NASCAR at Watkins Glen schedule: How to watch, odds, favorites originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
It’s time to go road racing in New York.
Watkins Glen International will play host to the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend. An 11-turn road course in Western New York, Watkins Glen has hosted a summer race every year since 1986 (except for 2020 due to the pandemic).
This race will mark the fifth of six road course races this season for the Cup Series, which is predominantly an oval-circuit series. Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez and Tyler Reddick (twice) have won the first four road races of 2022.
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
Here’s everything you need to know for the Go Bowling at the Glen:
Watkins Glen entry list
Kurt Busch has pulled out of Watkins Glen and next week at Daytona as he continues to recover from concussion-like symptoms. The field includes a few unfamiliar NASCAR names, including former Formula One drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Daniil Kvyat. Raikkonen, the 2007 F1 World Champion, will make his Cup Series debut for Trackhouse Racing.
Sports
Here was the full list before Kurt Busch's withdrawal:
When is the NASCAR Watkins Glen race?
This race weekend features practice and qualifying sessions before the race. The 39-car field will be split into two groups, and each group will get a 20-minute practice session on Saturday, Aug. 20, beginning at 12 p.m. ET.
Two-round qualifying begins after practice at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday. Both groups will have 20 minutes to turn their fastest lap, with the five quickest drivers in each group advancing. In the final round, the 10 remaining drivers will have 10 minutes to turn their fastest lap, and the quickest driver will be awarded the pole.
The Go Bowling at the Glen begins at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday.
How to watch NASCAR this weekend
All NASCAR action this weekend will be on USA Network.
Practice and qualifying coverage on Saturday is set to begin at 12 p.m. ET on USA. Sunday’s coverage starts at 2 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green, followed by the race at 3 p.m. ET on USA.
Coverage before, during and after Sunday’s race can be streamed online here and through the NBC Sports app.
NASCAR playoff standings entering Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen is the penultimate race of the 2022 regular season, with Daytona next week serving as the final event before the playoffs.
Only 16 drivers make the playoffs, and drivers secure a berth by winning a race or scoring the most points among non-winners. With 15 winners already, there is an outside chance that a winner misses the playoffs if two new drivers win at Watkins Glen and Daytona. At the moment, there is one spot available via points.
- Chase Elliott, 4 wins
- Ross Chastain, 2 wins
- Joey Logano, 2 wins
- William Byron, 2 wins
- Denny Hamlin, 2 wins
- Tyler Reddick, 2 wins
- Kevin Harvick, 2 wins
- Kyle Larson, 1 win
- Chase Briscoe, 1 win
- Christopher Bell, 1 win
- Daniel Suarez, 1 win
- Kurt Busch, 1 win
- Kyle Busch, 1 win
- Alex Bowman, 1 win
- Austin Cindric, 1 win
- Ryan Blaney, 766 points
—
- Martin Truex Jr., 740 points
- Aric Almirola, 552 points
- Erik Jones, 540 points
- Bubba Wallace, 517 points
Which active drivers have won at Watkins Glen?
Eight drivers racing this weekend have won a Cup race at Watkins Glen: Kyle Busch, Elliott, Logano, Hamlin, Harvick, Larson, Truex and Allmendinger. Busch (2008, 2013) and Elliott (2018, 2019) each have two wins, while the other six have one victory apiece.
NASCAR Watkins Glen betting odds, favorites, predictions
Picking a winner at road courses in 2022 has been tricky. Elliott, with seven career road wins, is almost always the betting favorite. But surprise winners Chastain, Suarez and Reddick have won the first four events this season, and they should all be fast again on Sunday.
Heading to Watkins Glen, Elliott is once again atop the list of favorites. Watkins Glen has been one of his best tracks, with a 6.0 average finish and two wins in five career starts. His teammate Larson is also among the favorites after winning last year’s event.
Kyle Busch (9.1 average finish in 16 starts), AJ Allmendinger (9.9 average finish in 10 starts) and Martin Truex Jr. (10.1 average finish in 15 starts) are other drivers who typically run well at The Glen. The odds rightfully reflect the fact that Toyotas haven’t been as good at road courses this year, so Busch and Truex are longer shots to prevail.
Before practice and qualifying, here are some of the odds to win at Watkins Glen, courtesy of our partner, PointsBet:
- Chase Elliott, +525
- Tyler Reddick, +625
- Kyle Larson, +900
- Ross Chastain, +1000
- Austin Cindric, +1000
- Daniel Suarez, +1300
- Ryan Blaney, +1400
- AJ Allmendinger, +1400
- Chase Briscoe, +1600
- Christopher Bell, +1800
- Martin Truex Jr., +1800
- Denny Hamlin, +2500
- Kyle Busch, +2500
- Kevin Harvick, +2500
- Joey Logano, +3000
- William Byron, +3000
- Kimi Raikkonen, +5000
Editor's note: All odds are provided by our partner, PointsBet. PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.
