Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports, has not been cleared by physicians to compete in at least the next two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events as he continues to recover from a concussion.
“Watkins Glen is going to be fast this weekend. With it being freshly repaved we are really going in with a blank slate. I’m looking forward to getting there and turning some laps on Thursday with our Cheez-It Mustang and getting back in the swing of making rights and lefts.”
Bayne makes his second career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) start at Watkins Glen International on Sunday afternoon. Bayne finished 22nd in this event in 2015.
“Double-duty will definitely be fun this weekend at Watkins Glen,” said Bayne. “It’s been a while since we’ve raced in the XFINITY Series and I’m really excited to have AdvoCare on board for both races this weekend.”
In 65 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen International, RCR boasts two wins (Robby Gordon 2003 and Kevin Harvick 2006), eight top-five and 21 top-10 finishes. Dale Earnhardt won three poles (1990, '92, '96) at the high-speed, seven-turn, upstate New York facility.
“It’s really awesome how Kevin’s diet and exercise changes have affected his A1C level so much, ultimately allowing him to feel better and live a normal life,” said Reed. “We both love to cycle so I look forward to meeting him and talking about that this weekend.”
"Watkins Glen was just repaved, and I think it's going to change how we approach the race. I think the 's-turns' will be much faster, and we'll carry a lot more speed down into the bus stop. The whole race track will have a lot more grip.
Coming off his fourth Top-20 finish of the season, NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) driver Ray Black Jr. is ready to continue with his momentum this weekend as he heads to Watkins Glen International, the first of three road course starts he will make this year.
Continuing to navigate through his rookie Sprint Cup Series season, Brian Scott will be making his first start in the series at Watkins Glen this weekend. Scott has a lot of experience in road course racing, as he competed in several more road course races in the XFINITY Series compared to the two annual races on the Sprint Cup Series schedule.
Katherine Legge will make her first NASCAR Cup Series start of the 2026 season over Mother’s Day weekend, piloting the No. 78 e.l.f. Cosmetics Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports in the Go Bowling at The Glen event.
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Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has been named as the Official Circuit Partner of NASCAR San Diego Weekend presented by Anduril and will serve as the naming rights partner of the soon-to-be constructed race track at Naval Base Coronado.
Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Menards/Knauf Ford Mustang Dark Horse team took advantage of a late-race caution to come away with a 10th-place finish Sunday at Texas
