WATKINS GLEN, NY. – Kyle Larson, of Hendrick Motorsports grabbed his second straight victory at Go Bowling! At The Glen at NASCAR Cup Series.
So with Chase Elliott firmly ahead deep in the final stage, Larson made a move for the front. He took pole position from his teammate Elliott and wouldn’t be denied, nabbing his second victory in as many years at the road course at Watkins Glen.
His margin over second-place AJ Allmendinger was .882 of a second.
Larson appeared somewhat apologetic for his decision to past Elliott after a race restart. But it’s all about winning in NASCAR.
Sunday’s race was initially scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, but a lengthy weather delay meant the green flag wasn’t officially waved until closer to 5 p.m. ET.
7:20 p.m. Larson took the checkered flag. The 18th win of his Cup Series career.
There were five caution periods for a total of 11 laps. All but eight of the 39 drivers in the Go Bowling! At The Glen finished on the lead lap.
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Briscoe of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Joey Logano of Team Penske (Ford)
SHR Race Finish:
● Cole Custer (Started 29th, Finished 11th / Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)
● Kevin Harvick (Started 24th, Finished 12th / Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 14th, Finished 25th / Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)
● Aric Almirola (Started 35th, Finished 29th / Running, completed 90 of 90 laps)
SHR Points:
● Kevin Harvick (8th with 690 points, 232 out of first)
● Chase Briscoe (16th with 571 points, 351 out of first)
● Aric Almirola (18th with 560 points, 362 out of first)
● Cole Custer (26th with 431 points, 491 out of first)
SHR Notes:
Custer earned his seventh top-15 of the season and his first top-15 in two career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Watkins Glen.
Custer’s 11th-place result bettered his previous best finish at Watkins Glen – 18th, earned in his first start at the track last August.
Custer finished ninth in Stage 2 to earn two bonus points. Custer led once for seven laps – his first laps led at Watkins Glen.
This was Harvick’s fourth straight finish of 12th or better at Watkins Glen. He finished eighth in this race last year, seventh in 2019 and 10th in 2018. (The NASCAR Cup Series did not race at Watkins Glen in 2020 due to restrictions related to COVID-19.)
Briscoe finished first in Stage 1 to earn 10 bonus points and one valuable playoff point. Briscoe led once for seven laps – his first laps led at Watkins Glen.
Chase Elliott remains the championship leader after Watkins Glen with a 134-point advantage over second-place Larson.
A record seven countries were represented in the Go Bowling! At The Glen – Daniel Suárez (Mexico), Mike Rockenfeller (Germany), Kyle Tilley (England), Loris Hezemans (Netherlands), Kimi Räikkönen (Finland), Daniil Kvyat (Russia) and the remainder of the field (United States).
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday, Aug. 27 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The regular-season finale begins at 7 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
