Defending race winner Chase Elliott back on the pole at the Glen
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series visits the second of its three road courses with the Go Bowling at the Glen on Sunday. It's one of just five races left in the 2019 regular season and the last right-turn track on the schedule until Charlotte's Roval in October. East coast wine country in western New York provides the backdrop for this 2.45-mile, eight-turn track known for high speeds and its tricky inner loop.
The past seven races here have produced seven different winners, making this track a wild card on the summer schedule each year. Marcos Ambrose, AJ Allmendinger and Chase Elliott are among those who have earned their first career Cup Series victory at the track over the past decade.
Elliott, the defending race winner, wasted no time putting his No. 9 Chevrolet back up front. He's on the pole for Sunday's race and will attempt to go back-to-back for the first time at the Glen since Ambrose did it in 2011-12. Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, the second-best qualifier at Sonoma’s road course back in June, will start alongside him.
Only 37 cars and one unchartered team, the No. 96 run by Parker Kligerman and Gaunt Brothers Racing, showed up to compete this weekend. That left three open spots on the 40-car grid as not a single road course ringer showed up to run against the Cup Series full-timers.
1. Chase Elliott
2. William Byron
3. Kyle Busch
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Kyle Larson
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Kurt Busch
8. Jimmie Johnson
9. Aric Almirola
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Michael McDowell
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
13. Clint Bowyer
14. Erik Jones
15. Kevin Harvick
16. Chris Buescher
17. Alex Bowman
18. Daniel Suarez
19. Ryan Blaney
20. Matt DiBenedetto
21. Joey Logano
22. Paul Menard
23. Daniel Hemric
24. Parker Kligerman (i)
25. Ryan Newman
26. Matt Tifft
27. Ty Dillon
28. Austin Dillon
29. Ryan Preece
30. Bubba Wallace
31. David Ragan
32. Ross Chastain (i)
33. Corey Lajoie
34. Landon Cassill (i)
35. Cody Ware (i)
36. Josh Bilicki (i)
37. Reed Sorenson
(i) - Ineligible to collect Cup Series points
Failed To Qualify
None
QUALIFYING NOTES
- Elliott earned the seventh pole of his Cup Series career and first on a road course. However, the sport's Most Popular Driver is still seeking his first career win from the pole. (He's never finished better than fifth.)
- William Byron (second) has his eighth front-row start in 22 Cup Series races this season.
- Kyle Busch (third) was the highest-qualifying Toyota. He's seeking his first victory on a Cup Series road course since 2015.
- Kurt Busch (seventh) was the fastest Chevrolet in the field. It's his sixth consecutive top-10 start.
- Aric Almirola (ninth) earned his second straight top-10 start in Watkins Glen. He still has yet to finish better than 16th in any Cup Series race here. (8 starts)
- Michael McDowell (11th) had his second-best qualifying effort of 2019. (He was seventh at Chicagoland Speedway in June).
- Daniel Hemric (23rd) was the fastest rookie to make the starting lineup.
- Parker Kligerman (24th) returns for another start behind the wheel in his part-time schedule with Gaunt Brothers Racing. They're scheduled for about a dozen races this year.
- Cody Ware (35th) returns to drive for his family-owned team at Rick Ware Racing. It'll be his first Cup start since Sonoma in June.
- Josh Bilicki (36th) will run his second straight race for RWR but moves over to the team's No. 52 car.
- Reed Sorenson (37th) moves into the Spire Motorsports car this week which will be run with the assistance of Sorenson's usual employer, Premium Motorsports.
NASCAR RACE BREAKDOWN
Race: Go Bowling At The Glen
Track: Watkins Glen International (Watkins Glen, N.Y.)
Date: Sunday, August 4
Time: 3 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Radio: MRN, SIRIUS XM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 90 laps (220.5 miles)
Stage 1: 20 Laps
Stage 2: 20 Laps
Final Stage: 50 Laps
PRE-WATKINS GLEN NEWS
