Road racing returns to NASCAR’s Cup series this week with a trip to the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York. Watkins Glen International is the host for the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday and the 90 laps of left and right turns it will bring. This is the only trip to the track this season and it’s the last road course until the playoffs and the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway meaning this is the last best chance for a win for the drivers that excel at this type of race.
The differences between Sonoma and Watkins Glen are almost immediately apparent starting with the number of turns. Watkins Glen has eight turns in a lap with five being right-handers and Sonoma has 11. The other major difference is the style of driving on the two courses with WGI having higher speeds and slightly less technical driving while Sonoma is the opposite of that. Even though it is a road course, it does even out the playing field with it’s style since drivers that are very good at carrying momentum through turns and not wearing down tires too quickly also have a fair shot here. With similar to compare it to, the “Similar Tracks” section of the breakdown has been left off this week.
Track position is perhaps the most important thing here in order to secure the win as just nine times in the 35 races run here has the winner come from 10th or worse in the starting grid and it’s happened just three times 2003 with Robby Gordon winning from 14th in ’03, Tony Stewart winning from 13th in ’09, and Joey Logano pulling it off from 16th in ’15. There are five drivers with a position differential of at least +6 in the last four races in the field this week. The other thing to keep in mind is the reduced laps mean less bonus or dominator points available to everyone in the field and thus the scores will likely be low this week. Last year there were just three drivers over 50 points on both sites and the best score on DraftKings was 64 by Martin Truex Jr. and 55.5 on FanDuel by Matt Kenseth followed Martin Truex Jr.’s 55.4. Just keep those factors in your mind when making rosters and looking through the data.
Only one race in the 32 races that had cautions (the first three didn’t have them called) has seen double-digit cautions and the most common number is five, though last year only saw three (including the two stage cautions), so there is a lot of green flag racing that happens in the 90 laps of the race. Because of the green flag laps, pit strategy is important and that came true last year as well as the final laps were a fuel mileage battle with a few key contenders running out before completing the white flag lap and giving Martin Truex Jr. the win. If the same thing plays out this year the advantage goes to who pits the latest without giving up much in the way of track position.
Track Data
Last Four Races at Watkins Glen International
Avg. | Avg. | Avg. | Top | Top | Top | Top | Laps | |||
Driver | Races | Start | Run Pos. | Finish | Wins | 5s | 10s | 15s | 20s | Led |
AJ Allmendinger | 4 | 5.8 | 11 | 9.5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 51 |
Joey Logano | 4 | 11.8 | 11.8 | 8.3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
Denny Hamlin | 4 | 11.8 | 13.5 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
Martin Truex Jr | 4 | 11.0 | 10.5 | 11.5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 30 |
Matt Kenseth | 4 | 13.3 | 9.5 | 6.3 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
Kurt Busch | 4 | 13.5 | 10.8 | 6.3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
