The Competition Caution 2017 NASCAR DFS Watkins Glen Preview

This week we head to upstate New York for the second road course of the year – the 2.45 mile puzzle known as Watkins Glen. I love road course racing because of the immense challenge it presents drivers who get limited time to perfect the art of going left and right. It is going to be a tremendous weekend and one where we stand to have a huge edge if we approach it correctly.  As always, let’s begin by taking a look at Watkins Glen:

90 laps, 220.5 miles (355 k)
It has 7 turns with a variety of banking in turns ranging from 6 degrees to 10 degrees.
The length of the front stretch is 2,141 feet and the length of the backstretch is 1,839 feet.

I want to start be reposting some stuff we talked about during the Sonoma race week:

Road Course Racing

So step one to solving the puzzle we are being presented with this week is understanding how Road Course Racing differs from our typical oval weeks – and yes, it’s more than just turning left and right! The buzzword of the week will no doubt be strategy. This is because the time in takes to get around this course means you can pit at pretty much anytime without going a lap down. This has led to a trend of what is called “running the race backwards” or “trying to cross the finish line with exactly no fuel in your gas tank, in order to minimize your time on pit road.” We can expect lots of teams to employ this strategy this weekend more than ever since they can also use the planned stage cautions to map out their race. Every team will have a different strategy to get through this weekend, which means the fastest cars may not find their way to the front based on speed alone.

Another quick note I want to make about road course racing is that not every road course is the same. Infact the two road course we know, Sonoma and Watkins Glen, really couldn’t be more different. Sonoma is all about patience and finesse, whereas Watkins Glen is about aggression and grit. When the media says “that driver is a good road course racer”, we really need to investigate which kind of road course they are good at. Of course there are individuals who are good at both, but there is also people who are better at one than the other. Don’t lean too much on stats from Sonoma when attacking this slate.

IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WE HAVE SAMEDAY QUALIFYING THIS WEEK. This is UBER important because with so few dominator points on the table, place differential is going to be essential. I will be presenting the Sway Bar LIVE during qualifying, so make sure you check that out.

Sunday, August 6
8:00 AM MENCS GARAGE OPENS
12:05 PM MENCS QUALIFYING (MULTI-VEHICLE / TWO ROUNDS)
1:30 PM MENCS DRIVER / CREW CHIEF MEETING (MEDIA CENTER)
2:20 PM MENCS DRIVER INTRODUCTIONS
3:00 PM MENCS RACE (90 LAPS, 220.5 MILES)

Road Course Ringers

There are only 36 cars entered this week, the smallest field in years. However, there are a couple new names we should make note of:

Boris Said – Surprise Surprise the king is back! Boris Said is a TRUE road course ringer with over 50 MENCS starts, almost all of them at either Watkins Glen or Sonoma. Said is an incredible talent that comes with poise and experience, and has an average finish of 25 in his last 6 tries at The Glen. He will probably qualify in the top 25, which negates any place differential potential. I love Boris Said, but he might have trouble keeping up this weekend.

Gary Klutt – Klutt is a NASCAR Next graduate making his MENCS debut in the #15 Premium Motorsports ride. Klutt is a great talent, but his lack of experience and car should render him a non factor this weekend.

So with the ringers out of the question, who can we begin to look at this weekend? Lets find out.

If you are getting sick of seeing Kyle Busch dominate races, you might want to take a week off because there is no one better at Watkins Glen. Busch has never finished outside the top ten at Watkins Glen in clean races, and almost always leads lap. The problem is he averages a top ten starting spot, and with the few dominator points we have going to be spread out thanks to differing strategy, he is by no means a lock. He is certainly one to keep an eye on.

How could we go to Watkins Glen without talking about AJ Allmendinger. Dinger is a real boom or bust prospect when it comes to Watkins Glen. He is by far the best Glen driver in the field, but his equipment often holds him back – along with his propensity to find trouble. Again, he usually qualfies quite well, so it is going to be hard to play him, but he should be a factor regardless.

Matt Kenseth stinks on road course, and he would tell you that. But he is a survivor. He usually qualifies poor, races poor, albeit clean, and finishes in the top 15. He should be priced down this week, so he could be an attractive play come Sunday.

Lastly, keep an eye on Clint Bowyer‘s qualifying effort. Bowyer is one of the best road course drivers in the field, and with his new A level equipment, he should be a contender this weekend.

So there you have it, everything you need to know about Road Course Racing. Strategy is going to be important come Sunday, so Taco and I are working hard to see who that benefits most. Make sure you check back Sunday for the LIVE Sway Bar, and check back keep your head in the Slack chat all weekend. Same day qualifying can be challenging, but if we do it right we can dominate – as Taco proved last week!