The Cup Series racer “Go Bowling” this weekend with the Go Bowling at the Glen when they travel to central New York and the Watkins Glen for the next to the last race in the regular season.
Mike Rockenfeller returns this week to drive the number 42 car for the Legacy Motor Club.
With a road course race, the NBC crew will be broadcasting “radio style” with the broadcasters scattered throughout the course.
The 20 minute practice session had barely begun when Denny Hamlin gets into the gravel pit but doesn’t get far enough that he cannot drive it out.
The drivers have been divided into two groups for practice and qualifying. The top five drivers form each group will move on to round two to make a run for the pole.
AJ Allmendinger is still on baby watch. His first born child was due over a week ago but has yet to make an appearance.
Last season 19 different drivers won a race in the Cup Series, this year 10 of those drivers have yet to win a race.
The top five from Group A moving on to round two of qualifying are William Byron, Michael McDowell, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, and Denny Hamlin. All of the top five drivers were in the 70 second range on their qualifying runs.
Cole Custer had his last qualifying lap disallowed after the crew made some unapproved adjustments to the car. He will end the round in 16th place in Group A.
Currently in third place of Group B, Corey LaJoie has never made it to the final round of qualifying.
While AJ Allmendinger is still on baby watch, Ryan Preece’s family just welcomed a new baby to the family.
The top five from Group B moving on to the second round of qualifying are AJ Allmendinger, Kyle Larson, Corey LaJoie, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Busch.
The top 10 have 10 minutes to make their best qualifying run. The first of the top 10 on the track Denny Hamlin posted a time of 70.463 seconds. With a second lap of 70.392, he holds on to sit on the pole to earn his 40th career pole.
The starting lineup for the Go Bowling at the Glen:
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Michael McDowell
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Larson
AJ Allmendinger
Christopher Bell
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Busch
Corey LaJoie
Joey Logano
Bubba Wallace
Chris Buescher
Daniel Suarez
Chase Elliott
Austin Dillon
Austin Cindric
Alex Bowman
Martin Truex Jr
Justin Haley
Mike Rockenfeller
Ross Chastain
Ryan Blaney
Brad Keselowski
Todd Gilliland
Chase Briscoe
Aric Almirola
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Andy Lally
Ryan Preece
Erik Jones
Harrison Burton
Kevin Harvick
Cole Custer
Josh Bilicki
Ty Dillon
Stages one and two of the race are 20 laps with stage three lasting 50 laps. The drivers can run 30 to 35 laps on a single load of fuel and with no caution flags for stage breaks, the teams must return to strategy when it comes to making pit stops.
After the infield sold out earlier than ever before, racing fans will pack Watkins Glen with a sell out for the eighth year in a row.
Brad Keselowski, Corey LaJoie, Aric Almirola, Justin Haley, and Cole Custer will all have to start the race from the back of the field after crews made some unapproved adjustments to the cars.
Five time Rolex 24 Hours winner Andy Lally is the only driver in the field who is from New York.
Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with William Byron alongside with Denny Hamlin edging out in front for the lead. Michael McDowell takes second with William Byron in third.
Michael McDowell is on Denny Hamlin’s bumper looking to take the lead.
Lap two, Denny Hamlin leads the race with Michael McDowell on his bumper; William Byron, Ty Gibbs, and AJ Allmendinger round out the ttop five.
Lap three, Denny Hamlin holds on to the lead with Michael McDowell still hanging on his bumper; William Byron, Ty Gibbs, and AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top five. It appears that Hamlin is holding up the field.
Lap four, Michael McDowell passes Denny Hamlin for the lead in turn one.
William Byron passes Denny Hamlin for second.
Lap five, Michael McDowell has a lead of over half a second on William Byron. Daniel Suarez jumps the curb and scrapes the wall but gets the car moving again and the track stays green. Suarez reports that he may have flat spotted a tire.
Lap seven. Michael McDowell’s lead on William Byron is down to a third of a second; Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Harrison Burton spins out after some on track contact, spinning out, and flat spotting his tires. Burton had to make an unscheduled trip down pit road.
Lap nine, Michael McDowell continues to lead the race with William Byron in second; Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and AJ Allmendinger continue to round out the top five.
Lap 12, Michael McDowell has a half second lead on William Byron.
Chase Elliott has moved up only two spots since the race start but is in a must win situation if he hopes to make the playoffs this season.
Lap 16, Michael McDowell holds a half second lead on William Byron; Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five..
Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric battle for position with Alex Bowman on their bumpers.
Lap 17, Martin Truex Jr begins the cycle of green flag pit stops.
Lap 17, Michael McDowell increases his lead to nearly a second on William Byorn.
Coming down pit road, Joey Logano reports that he is loos everywhere.
Michael McDowell wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Michael McDowell
William Byron
Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs
AJ Allmendinger
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Bubba Wallace
Kyle Busch
Tyler Reddick
Tyler Reddick is the first driver in the top 10 to make a pit stop.
Leaders come down pit road for service but William Byron stays out on the track and leads the race.
Michael McDowell and Denny Hamlin battle for the race off of pit road with McDowell coming out first. Michael McDowell was charged with driving through too many pit boxes and will have to serve a pass through penalty.
William Byron makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to AJ Allmendinger who has yet to make his pit stop.
AJ Allmendinger comes down pit road and gives the lead over to William Byron.
