Surprising and Not Surprising: Cheez-It 355 at the Glen
In a race named by kilometers rather than the actual 90 laps and the 220 miles distance, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 28th annual road course running at Watkins Glen International.
Surprising: In addition to the traditional burnout, flag capture and bow, there was a surprising new tradition in Victory Lane at the Glen, with a handshake between the race winner Kyle Busch and runner up Brad Keselowski.
The gesture signified the respect that both had as they raced each other cleanly and without wreckage, in contrast to the previous year where both were running through oil that resulted in some final lap mayhem.
“I felt we ran really hard there those last couple laps,” Busch said. “I commend Brad for doing a better job this year at bringing home a cleaner race.”
“I could have dumped Kyle and won the race,” Keselowski said. “It doesn’t mean there isn’t temptation, but there’s a level of respect and a code of honor that you have to have as a man.”
“I know I did the right thing.”
Not Surprising: As so often happens in the sport of NASCAR, the most dominant car, the No. 9 Stanley/CTC Jumpstart Ford piloted by Marcos Ambrose, did not win the race.
Ambrose got caught further back in the pack after a caution and wrecked trying to come back up through the field, finishing a heartbreaking 31st.
“I’m just really disappointed for my Stanley team,” Ambrose said. “That’s not the way we wanted our day to finish.”
Surprising: Juan Pablo Montoya led team Chevy when the checkered flag flew at the Glen, bringing his No. 42 Target Chevrolet home as the highest finisher of the brand in the fifth position.
“It was fun,” Montoya said. “These cars, you know, guys that run up front are pretty good here.”
“Our Target Chevy was really good all day.”
Not Surprising: The Michael Waltrip team regulars, Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer, proved their road racing prowess yet again by finishing third and fifth respectively at Watkins Glen. And not only were their finishes special but both racers had been looking forward to the weekend for their own reasons.
“Watkins Glen is a place that has been special to me,” Truex said. “I went there when I was younger running Busch North back in the day.”
“It was the first road course that I ran a stock car on.”
“I think it’s great that PEAK and Duck Dynasty came together to create this special paint scheme and have some fun with it,” Bowyer said. “Being a guest on an episode of Duck Dynasty was probably one of the biggest things I’ve done outside of a race car.”
Surprising: With a solid road course record at Watkins Glen, including four wins, six top-fives, nine top-tens and two poles, Jeff Gordon exited the race surprisingly early, wrecking on lap 13 and finishing 36th.
“It’s unfortunate,” Gordon said. “I had a big run on the No. 11 and I got up on him and the nose just completely took off and put me in the wall.”
Although the difficult day also resulted in a significant points loss, with Gordon dropping from ninth to fourteenth place in the standings, it is also somewhat surprising that after such a tough run, the four-time champion sits just 15 points out of the tenth position and still is in line for possible Chase contention.
Not Surprising: Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson continued his march to the championship with a top-ten finish, bringing his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet to the checkered flag in the eighth position.
Johnson still maintains a 75 points lead over second place Clint Boywer and could literally sit out a race or two, potentially for the birth of his second child, without any fear of point standing damage.
Surprising: Richard Childress Racing’s highest finisher was surprisingly Kevin Harvick, taking the checkered flag in the 13th position.
“We had a really fast Budweiser Chevrolet today,” Harvick said. “We just couldn’t get the break we needed on pit strategy.”
Not Surprising: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne were upset and a bit miffed after tangling with several other cars and wrecking into one another.
“The No. 20 was going after the No. 9 and missed him and ended up knocking the No. 5 out of the race and knocked ourselves out of the race,” Junior said.
“I’m not sure what happened,” Kahne said. “I was just trying to get through there.”
Surprising: After running out of gas in the No. 47 Scott Products Toyota, A.J. Allmendinger made a surprising comeback to finish in the top-10.
And without a doubt, that was an additional boost not only for the driver but also the team, who had Bobby Labonte step aside for a few races to let Allmendinger shake that car and team down.
Not Surprising: Max Papis, in for the ailing Tony Stewart, who is now home recovering from two surgeries on his broken leg, finished a respectable 15th. Papis helped maintain Stewart Haas Racing’s 11th place position in the owner’s point standings.
“It was pretty crazy,” Papis said. “I drove the wheels off the car every lap.”
“These guys are all pretty good.”
This will apparently be Papis’ only substitution for Stewart as the team just announced that Austin Dillon will drive the No. 14 car for the Michigan race next weekend.
The Final Word – Road course aces wound up as jokers at the Glen
So what did we learn at the Glen on Sunday? Well, road course aces usually do not end up with the great finish the owner had hoped for when they made the change. Tommy Drissi drove for Joe Nemechek while Victor Gonzalez Jr got in a car for Tommy Baldwin. They crashed on Lap 39 and finished 42nd and 41st. Ron Fellows (35th), Alex Kennedy (29th), Owen Kelly (24th), and Boris Said (22nd) gave ‘er a go and we thank them for coming out. In the end, they participated, rather than competed.
If you are looking for a road course specialist, maybe go with a name you know. Kyle Busch dominated the final 30 laps to claim his second career victory at Watkins Glen, his eighth straight Top Ten at the New York facility, his third win of the season, and 27th of his career. However, this gun for hire already has a job as Joe Gibbs’ top sheriff.
Marcos Ambrose won the last two races there and dominated the first 60 laps starting from the pole. Then Petty team-mate Aric Almirola had something go wrong with his left front and buried the car deep into the tires. Ambrose pitted on the resulting caution, sat about fifteen deep, and never recovered. When an issue in his back end caused him to crash with six to go, he dropped from tenth to 31st.
