With Joey Logano scoring his second win of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Sunday (Sept. 8), he became the first driver to lock his spot into the Round of 12.
With two races left before the first round of eliminations, the NASCAR Cup Series will next head to Upstate New York to tackle the road course of Watkins Glen International, a long-time mainstay on the Cup schedule featuring technical turns and high-speed straights.
This season marks Watkins Glen’s first-ever appearance in the Cup playoffs, and with a new tire compound that is expected to create far more tire wear than last year, Sunday’s (Sept. 15) race is shaping up to be a 90-lap showdown between the most exquisite road course experts in the sport.
Weekend Primer has everything you need to know heading into this weekend’s Cup and NASCAR Xfinity Series races in the Finger Lakes region, with entry lists, TV schedules, up-to-date points standings and individual driver statistics in past Watkins Glen races.
Round of 16 Standings (2 Races Until Elimination)
| Rank | Driver | Points | Cut line |
| 1 | Joey Logano | 2054 | WIN |
| 2 | Ryan Blaney | 2071 | +45 |
| 3 | Christopher Bell | 2066 | +40 |
| 4 | Tyler Reddick | 2059 | +33 |
| – | William Byron | 2059 | +33 |
| 6 | Alex Bowman | 2053 | +27 |
| – | Austin Cindric | 2053 | +27 |
| 8 | Chase Elliott | 2050 | +24 |
| 9 | Daniel Suarez | 2048 | +22 |
| 10 | Kyle Larson | 2041 | +15 |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | 2028 | +2 |
| 12 | Ty Gibbs | 2027 | +1 |
| 13 | Brad Keselowski | 2026 | -1 |
| 14 | Harrison Burton | 2011 | -16 |
| 15 | Martin Truex Jr. | 2008 | -19 |
| 16 | Chase Briscoe | 2006 | -21 |
Best of the Rest
| Rank | Driver | Points | Difference |
| 17 | Ross Chastain | 696 | |
| 18 | Chris Buescher | 691 | -5 |
| 19 | Bubba Wallace | 677 | -19 |
| 20 | Kyle Busch | 617 | -79 |
Notable News:
- Two-time NASCAR Cup winner and 2010 Watkins Glen winner Juan Pablo Montoya will return to Cup this weekend in 23XI Racing’s part-time No. 50 car. Watkins Glen will be Montoya’s first Cup start since the 2014 Brickyard 400, more than 10 years ago.
- A new tire compound will be used at Watkins Glen, which is expected to provide approximately two-three seconds of lap-time falloff per run.
Quick Track Facts: Watkins Glen
Built: 1956
First Cup race: 1957, Annual stop since 1986
Last Repaved: 2015
Length: 2.45 miles
Number of Turns: 7 (excluding the bus stop chicane)
Watkins Glen By the Numbers
Defending Winner: William Byron
Most Wins (active drivers): Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott & Kyle Larson (2)
Most Top Fives: Kyle Busch & Martin Truex Jr. (7)
Most Top 10s: Kyle Busch (13)
Most Poles: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott & Denny Hamlin (2)
Most Laps Led: Kyle Busch (249)
Most Laps Led, Non-Winner: Brad Keselowski (123)
Best Average Finish (min. 5 starts): AJ Allmendinger, 13 Starts (8.8)
Watkins Glen winners in the field: Kyle Busch (2), Chase Elliott (2), Kyle Larson (2), AJ Allmendinger (1), William Byron (1), Denny Hamlin (1), Joey Logano (1), Juan Pablo Montoya (1), Martin Truex Jr. (1)
Playoff Driver Statistics at Watkins Glen
Xfinity Series
Defending Race Winner: Sam Mayer
Regular Season Standings (2 Races to Go):
- Justin Allgaier
- Cole Custer (-34)
- Chandler Smith (-67)
- Austin Hill (-71)
Playoff Cut Line (2 Races to Go):
- Sheldon Creed (+123)
- Parker Kligerman (+74)
- Sammy Smith (+44)
- Ryan Sieg (-44)
- Brandon Jones (-139)
Notable News:
- Watkins Glen will mark the final NASCAR Xfinity Series broadcast for NBC Sports after a 10-year run. The series’ new home is the CW, which will have exclusive coverage of Xfinity starting on Sept. 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
- After leading every lap and winning Friday’s (Sept. 13) ARCA Menards Series race at Watkins Glen by more than 12 seconds, 18-year-old Connor Zilisch will make his highly anticipated Xfinity debut with JR Motorsports this weekend.
Entry Lists
Cup: 38 entries, 40 spots
Notables: AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig No. 13)*, Kaz Grala (RWR No. 15), Shane van Gisbergen (Kaulig No. 16), Juan Pablo Montoya (23XI No. 50)*
* Unchartered car
Xfinity: 41 entries, 38 spots
Cup Drivers: Joey Logano (AM Racing No. 15), William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports No. 17), Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19), Ross Chastain (DGM Racing No. 92)
Other Notables: RC Enerson (SS-Green Light Racing No. 14), Ed Jones (Sam Hunt Racing No. 26), Austin Green (Jordan Anderson Racing No. 32), Alon Day (Alpha Prime Racing No. 45), Connor Zilisch (JR Motorsports No. 88)
Where to Watch
Saturday, Sept. 14
9:30 a.m. ET — Xfinity Practice (NBC Sports App)
10 a.m. ET — Xfinity Qualifying (NBC Sports App)
11:30 a.m. ET — Cup Practice (USA Network)
1 p.m. ET — Cup Qualifying (USA Network)
3 p.m. ET — Xfinity Series Mission 200 at The Glen (82 laps, 200.9 miles) (USA Network)
Sunday, Sept. 15
3 p.m. ET — Cup Series Go Bowling at The Glen (90 laps, 220.4 miles) (USA Network)
Looking Ahead to Next Season
- On Sept. 12, Parker Kligerman announced that he will not return to Big Machine Racing’s No. 48 Xfinity car for 2025, as he plans to retire from full-time competition at the end of the season. Kligerman, 34, is a three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series winner and has three runner-up finishes in 113 career Xfinity starts. As of today, BMR has yet to announce a replacement for next season.
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Can find on Twitter @stephen_stumpf.