Kyle Busch | 4 | 8.3 | 14 | 13.8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 28 |
Brad Keselowski | 4 | 10.0 | 11 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 75 |
Kevin Harvick | 4 | 10.8 | 14 | 14.8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 29 |
Clint Bowyer | 4 | 20.5 | 16.5 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
Kyle Larson | 4 | 8.3 | 14.8 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Daniel Suarez | 1 | 5.0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
Jamie McMurray | 4 | 12.5 | 16 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Ryan Blaney | 2 | 17.5 | 15 | 13.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Jimmie Johnson | 4 | 8.8 | 18.3 | 26.8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Erik Jones | 1 | 6.0 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Chase Elliott | 2 | 10.0 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
Kasey Kahne | 4 | 23.8 | 21.3 | 22.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
Michael McDowell | 4 | 21.3 | 22 | 22.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Paul Menard | 4 | 25.5 | 23.8 | 21.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Ryan Newman | 4 | 15.3 | 20.5 | 24.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Chris Buescher | 3 | 24.7 | 28.3 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Aric Almirola | 4 | 27.8 | 26.5 | 20.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 4 | 25.8 | 26 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Ty Dillon | 1 | 24.0 | 23 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
David Ragan | 4 | 25.5 | 21 | 25.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Austin Dillon | 4 | 21.5 | 25.3 | 27.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Cole Whitt | 4 | 24.8 | 29.5 | 31.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
BJ McLeod | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bubba Wallace | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Parker Kligerman | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ross Chastain | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Spencer Gallagher | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
William Byron | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Matt DiBenedetto | 3 | 33.0 | 25.3 | 29.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Landon Cassill | 4 | 37.3 | 30.8 | 30.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Alex Bowman | 2 | 37.5 | 34 | 32.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fast | Top 15 | Laps | Avg. | High | Low | Pos | Laps Led | High to | Low to | |
Driver | Laps | Rate | Comp. | Rating | Rating | Rating | Diff | Pts./Race | Avg Rating | Avg Rating |
AJ Allmendinger | 15 | 76% | 360 | 100.1 | 129.9 | 83.7 | -3.70 | 3.19 | 29.8 | 16.4 |
Joey Logano | 16 | 77% | 360 | 96.2 | 118.2 | 71.7 | 3.50 | 0.56 | 22 | 24.5 |
Denny Hamlin | 4 | 72% | 360 | 88 | 112.6 | 72.9 | -2.20 | 0.63 | 24.6 | 15.1 |
Martin Truex Jr | 32 | 70% | 360 | 101.8 | 139.5 | 74.7 | -0.50 | 1.88 | 37.7 | 27.1 |
Matt Kenseth | 6 | 83% | 360 | 101.1 | 111.4 | 95.2 | 7.00 | 0.13 | 10.3 | 5.9 |
Kurt Busch | 6 | 82% | 360 | 97 | 117.2 | 83 | 7.20 | 0.19 | 20.2 | 14 |
Kyle Busch | 53 | 74% | 339 | 104.9 | 124 | 65 | -5.50 | 1.75 | 19.1 | 39.9 |
Brad Keselowski | 37 | 79% | 355 | 102.9 | 119.9 | 76.6 | -5.00 | 4.69 | 17 | 26.3 |
Kevin Harvick | 12 | 60% | 353 | 92.9 | 132.7 | 68.4 | -4.00 | 1.81 | 39.8 | 24.5 |
Clint Bowyer | 6 | 46% | 360 | 79.6 | 90 | 68.9 | 6.50 | 0.00 | 10.4 | 10.7 |
Kyle Larson | 15 | 58% | 359 | 82 | 99.4 | 74.3 | -8.70 | 0.00 | 17.4 | 7.7 |