Mark Martin has three wins at the Glen, but he was in his rocking chair last weekend. Jeff Gordon only wishes he was, as the four-time Glen winner touched one wall on Lap 14, and traded it in for the one on the other side as he quickly became a stripped down limping hot rod for the rest of the event. Gordon was 36th.
Tony Stewart, literally spent the weekend with a broken leg up, as Max Papis sat in for him and a 15th place result. Austin Dillon makes a special guest appearance behind the wheel of that car this Sunday at Michigan.
Among other contenders, with ten to go Kasey Kahne got punched up and out, to wind up in the path of Dale Earnhardt Jr . Kahne was 34th and Junior 30th when the parts quit flying, as the only Hendrick driver to have any kind of decent day was Jimmie Johnson at eighth.
Eighth is where defending Cup champ Brad Keselowski sits after finishing second over the weekend. He sits 11 points ahead of the equally winless Kurt Busch, who lies in 11th place in the standings. Martin Truex converted a third place result to pop up to 10th as Kahne drops out, but his two wins look solid for one wild card position. The other is held by Ryan Newman, who replaced his injured boss in the hunt, with Gordon, Jamie McMurray, and Joey Logano still able to make it tight if any of them can pick up a win at Michigan, Bristol, Atlanta, or Richmond before the Chase cut off.
Rating Watkins Glen – 8/10 – If you know what is going on in the sport, how what is taking place on the track affects the dreams of each driver, the more entertaining a race gets. The same might apply to the NBA or Premier League soccer, which I find dull, dull, dull. If I did some homework, just maybe I would get a lot more out of them. The Glen was entertaining for those who are in the know, but I believe there was more than enough action to keep even fair weather fans tuned in.
Newman, the elder Busch, and Gordon all have a pair of Michigan wins to their credit but it has been a bunch of years since any of them have turned the trick. No, I would expect the good news this weekend will go to someone who already has had enough good news to already be Chase bound.
So, Michigan might not promise to really shake up the Chase race except if we have another surprise or two coming our way. In the meantime, I shall continue my ESPN drinking game. You use the PVR to speed past the commercials, but if at any time you stop it and hear the voice of either Rusty or Brad, you have to take a drink. At Watkins Glen, I got away with two. Here is to even greater sobriety this Sunday at Michigan. Enjoy the week.
Dillon eager, confident in pulling double duty
Austin Dillon competed in the Sprint Cup Series race at Michigan in June, finishing an impressive 11th in a fourth car from the Richard Childress Racing camp.
When Dillon pulls into MIS this weekend and puts another NSCS start under his belt, this time it’ll be in one of the series best cars. Dillon was named the replacement driver for the injured Tony Stewart this weekend at Michigan. Whether he remains in the car past Sunday will be based on the team’s performance.
“We went down through the list and saw who is available and who had track time, who was doing double duty and was willing to try to work out a schedule that would work for both sides,” said Greg Zipadelli, Competitor Direct at Stewart-Haas Racing, on Monday.
“He has a strong relationship with Bass Pro Shops, and a big part of how we go through this is making sure that our partners are happy with what we’re doing as far as who we’re putting in the car and who will represent their brands in the way they want it represented.
“Austin’s done a great job in the past at Michigan. We kind of felt like it was a good fit for us this week.”
Dillon is a future NSCS driver and has seven starts already in 2013. But he’s the current NNS point leader, holding a three-point advantage on Sam Hornish Jr. as they head to the Mid-Ohio road course this weekend. Dillon will travel back and forth to pull double duty in different states, cars and tracks.
“I’m really looking forward to the opportunity that’s presented itself here at Stewart-Haas,” Dillon said about the announcement. “I just want to thank all the parties at RCR and Stewart-Haas for giving me this opportunity to let me go out there in a premier ride in the Cup Series.
“We’ve had a great relationship with Bass Pro Shops and looking forward to representing them and Mobil 1 this weekend. It’s a great opportunity for me. We’re really focusing on the Nationwide championship as well, and we’re going to give both parties a great opportunity at a win this weekend. We’re going to go out there and try to run strong.”
As for Sunday, this is the perfect time and place for Dillon. He calls it his favorite track and noted that he led a majority of the NNS race before having tire problems. He’s still winless in the series but he and Zipadelli expect a good run there while filling in for Stewart.
“If you look at his record in the Truck Series and he job he’s done in the Nationwide, that’s kind of what we’re basing it off of,” said Zipadelli about the decision to give Dillon the nod.
“He runs good at Michigan. He’s got a good record there. He’s young, ready to rock and roll there. We’re ready to see what we can accomplish this weekend.”
The 2011 CWTS champion is aware of the busy schedule and the decision to have him split his focus from both series, especially one in which he’s trying to win a championship in. But, having tested at Mid-Ohio earlier this year, Dillon feels it’ll help both his performance and confidence this weekend.
Even better, there’s a full day of testing this Thursday leading into the weekend. What could be a problem is qualifying the NNS car, which Dillon sounded like he expects to miss and he’d have to start in the rear on Saturday. But as far as ruining his chance at a championship, not even an afterthought for Dillon.
“No, we’re going to win the Nationwide Series. That is our main goal. We’ve been fighting for it all year long,” he said.
“This week at Mid-Ohio we’ve had a lot of practice time. The good thing about a road course is the strategies that you’ll be using could actually help us out with the start. It obviously helps to start up front at any race you’re at.
“But we’ll have a plan. If there was a better place to do it in the Cup race, Michigan is the place for me because I have a lot of laps there and confidence there. So we’re going to do our best to come up with a good strategy for both races. I think we’ll be just fine.”
