Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at Watkins Glen International… The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International this weekend for the Go Bowling at The Glen, marking the 43rd Cup Series appearance at the 2.45-mile road course. Richard Childress Racing has earned two NASCAR Cup Series wins, along with eight top-five, 23 top-10 finishes, and three poles, while leading 275 laps at the track. Robby Gordon won the 2003 event, leading the final 30 laps to score his third victory with RCR. Kevin Harvick captured the 2006 race, edging Tony Stewart for the victory, and claiming his first win at Watkins Glen International. The victory was Harvick’s first on a road course and came in his 200th career Cup start. Dale Earnhardt won three poles (1990, 1992, 1996) for the Welcome, N.C.-based organization.
Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Watkins Glen International… Kevin Harvick captured Richard Childress Racing’s lone NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory at Watkins Glen. Harvick dominated the 2007 race, leading 49 of 82 laps and led a one-two finish with teammate Jeff Burton. RCR has captured 10 top-five and 25 top-10 finishes at the road course.
A Focus on Those Who Served… As part of RCR’s ongoing commitment to honor and support those who served our country, RCR will host a Veterans Coffee event alongside Veterans Bridge Home on Wednesday, May 13 beginning at 9 a.m. ET. In addition to special guest speakers and RCR ambassadors, the event includes resources and information for Veterans, including a special mental health and suicide prevention program. All Veterans are encouraged to attend.
Catch Saturday’s Action… The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ Mission 200 at The Glen will be televised live on Saturday, May 9 at 4 p.m. ET on The CW. The live radio broadcast can be heard on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Saturday morning’s practice and qualifying sessions will be shown for free on The CW App beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Catch Us on FS1… The Cup Series’ Go Bowling at The Glen will be televised live on Sunday, May 10 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1. The live radio broadcast can be heard on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions will be shown for free live on Prime Video beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Ride shotgun all season long with live, in-car camera feeds and scanner audio with a paid subscription to Max as part of their NASCAR driver cam experience during the race.
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester AA White Flyer Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International… Austin Dillon has made 11 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International. Last year, the six-time Cup Series winner started 25th and worked his way up to 15th, matching his career-best result at the New York road course. Beyond the Cup Series, the 36-year-old has also made four starts at The Glen in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Going the Distance… Dating back to 2014, Dillon has completed 988 of a possible 992 laps in Cup Series competition at Watkins Glen International, acquiring a 99.6 percent overall completion percentage at the 11-turn road course.
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In the Booth… Dillon is scheduled to join the broadcast booth as an analyst during this weekend’s NASCAR Truck Series race at Watkins Glen International, which airs live on FS1 Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET. The veteran driver has 73 career Truck Series starts, registering seven wins, 24 top-five, 48 top-10 finishes and 13 poles. He captured Rookie of the Year honors in the Series in 2010, and earned the 2011 Series Championship, bringing a unique perspective to the booth this weekend.
Surprise and Delight… In partnership with Watkins Glen International and several of his sponsors, Dillon plans to surprise several race fans this weekend in the track’s infield campground area. Watkins Glen is one of several tracks this season where Dillon plans to visit fans in the infield on race weekend.
Meet Dillon… Fans will have three opportunities to see Dillon this weekend at Watkins Glen International. On Saturday, May 9 at 11:15 a.m. Local Time, Dillon is scheduled to participate in a game of NASCAR Family Feud on the NASCAR Experience Stage in the track’s Midway Fan Zone. On Sunday, May 10 at 10:30 a.m. Local Time, the Welcome, North Carolina native is scheduled to once more participate in NASCAR Family Feud on the NASCAR Experience Stage. Shortly afterwards at 11:10 a.m. Local Time, Dillon is scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR Merchandise Hauler, also in the Midway Fan Zone. Stop by to meet Dillon and purchase new No. 3 gear.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE:
What are some of the things you like about Watkins Glen International, and what are some of the things that are difficult about that track?
“Watkins Glen International is very fast for a road course. The bus stop, the esses, a big chunk of the speed at Watkins Glen comes from those two sections. The other sections are more self-explanatory, but it’s a tough track. It’s been my hardest track to get a grip on, but I feel like going there does present some opportunities because you have some strategy and different things that can play out. Qualifying is pretty important there as well. I’m looking forward to getting there in our Bass Pro Shops/Winchester AA White Flyer Chevrolet.”