Daniel Suarez | 1 | 96% | 90 | 113.1 | 113.1 | 113.1 | 2.00 | 3.50 | 0 | 0 |
Jamie McMurray | 1 | 66% | 356 | 82.5 | 92.6 | 59.3 | -6.50 | 0.00 | 10.1 | 23.2 |
Ryan Blaney | 2 | 53% | 180 | 79.9 | 105.5 | 54.3 | 4.00 | 0.25 | 25.6 | 25.6 |
Jimmie Johnson | 4 | 51% | 322 | 75.8 | 95.5 | 59.9 | -18.00 | 0.38 | 19.7 | 15.9 |
Erik Jones | 0 | 76% | 90 | 92.2 | 92.2 | 92.2 | -4.00 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 |
Chase Elliott | 8 | 62% | 180 | 91.5 | 103.1 | 79.9 | -3.00 | 1.13 | 11.6 | 11.6 |
Kasey Kahne | 0 | 25% | 348 | 64.2 | 84.4 | 45.2 | 1.30 | 0.19 | 20.2 | 19 |
Michael McDowell | 0 | 26% | 325 | 61.9 | 74.5 | 55.7 | -1.50 | 0.00 | 12.6 | 6.2 |
Paul Menard | 1 | 26% | 357 | 59.4 | 72.3 | 37.7 | 4.20 | 0.00 | 12.9 | 21.7 |
Ryan Newman | 0 | 26% | 325 | 66.1 | 75.7 | 56.8 | -9.00 | 0.00 | 9.6 | 9.3 |
Chris Buescher | 0 | 19% | 267 | 51.3 | 74.8 | 28 | -1.30 | 0.00 | 23.5 | 23.3 |
Aric Almirola | 0 | 3% | 360 | 61.2 | 70.2 | 49.2 | 7.30 | 0.00 | 9 | 12 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 0 | 4% | 321 | 55 | 62.7 | 45.3 | -2.20 | 0.00 | 7.7 | 9.7 |
Ty Dillon | 0 | 0% | 90 | 54.9 | 54.9 | 54.9 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 |
David Ragan | 0 | 25% | 353 | 63.2 | 81.8 | 43.7 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 18.6 | 19.5 |
Austin Dillon | 0 | 16% | 358 | 53.8 | 66.4 | 35.2 | -5.80 | 0.00 | 12.6 | 18.6 |
Cole Whitt | 0 | 9% | 270 | 49.6 | 64.8 | 34.3 | -6.70 | 0.13 | 15.2 | 15.3 |
BJ McLeod | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
Bubba Wallace | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
Parker Kligerman | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
Ross Chastain | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
Spencer Gallagher | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
William Byron | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | |
Matt DiBenedetto | 0 | 15% | 263 | 51.7 | 65.5 | 38.8 | 3.70 | 0.00 | 13.8 | 12.9 |
Landon Cassill | 0 | 3% | 346 | 37.8 | 43.7 | 31.7 | 6.50 | 0.00 | 5.9 | 6.1 |
Alex Bowman | 0 | 0% | 175 | 35.9 | 41.3 | 30.4 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.4 | 5.5 |
Top-15 Drivers Over the Last 10 Races at Watkins Glen
Avg. | Avg. | Avg. | Top | Top | Top | Top | Laps | |||
Driver | Races | Start | Run Pos. | Finish | Wins | 5s | 10s | 15s | 20s | Led |
Kyle Busch | 10 | 6 | 8.6 | 7.9 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 216 |
Martin Truex Jr | 10 | 13.1 | 10.2 | 11.1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 30 |
AJ Allmendinger | 9 | 9.8 | 12.4 | 9.3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 59 |
Joey Logano | 9 | 15.1 | 16.2 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 9 |
Denny Hamlin | 10 | 15.9 | 16.3 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
Brad Keselowski | 8 | 12 | 11.6 | 10.8 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 114 |
Kurt Busch | 10 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 12.2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 26 |
Matt Kenseth | 10 | 19.7 | 13.7 | 10.9 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 2 |
Clint Bowyer | 10 | 19.5 | 15.3 | 14.1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
Jimmie Johnson | 10 | 7.4 | 14.1 | 17.5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 13 |
Kevin Harvick | 10 | 16.3 | 15.8 | 14.5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 37 |
Kyle Larson | 4 | 8.3 | 14.8 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Daniel Suarez | 1 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
Jamie McMurray | 10 | 12.6 | 18.2 | 20.5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 6 |
