The beginning of the end of the so-called road-course ringer era coincided with Edwards’ first full Sprint Cup season in 2005, when Robby Gordon finished second, Said was third and Pruett fourth. They’re in these cars more than any other racer, the competition is so fierce and they’re some of the best in the world.
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The shift occurred earlier this week when Chris Buescher won the fog-shortened Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway on Monday, after it had been pushed back a day because of rain. Friday NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers hit the road course for the first practice rounds.
That Buescher is ready to join them is not a surprise back at the shop. Bayne lasted raced in the Xfinity series in 2014. Was he overlooked coming into the season? Ragan had Front Row’s only victory 118 races ago in fall 2013 at Talladega.
Buescher is now on the brink of becoming the first Chase bracket buster. Now, Stewart sits comfortably in the 27th spot and is squarely on the path to the Chase. He has four top-five finishes in his last six races. Buescher is now in 31st place, and if he can move into the top 30 he’ll earn a playoff spot.
Also failing to make the top 12 were Jimmie Johnson (13th), Kevin Harvick (15th), rookie Chase Elliott (16th) and Kurt Busch (17th). That certainly qualifies as a strong rookie class.
There were already many interesting storylines to follow heading into the final five races of the regular season, and now this adds yet another one.
“It feels good to be fast here and be at the top of the chart for a while in practice”, Edwards said.
Earnhardt, who has missed the last three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and will miss at least two more, took questions for 30 minutes during a media appearance at Watkins Glen International, where the Cup Series races on Sunday. “The Glen” offers drivers a unique track configuration, which competitors must learn to adjust to, and since adjustments must be made by all drivers, it leaves the race wide open for anyone to win.
There will likely be some exceptions, but increasingly, road course racing is about the rule.
The other part of the repave is that numerous curbs lining the 2.45-mile, nine-turn course have been raised or reprofiled.
Busch enjoyed a fair share of success on the road course at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) worldwide. The vent hose, field hose and the neck of the fuel cell are also positioned to the right side of the auto for only this race.
He said patience is a requirement, something he added is generally not a strong suit for race vehicle drivers.
The cars experience transformations, as well.
He returns to Watkins Glen – which features a new racing surface this season – with his sights set on two more victories. The tests resulted in a softer Goodyear tire with more adhesion, which is similar to the rubber compound used at Kentucky Speedway back in July. “We’re just taking it one evaluation at a time”.
In addition, history has shown that no one driver dominates at road course races.
Saturday’s schedule also includes a race in NASCAR’s second-tier Xfinity Series.
Allmendinger crashed the Chase with a win at Watkins Glen International in 2014 and will try to do it again in 2016 with a visit to Victory Lane in Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.
“He doesn’t care about my racing or whatever I do as a profession”. If not, I’ve lost plenty of races that you just move on to the next one. The last time a first-time victor visited Victory Lane was in 2014 when AJ Allmendinger triumphed at Watkins Glen International – the site of Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at The Glen (1:30 p.m. on USA).
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Five-time Watkins Glen victor Tony Stewart, who’s retiring after the season, qualified third in the final road race of his career, followed by Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch.