Kyle Busch and the No. 8 zone Jalapeño Lime Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International… Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen will mark Kyle Busch’s 21st NASCAR Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International. At the 2.45-mile road course, Busch has completed 1,784 of 1,806 laps, a 98.8 percent completion rate, led 249 laps, earned three pole positions (2008, 2011 and 2017), and secured two victories (2008 and 2013). He holds an average starting position of 8.0 and an average finishing position of 12.2.
Did You Know? Busch leads all active Cup Series drivers in both top-five (seven) and top-10 (13) finishes at the New York road course.
Victory at The Glen… Starting from pole position in 2008, Busch led 52 laps and held off Tony Stewart on a late-race restart securing his first Cup Series win at Watkins Glen International. The Las Vegas native returned to victory lane for his second win at the road course in 2013, leading the final 29 laps.
Consistent Contender… Busch’s success at the track is not limited to the Cup Series. The 41-year-old has one win (2017), six top-five and seven top-10 finishes in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at The Glen.
Road Course Prowess… Busch has 62 career road course starts at NASCAR’s highest level and has racked up four wins (two at Sonoma Raceway and two at Watkins Glen International), 20 top-five and 31 top-10 finishes. The veteran racer has additionally earned two poles and led a total of 472 laps.
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Meet Busch… Fans will have two opportunities to see Busch this weekend at Watkins Glen International. On Saturday, May 9 at 11:15 a.m. Local Time, Busch is scheduled to participate in a game of NASCAR Family Feud on the NASCAR Experience Stage in the Midway Fan Zone. On Sunday, May 10 at 11:30 a.m. Local Time, the two-time Cup Series champion is scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR Merchandise Hauler located in the Midway Fan Zone. Stop by to meet the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet and purchase new gear before the green flag waves on Sunday.
KYLE BUSCH QUOTES:
What makes Watkins Glen International unique?
“I love Watkins Glen. It’s always been a great place, great countryside, and is a lot of fun. Watkins Glen has always kind of been considered one of the superspeedways of road courses; it’s just a really fast course. A lot of speed there. I always look at every single racetrack wanting to win, and fortunately I’ve won there in the O’Reilly Series and the Cup Series. I’m excited to get back on the road courses again. Back in the years when we used to have only two road courses on the schedule, you would’ve kind of looked at it as a, ‘well hey you know it’s kind of like an off-weekend. Just treat it like an off-weekend, it doesn’t mean much if you run well or if you don’t,’ but now there’s six road courses on the schedule. There’s enough of a bulk of a schedule of races that you got to be a good road racer. I feel like being ahead of the game in that and being able to win races there in the past lends itself fairly well for me.”
With rain being potentially a factor this weekend, how do you prepare for that possibility?
“The biggest thing is looking ahead, getting with your crew chief and your engineers and planning how you want to build your set-up for that. If we know there’s going to be rain on Sunday, then we’re pretty much going to build a rain setup into the racecar, but if the weather forecast looks good to where it doesn’t look like there’s going to be rain on race day, then you’ll build for more of a dry type of setup. There are little differences that you can do in your racecar for the dry versus the wet. We won’t really know until just a few days ahead of time. The biggest thing that you look for there is when you go to the racetrack, you’re not allowed to change the racecar once you unload the racecar out of your trailer. Your spring settings and the majority of how your suspension is all bolted on and set up, you can’t change those. The only thing you’re changing is air pressure in tires, the height of your racecar, and maybe some shocks. That’s all you’re allowed to change, so you definitely got to be ahead of the game and being able to prepare whichever direction you plan to race in.”
What’s your favorite thing to do outside of the racetrack at Watkins Glen International?
“Each year we’ve always done the Watkins Glen State Park hike. Really neat to do that. It’s always a great area to come to, it’s always beautiful, and looking forward to seeing what it looks like this time of year.”
Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International… Jesse Love has made two NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at Watkins Glen International, earning his best finish of eighth after starting 11th in 2024 as a rookie. The young gun has also competed in two ARCA Menards Series races at the New York road course, earning top-three finishes in both races, including a win in 2023 after starting fourth.