Ryan Blaney | 2 | 17.5 | 15 | 13.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
Fast | Top 15 | Laps | Avg. | High | Low | Pos. | Laps Led | Rating | |
Driver | Laps | Rate | Comp. | Rating | Rating | Rating | Diff. | Pts/Race | Range |
Kyle Busch | 120 | 85% | 881 | 118.4 | 145.1 | 65 | -1.90 | 5.40 | 80.1 |
Martin Truex Jr | 38 | 75% | 902 | 99.5 | 139.5 | 67.2 | 2.00 | 0.75 | 72.3 |
AJ Allmendinger | 23 | 68% | 812 | 97.1 | 129.9 | 72.7 | 0.50 | 1.64 | 57.2 |
Joey Logano | 16 | 55% | 791 | 85.1 | 118.2 | 58.9 | 1.10 | 0.25 | 59.3 |
Denny Hamlin | 8 | 57% | 822 | 82.4 | 112.6 | 61.6 | -4.10 | 0.25 | 51 |
Brad Keselowski | 66 | 74% | 717 | 102.8 | 129.1 | 53.4 | 1.20 | 3.56 | 75.7 |
Kurt Busch | 26 | 68% | 849 | 91.8 | 117.2 | 51.9 | 2.50 | 0.65 | 65.3 |
Matt Kenseth | 7 | 65% | 902 | 88.4 | 111.4 | 76.1 | 8.80 | 0.05 | 35.3 |
Clint Bowyer | 7 | 57% | 901 | 83.8 | 109.5 | 60.5 | 5.40 | 0.03 | 49 |
Jimmie Johnson | 27 | 65% | 864 | 89.5 | 113.4 | 59.9 | -10.10 | 0.33 | 53.5 |
Kevin Harvick | 17 | 55% | 873 | 87.8 | 132.7 | 50.2 | 1.80 | 0.93 | 82.5 |
Kyle Larson | 15 | 58% | 359 | 82 | 99.4 | 74.3 | -8.70 | 0.00 | 25.1 |
Daniel Suarez | 1 | 96% | 90 | 113.1 | 113.1 | 113.1 | 2.00 | 3.50 | 0 |
Jamie McMurray | 6 | 53% | 800 | 80.4 | 109.1 | 50.7 | -7.90 | 0.15 | 58.4 |
Ryan Blaney | 2 | 53% | 180 | 79.9 | 105.5 | 54.3 | 4.00 | 0.25 | 51.2 |
Momentum
Avg. | Avg. | Avg. | Top | Top | Top | Top | Pos | Avg. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Driver | Races | Start | Run Pos. | Finish | Wins | 5s | 10s | 15s | 20s | Diff. | Rating |
Kyle Busch | 5 | 13.4 | 9.6 | 8.2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5.2 | 106.8 |
Martin Truex Jr | 5 | 12 | 7.4 | 5.2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6.8 | 112 |
Kevin Harvick | 5 | 12.4 | 7.2 | 6.4 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 115.5 |
Erik Jones | 5 | 10 | 12.2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 92 |
Alex Bowman | 5 | 10 | 15.2 | 14.6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | -4.6 | 82.4 |
Chase Elliott | 5 | 7.2 | 11 | 15.6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -8.4 | 95.3 |
Ryan Blaney | 5 | 11.8 | 13.4 | 15.8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -4 | 92.2 |
Kyle Larson | 5 | 20.4 | 12.8 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5.4 | 91.5 |
Aric Almirola | 5 | 18.2 | 14.2 | 17.6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0.6 | 90.5 |
Brad Keselowski | 5 | 4.8 | 14.8 | 23.6 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | -18.8 | 85.1 |
Clint Bowyer | 5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -3.4 | 91.6 |
Daniel Suarez | 5 | 12.6 | 18.4 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | -4.4 | 72.2 |
AJ Allmendinger | 5 | 19.8 | 24.2 | 21.4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1.6 | 53.5 |
Chris Buescher | 5 | 24 | 23.4 | 21.4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2.6 | 59.2 |
Kasey Kahne | 5 | 29.4 | 21.8 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8.4 | 56.1 |
Points Changes at 2017 Race
DraftKings
17 Race | Season | DK Pts +/- | |
Driver | Total | Avg DK Pts. | Season AVG |
Matt Kenseth | 55.5 | 22.5 | 33.0 |
Daniel Suarez | 47 | 26.64 | 20.4 |
Martin Truex Jr | 64 | 50.04 | 14.0 |
Chris Buescher | 39 | 25.74 | 13.3 |
Kurt Busch | 50 | 38.17 | 11.8 |
Ryan Blaney | 45.5 | 34.44 | 11.1 |
Michael McDowell | 34 | 23.92 | 10.1 |
Denny Hamlin | 47 | 39.34 | 7.7 |
Ty Dillon | 30 | 23.4 | 6.6 |
AJ Allmendinger | 33 | 26.45 | 6.6 |
Clint Bowyer | 48 | 43.34 | 4.7 |
Kasey Kahne | 31 | 27.21 | 3.8 |
