road course race of the regular season this weekend, and second-to-last race of the regular season overall.
  • Jack Roush has six wins all-time at The Glen, with three in the Cup Series.

6 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Matt McCall
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com

17 Team Info:
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Fastenal

Keselowski at Watkins Glen
Starts: 12
Wins: —
Top-10s: 6
Poles: 1 (2021)

  • Watkins Glen stands as Keselowski’s best road course statistically with a 13.8 average finish in 12 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 19th last season after qualifying 15th.
  • Keselowski has an average starting position of 11.6 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 at Watkins Glen
Starts: 7
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —

  • Buescher lines up for his eighth Cup start at The Glen this weekend, where he carries an average finish of 19.6.
  • He’s coming off his best finish to date at the track, a ninth-place result a season ago.
  • His best qualifying effort also came last summer, a seventh-place starting spot, with a 20.1 average starting position overall at WGI.
  • 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 109 NCS starts at WGI, RFK has three wins, 23 top-five and 42 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 252 road course starts all-time in the NCS, Jack Roush’s Fords have won five races and tallied 41 top-five and 88 top-10 finishes, along with six poles. In those 252 starts, an RFK Ford has led 586 laps for an average finish of 17.4.

RFK WGI 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
Indy RC: Buescher’s top-10 streak on road courses came to an end Sunday as he just missed out on a top-10 with a P11 finish at Indy. Keselowski used some varying strategy to finish fourth in stage two of Sunday’s race, before going on to finish 20th.

Points Standings (6: 8th, 17: 10th): Keselowski enters the weekend now just two points off of sixth place, with playoff clinch scenarios in play should there be a repeat winner at The Glen. Buescher is up to 10th in driver points, and comfortably in the playoffs with now two races remaining in the regular season.

By the Numbers at WGI

Race      Win       T5           T10         Pole       Laps       Led        AvSt      AvFn     Miles

109         3              23           42           4              9521       301         18.3        16.5        23326.5
40           1              8              17           0              3069       47           16.1        15.7        7519.1
9              2              5              6              1              503         46           7.6          10.9        1232.4
158         6              36           65           5              13093    394         17.1        15.9        32078

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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