NASCAR Cup Series

It was, for the most part, a race about nothing. This is not to say that Watkins Glen was boring, for it was actually one of those pleasant occurrences where we had an event that actually was entertaining enough to keep us watching. The damndest things can happen on a road course, and they did.

I awoke this morning to a great shock when I learned that Buddy Baker had passed on so swiftly. It was only about six weeks ago when I heard Buddy had inoperable cancer and would be leaving his Sirius Satellite Radio program he co-hosted with Brad Gillie.

Joey Logano and the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford race team played their pit strategy just right and passed leader Kevin Harvick on the white flag lap to earn the victory on Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen International (WGI), their second win of the 2015 season. With Shell technology under the hood, the win at WGI marked a weekend sweep for Logano, who also won Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series event.Sunday’s victory was also the first for Team Penske in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen.

Richard Petty and the Petty family is saddened to hear of the passing of Buddy Baker. Baker raced for Petty Enterprises in 1971 and 1972, winning one race each season. A statement from Richard Petty:

Elzie Wylie “Buddy” Baker Jr., the 1980 Daytona 500 champion and famed NASCAR commentator, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 74 (b. 1-25-41).

In the final road course race of the 2015 season, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was running in the 21st position when the inside lane stacked up on the restart causing nose damage to the No. 17 Ford. Stenhouse Jr. was scored in the 10th position with less than 30 laps remaining in Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen but differences in pit strategy and a tire rub forced Stenhouse to settle with a 34th-place finish.

The broom made an appearance in Gatorade Victory Lane today as Joey Logano won the Cheez-It 355, becoming the first driver to sweep the NASCAR Sprint Cup/NASCAR XFINITY Series weekend at Watkins Glen. In addition to the first sweep at the track, both Logano and team owner Roger Penske won their first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at The Glen.

Greg Biffle overcame a flat tire early on in the Cheez-It 355 to earn a 14th-place finish Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen. Not only did Biffle have a flat tire, but the flat tire took out the front brake duct of the No. 16 Cheez-It Ford. Multiple pit stops and fuel strategy put Biffle in the top 10 towards the end but missing the bus stop cost him a few positions in the closing laps.

Joey Logano’s win today is his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory of the season and 10th of his career.

Trevor Bayne, driver of the No. 6 AdvoCare Ford Fusion, improved 12 positions from the drop of the green flag to earn a 22nd-place finish on Sunday afternoon in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) event at Watkins Glen International