With Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch taking trophies from the last two Cup Series races, the third member of this”Big 3,” Martin Truex Jr., may feel his time to triumph is this weekend in Watkins Glen International (WGI).
Truex is the defending winner at Watkins Glen and contains top-10 finishes in his past two races there, and seven top 10s in 12 total starts on the street course. Problem is, no driver has ever accomplished a repeat win in The Glen. Marcos Ambrose, who returned in his native Australia to race, is the final to win races in 2011-12.
Kyle Busch, Harvick and Truex would be the 3 favorites not only to hoist the Cup Series trophy in November but also Sunday to win.
Maybe no one gets as excited about Watkins Glen’s street course as veteran A.J. Allmendinger, that punched his playoff ticket in the street in 2014. Allmendinger started at 25/1 odds to take the checkers.
Allmendinger includes six top-10 finishes in his last seven races at The Glen and has achieved the impressive task of completing every lap (812) of every race he has competed in there.
Race setup
Distance: 220.5 miles (90 Laps); Period 1 (Ends on Lap 20), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Closing Stage (Ends on Lap 90).
The monitor
Watkins Glen, located in upstate New York, is a 7-turn, 2.45-mile street course that recently got a repave. Though the road-course is similar to Sonoma Raceway, it is relatively flat with fewer twists, which makes it a faster course than its California sister.
Recent winners
2017: Martin Truex Jr..
2016: Denny Hamlin
2015: Joey Logano
2014: AJ Allmendinger
2013: Kyle Busch
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