Paul Menard | 29 | 25.94 | 3.1 |
Matt DiBenedetto | 25 | 22.52 | 2.5 |
Jamie McMurray | 25.5 | 23.48 | 2.0 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 26 | 24.83 | 1.2 |
Erik Jones | 30 | 31.44 | -1.4 |
David Ragan | 21 | 23.33 | -2.3 |
Brad Keselowski | 29.5 | 32.49 | -3.0 |
Chase Elliott | 30.75 | 34.54 | -3.8 |
Ryan Newman | 17 | 24.15 | -7.2 |
Austin Dillon | 19 | 27.8 | -8.8 |
Aric Almirola | 31 | 41.26 | -10.3 |
Landon Cassill | 4 | 18.17 | -14.2 |
Kyle Busch | 47.25 | 64.38 | -17.1 |
Cole Whitt | 2 | 25.78 | -23.8 |
Joey Logano | 12.5 | 38.75 | -26.3 |
Kevin Harvick | 30.5 | 67.47 | -37.0 |
Kyle Larson | 3 | 41.31 | -38.3 |
Jimmie Johnson | -4 | 35.07 | -39.1 |
Avg. +/- | 12.8 |
FanDuel
17 Race | 18 Season | FD Pts +/- | |
Driver | Total | Avg FD Pts. | Season AVG |
Matt Kenseth | 55.5 | 40.31 | 15.19 |
Daniel Suarez | 49.4 | 45.97 | 3.43 |
Michael McDowell | 39 | 40.29 | -1.29 |
Ryan Blaney | 46.2 | 47.65 | -1.45 |
Chris Buescher | 42 | 43.88 | -1.88 |
Kurt Busch | 50 | 52.48 | -2.48 |
Martin Truex Jr | 55.4 | 58.70 | -3.30 |
AJ Allmendinger | 40 | 44.88 | -4.88 |
Denny Hamlin | 49.5 | 54.57 | -5.07 |
Kasey Kahne | 35.5 | 44.21 | -8.71 |
Clint Bowyer | 48.5 | 57.60 | -9.10 |
Ty Dillon | 33.5 | 43.33 | -9.83 |
Jamie McMurray | 33.5 | 44.18 | -10.68 |
Erik Jones | 38 | 50.76 | -12.76 |
Paul Menard | 33.5 | 46.96 | -13.46 |
Brad Keselowski | 33.5 | 47.56 | -14.06 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr | 31 | 45.52 | -14.52 |
Matt DiBenedetto | 26.5 | 42.16 | -15.66 |
Chase Elliott | 33.4 | 51.42 | -18.02 |
David Ragan | 25 | 43.90 | -18.90 |
Ryan Newman | 24 | 45.13 | -21.13 |
Kyle Busch | 42.1 | 64.51 | -22.41 |
Aric Almirola | 33 | 55.44 | -22.44 |
Austin Dillon | 24.5 | 47.61 | -23.11 |
Landon Cassill | 10.8 | 36.47 | -25.67 |
Kevin Harvick | 34.5 | 63.28 | -28.78 |
Cole Whitt | 11.1 | 43.89 | -32.79 |
Joey Logano | 20.5 | 56.77 | -36.27 |
Kyle Larson | 16.5 | 53.38 | -36.88 |
Jimmie Johnson | 11.5 | 51.33 | -39.83 |
Avg. +/- | 15.80 |
Top-10 and Bottom-10 Driver Values
DraftKings
Rank | Driver | Value | Rank | Driver | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kevin Harvick | 5.58 | 37 | Spencer Gallagher | 0.00 |
2 | Kyle Busch | 5.46 | 36 | BJ McLeod | 2.20 |
3 | Cole Whitt | 4.96 | 35 | Jamie McMurray | 3.05 |
4 | Aric Almirola | 4.85 | 34 | AJ Allmendinger | 3.19 |
5 | Bubba Wallace | 4.78 | 33 | Matt Kenseth | 3.26 |
6 | Erik Jones | 4.69 | 32 | Ryan Newman | 3.55 |
7 | Alex Bowman | 4.59 | 31 | Daniel Suarez | 3.55 |
8 | Clint Bowyer | 4.42 | 30 | Brad Keselowski | 3.65 |
9 | Matt DiBenedetto | 4.42 | 29 | Paul Menard | 3.65 |
10 | Chris Buescher | 4.36 | 28 | William Byron | 3.66 |
FanDuel
Rank | Driver | Value | Rank | Driver | Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Parker Kligerman | 9.03 | 37 | Spencer Gallagher | 0.00 |
2 | Cole Whitt | 8.78 | 36 | Brad Keselowski | 4.32 |
3 | Ross Chastain | 7.97 | 35 | AJ Allmendinger | 4.49 |
4 | Ty Dillon | 7.88 | 34 | Martin Truex Jr. | 4.62 |
5 | Matt DiBenedetto | 7.67 | 33 | Joey Logano | 4.94 |
6 | Bubba Wallace | 7.51 | 32 | Ryan Blaney | 4.96 |
7 | Landon Cassill | 7.29 | 31 | Daniel Suarez | 5.00 |
8 | Austin Dillon | 7.21 | 30 | Kurt Busch | 5.00 |
9 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 7.11 | 29 | Kevin Harvick | 5.06 |
10 | David Ragan | 7.08 | 28 | Matt Kenseth | 5.10 |
Drivers To Watch This Week
