NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Track: Watkins Glen International
Size: 2.45-mile paved road course
Laps: 90 laps, 220.5 miles (355 k)
# of Turns: 11
Variety of Banking: In turns ranging from 6 degrees to 10 degrees
Frontstretch: 2,141 feet
Backstretch: 1,839 feet.
First WGI Race: 1986
Grandstand Capacity: approx 41,000
Opened: 1956
COVERAGE:
NSCS Practices: Friday, August 10, 12:00 – 1:50 pm/et on SPEED
NSCS Happy Hour ‘Final’ practice: Friday, August 10, 4:10 – 5:30 pm/et on SPEED
NSCS Qualifying: Saturday, August 11 at 11:40 am/et on ESPN2
NASCAR Countdown Pre-Race show: 12:00 pm/et on ESPN2
Race Coverage: Sunday, August 12, 2012 on ESPN at 1:00 pm/et
Green flag: Approx 1:18pm/et
Radio: Motor Racing Network (MRN) & Sirius XM Satellite NASCAR Radio 90
Race Re-Airs: on SPEED, Wednesday, August 15 at 12:00pm/et
STORY LINES
2012 Sprint Cup Driver Chase Wild-Card Race - after Pocono, race #21 of 36
A look at the race for the two wild-card positions for the Chase based on wins and being inside the top 20 in points.
First two would make the chase as wild cards:
No. 5-Kasey Kahne [2 wins] 11th -57 points out of 10th
No. 24-Jeff Gordon [1 win] 13th -68
Jeff Gordon joined Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kasey Kahne at the top of the “wild card” standings with five races remaining until the post-season lineup of 12 drivers is set. Gordon might need another victory to cement his “wild card” status but has won a combined 18 races at tracks left in the Race to the Chase. He is a four-time winner at the next stop – Sunday’s road race at Watkins Glen International – but not since 2001.
Eight other drivers currently in the running for the wild cards:
No. 39-Ryan Newman [1 win] 14th -68
No. 18-Kyle Busch [1 win] 15th -80
No. 20-Joey Logano [1 win] 17th -104
No. 99-Carl Edwards 12th -60
No. 27-Paul Menard 16th -82
No. 9-Marcos Ambrose 18th -126
No. 1-Jamie McMurray 19th -144
No. 31-Jeff Burton 20th -152
(ties broken by 1sts, 2nds, 3rd, etc)
Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson was well on his way to the provisional No. 1 Chase seed at Pocono until spinning from the lead on a 91st lap restart. Johnson, Tony Stewart and Brad Keselowski remain deadlocked at three wins apiece. This week could be Stewart’s time to shine. The three-time and reigning champion is the leading winner at The Glen (five) most recently in 2009. Johnson, a road course winner at Sonoma, has yet to score at Watkins Glen while Keselowski finished second there a year ago.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. retained the NASCAR Sprint Cup points lead despite a transmission failure at Pocono Raceway. The difference of just eight points are between first and fourth place with Earnhardt trailed by Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle and Johnson.
NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES
Watkins Glen
Race #21 of 33
82 Laps, 200.9 Miles
Practice: Friday, August 10th at 2:00 pm-4:00 pm on SPEED
Qualifying: Saturday, August 11th at 9:35 am on ESPN2
Race: Saturday, August 11, 2012 in Watkins Glen, NY
TV Race Coverage: ABC, 2:00 pm/et
Scheduled Green Flag (approx): 2:35pm/et
STORY LINES
Elliott Sadler extended his championship lead over Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon to 18 points and became the first points-eligible driver to score four wins in his “home” national series. Leader Sadler has the most experience at turning right and left – notably in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as well as in NASCAR Nationwide. Sadler finished 10th a year ago at Watkins Glen International where racing resumes on Saturday. He was 15th in June’s first road course event at Road America in Wisconsin.
To become a first-time Glen winner, however, will require vanquishing Canadian Ron Fellows. The international road racing star won three out of four NASCAR Nationwide starts from 1998 to 2001. Ron Fellows will drive the JR Motorsports #5.
Carl Edwards, the 2007 series champion, will make his first start of the year in the Roush Fenway Racing No. 60 Ford. Other NASCAR Sprint Cup competitors entered are former champions Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, Kasey Kahne, Paul Menard and Joey Logano.
Source: NASCARMedia/Stats