With Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch taking trophies in the past two Cup Series races, the third member of this”Big 3,” Martin Truex Jr., will feel his time to win is this weekend in Watkins Glen International (WGI).
Truex is the defending winner in Watkins Glen and contains top-10 finishes in his last two races there, and seven top 10s in 12 total begins on the road course. Problem is, no current driver has accomplished a repeat win in The Glen. Marcos Ambrose, who returned in his native Australia, is the last to win back-to-back races here in 2011-12.
Kyle Busch, Harvick and Truex would be the 3 favorites Sunday to win but also to hoist the Cup Series trophy in November.
Perhaps nobody gets as excited about Watkins Glen’s road course as veteran A.J. Allmendinger, that punched his playoff ticket in the street in 2014. This week, allmendinger started at 25/1 odds to take the checkers.
Allmendinger has six top-10 finishes in his last seven races at The Glen and has achieved the impressive task of finishing every lap (812) of each 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), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 90).
The track
Watkins Glen, located in upstate New York, is a 7-turn, 2.45-mile street course that recently underwent a repave. While the road-course is similar to Sonoma Raceway, it’s relatively flat with fewer turns, 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
Read more: attworldnews.com