Lap 24, William Byron leads the race with Denny Hamlin in second; Ty Gibbs, Brad Keselowski, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 26, Willim Byron has a one second lead on Denny Hamlin; Ty Gibbs, AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Larson round out the top five. Brad Keselowski is in seventh place but has yet to make his pit stop.
After serving his penalty, Michael McDowell is in 15th place.
Chase Elliott passes Brad Keselowski for seventh.
Lap 30, Seventh place driver Chase Elliott is still 77 points below the cut line. He was tied with Alex Bowman 80 points below the line at the start of the race.
Lap 31, William Byron has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin. Brad Keselowski finally makes his pit stop to complete the cycle of green flag pit stops.
The top five are William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and AJ Allmendinger, and Kyle Larson.
An admitted poor road course racer, Bubba Wallace is in the top 10 in ninth place.
Lap 33, William Byron has a lead of nearly a second on Denny Hamlin; Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Kyle Busch reports that his car “just won’t turn” in the carousel.
Just two more laps remain in stage two with William Byron leading the way by nearly a second on Denny Hamlin. Michael McDowell has worked his way up to 12th after serving his pass through penalty.
Austin Dillon passes Tyler Reddick for tenth.
One lap down, Harrison Burton is the only driver not on the lead lap with all 36 drivers still on the track.
William Byron wins stage two.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
William Byron
Denny Hamlin
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Larson
AJ Allmendinger
Christopher Bell
Chase Elliott
Kyle Busch
Bubba Wallace
Austin Dillon
Lap 42, William Byron leads the race with Denny Hamlin in second but Ty Gibbs is on his bumper; Kyle Larson and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 45, Ty Gibbs tries to battle Denny Hamlin for second; Kyle Larson has moved up to make it a three way battle.
William Byron has begun to lap slower traffic; there are now 33 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 45, Chase Briscoe is the first driver to start the second cycle of green flag pit stops.
Kyle Larson passes Ty Gibbs for third.
Lap 49, Michael McDowell passes Bubba Wallace for ninth.
William Byron has pulled out to a three and a half second lead on Denny Hamlin; Kyle Larson ,Ty Gibbs, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five with 30 cars on the lead lap.
With 41 laps remaining in the race, there have been no caution flags.
Forty to go, William Byron has a four second lead on Denny Hamlin; Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
Lap 53, Kyle Larson battles with Denny Hamlin for second. Hamlin holds him off for the moment.
Lap 54, Ty Gibbs brings his number 54 car down pit road for service.
Michael McDowell has another slow pit stop after crew members came over the wall too soon and will have to serve another pass through penalty.
Chase Elliott is off the pace out of fuel. He is stopped on the track and brings out the first caution flag of the race. Leaders were on pit road when the caution flag came out.
Kyle Busch is listed as the leader of the race with Bubba Wallace in second.
Kyle Larson was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Chase Elliott is being pushed to pit road.
Kyle Busch reports that he is still way too tight.
William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart with Denny Hamlin alongside with 30 laps remaining in the race. Byron gets out in front for the lead and pulls away from Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell, AJ Almendinger, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five with Martin Truex Jr on Gibbs’ bumper.
William Byron leads the race by over a second with Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and AJ Allmendinger in a tight battle for position.
With 27 laps to go, William Byron has a near one second lead on Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
After two pit road penalties, Michael McDowell has worked his way back to the top 10 in eighth place.
Lap 66, William Byron has a lead of nearly a second and a half on Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
Twenty to go, William Byron has pulled out to a lead of a second and a half on Denny Hamlin.
Mired back in traffic, Kyle Larson has moved up nine spots since the restart after having to restart the race from the back of the field due to a speeding penalty.
Lap 74, Aric Almirola spins out but gets the car moving in the right direction and the track stays green.
Lap 76, Michael McDowell brings his car down pit road after reporting a loss of power. The crew is working to discover the problem and hopefully repair to get McDowell back in the race.
With 13 laps to go, William Byron has a second and a half lead on Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
The crew is pushing Michael McDowell’s number 34 car to the garage and reports that McDowell is out of the race.
Just eight laps remaining in the race, William Byron has led all but 24 laps and has a lead of nearly three seconds on Denny Hamlin; Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.
Six laps to go, William Byron continues to dominate the race with a three second lead on Denny Hamlin.
William Byron takes the white flag.
William Byron wins race number five for a career year and his first road course win.
Austin Dillon was stopped sideways on the track after some contact with Kyle Larson. Larson also spun out.
The unofficial results of the Go Bowling at the Glen:
William Byron
Denny Hamlin
Christopher Bell
AJ Allmendinger
Ty Gibbs
Martin Truex Jr
Chris Buescher
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
Joey Logano
Todd Gilliland
Bubba Wallace
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Kyle Busch
Brad Keselowski
Austin Cindric
Ryan Preece
Ross Chastain
Mike Rockenfeller
Corey LaJoie
Kevin Harvvick
Daniel Suarez
Alex Bowman
Justin Haley
Andy Lally
Kyle Larson
Josh Bilicki
Cole Custer
Erik Jones
Aric Almirola
Austin Dillon
Chase Elliott
Harrison Burton
Ty Dillon
Chase Briscoe
Michael McDowell
Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski have locked themselves into the playoffs on points. Bubba Wallace remains the lone driver on the positive side of the bubble.