Martin Truex Jr.: Truex, as mentioned above, won this race a year ago for his fourth win of the season (he’s already reached that this year) and he’s got two top-10s in the last four with 30 laps led (third best in the field) and 32 fastest laps (third best in the field). He is the most expensive driver on FanDuel this week but behind Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch on DraftKings despite being the only member of the big three to win here in the last five races. In the last 10 Truex is one of only three drivers with four or more top-fives and one of four with six or more top-10s. This weekend could be a weekend for him to notch the fifth win and get closer to the other two members of the big three.
Kyle Busch: Busch drove away from the field in the final restart last week to secure his sixth win of the season giving him two wins in the last five races in 2018. A Watkins Glen however it is a bit of a different story here recently with one top-five and three top-10s in the last four and 28 laps led (fifth in the field) and 53 fastest laps (most in the field) and the highest driver rating at 104.9 in that span. So while he doesn’t have the win, he’s got most everything else, however that history gets better when looking at the last 10. An average finish in the last four of 13.8 nearly cuts in half to 7.9 (best in the field), with two wins, five top-fives, nine top-10s, 216 laps led, and 120 fastest laps all of which are the best in the field easily in that span with both the laps led and fastest laps being nearly double the next closest.
Team Penske: Penkse drivers here in the last 10 team races combined ( four each of Logano and Keselowksi and two for Blaney) have a win (Logano), three top-fives (two for Logano, one Kesleowski), and six top-10s (three for Logano, two Keselowski, one Blaney) and 86 laps led with Keselowski leading 75 by himself. If you go out to the last 10, Logano has a win, three top-fives, five top-10s, nine laps led, and 16 fastest laps but Brad has an average finish of 10.8 (second best in the field) with four top-fives, five top-10s, 114 laps led and 66 fastest laps (both second best in that span). As a group they are very solid but the rankings I would give them would be Keselowski, then Logano, then Blaney.
AJ Allmendinger: Have you ever seen a driver so beside themselves as Allmendinger was after missing his shift at Sonoma earlier this year and subsequently blowing up his engine? I’d be hard pressed to think of one. Knowing that this is his last best chance to make the playoffs with a win, expect him to be on top of his game once more, as he has been in the past. Allmendinger sports a win, two top-fives, three top-10s and 51 laps led in the last four races at The Glen and in the last 10 he adds a top-five, three top-10s and eight more laps led to his four race totals. He is $8,300 on DraftKings and $10,000 on FanDuel which is the highest he’s been all season even higher than Sonoma by $300 on DK and $900 on FD which will limit his value unless he shows top flight speed.
Matt Kenseth: Kenseth continues to be in the car for Roush-Fenway again this week for his first road course of the year, having sat out Sonoma. Despite not having a win here in the last four, his average finish is better than the four drivers that do have wins at a very nice 6.3 in that span. Two top-fives and four top-10s are why. That’s about it for him though with just two laps led and six fastest laps, you’re going for finish and not much else. In the last 10 races the same holds true with two top-fives, five top-10s, and nine top-20s and practically the same laps led and fastest lap totals. If he can keep improving each week, as he has been this year (three top-20s in the last five races) he could have a sneaky good day after finishing second here a year ago and being a bit cheaper on both sites this week.