Last Road Course Outing… In February at Circuit of the Americas, Love qualified 11th and spent most of the afternoon running inside the top-10, ultimately finishing fourth to post both his career-best result and second top-five finish on road course.
Last Week… Rolling off 21st in last Saturday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, Love advanced into the top-10 in Stage 1 before handling issues hampered the team’s progress. Despite falling a lap down in Stage 3, a caution with less than 20 laps remaining got the driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet the free pass to get back on the lead lap. On the final restart, the 21-year-old raced his way into the top-10, ultimately securing a ninth-place finish and demonstrating the team’s ability to overcome adversity. Love has never finished outside of the top-10 at the Fort Worth facility.
Consistently Consistent… Love’s average finish of 9.0 is third-best among full time drivers in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Still Streaking… Love currently holds the longest active streak of running at the finish of races, with 25 straight events without a DNF.
Get to the Points… Love remains third in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver championship point standings, 167 points behind leader Justin Allgaier and 46 points behind second-place Sheldon Creed.
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Meet Love… On Saturday, May 9 at 1:10 p.m. Local Time, Love, joined by RCR teammate Austin Hill, is scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR Merchandise Hauler in the Fan Zone. Stop by to meet Love and purchase new No. 2 gear.
JESSE LOVE QUOTE:
What are your expectations heading into Watkins Glen International this weekend?
“Watkins Glen should be fun. It’ll be interesting to see what the weather does, if it rains or not. I’d like it to rain; I think that would be cool because I won a race there before in the rain in ARCA. I think it’s always cool when the track gets wet when you’re on rain tires. If it doesn’t rain, we’re just looking to build our momentum on the road courses this year. We’re trying some different things, and I think we’re going to hit. Hopefully it all goes well, we get a good day with some stage points and be prepared for all different situations. I always think Danny (Stockman, crew chief) does a good job calling a good race with strategy. So, I’m looking forward to it.”
Austin Hill and the No. 21 Bennett Transportation & Logistics Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International… Austin Hill has made four career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at Watkins Glen International. Last season at the New York road course, the Winston, Georgia native qualified 10th, scored stage points and brought the car home to a career-best finish at The Glen in fourth.
Previous WGI Winner… Hill has competed in one NASCAR Truck Series race at the 2.45-mile circuit in August 2021. In his lone Truck Series start, the 32-year-old started from the pole, led 35 laps, won Stage 2 and captured the checkered flag.
Chasing a Road Course W… Hill continues the search for his first O’Reilly Auto Parts Series road course victory – the only style of track that the veteran racer has not won at thus far into his series career. In seven road course events in 2025, Hill earned five top-five finishes. In February at Circuit of the Americas, the veteran racer qualified third, won Stage 1, and finished sixth in Stage 2. In the final stage, the driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet came close to victory, finishing runner-up.
Last Week… Starting seventh in last Saturday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, Hill and the No. 21 team ran consistently inside the top-10 throughout the 300-mile event. He earned stage points by finishing eighth in both Stages 1 and 2, then capped the day with a seventh-place result, his best finish since placing sixth at Martinsville Speedway in March.
Get to the Points… Following a top-10 result at Texas Motor Speedway, Hill moves up to seventh in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver championship standings. The 15-time Series winner is 241 points behind leader Justin Allgaier and 19 points behind sixth-place Sammy Smith.
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Meet Hill… On Saturday, May 9 at 1:10 p.m. Local Time, Hill, joined by RCR teammate Jesse Love, is scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR Merchandise Hauler in the Midway Fan Zone. Stop by to meet Hill and purchase new No. 21 gear.
AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:
How do you feel about racing at Watkins Glen International, and do you think this could be the weekend you finally get your first road course win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series?
“Watkins Glen International is by far my favorite road course that we go to, because of the high speed that we carry around the track. I’ve won there in the Truck Series in the past. It would be nice to get the monkey off my back and finally get my first road course win in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. We have been so close so many times. We’ve shown consistent speed and been in contention every time on road courses. I have a lot of confidence in our team to grab our first road course win this weekend.”
