Why Is Watkins Glen Significant for HMS Duo Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott?

The 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season is less than a month away. Like always, the hype around the five road course races on the upcoming seasonal schedule is extremely high. On that note, Hendrick Motorsports interviewed its star drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott on their favorite road circuit. Watkins Glen was the unanimous answer and for pretty valid reasons.

For the 2021 Cup Series champion, the absence of too many corners allows him to make the speed at “The Glen”. Yung Money proved his claims true back in 2022, by winning the Xfinity Series race on August 20 and followed it up with another victory at the Go Bowling at The Glen just the next day.

“Watkins Glen (International) is my best,” said Larson. “I feel like consistently I can be fast there. There are not many corners so that helps me.” However, for the road course wizard Chase Elliott, Watkins Glen holds a special significance.

Elliott spent his early years racing at short tracks in the southeast. But when his legendary dad Bill Elliott retired from NASCAR, the Elliott family moved to Colorado. It was then that the Georgian’s focus shifted to road course racing because it was one of the few options that he had.

However, it wasn’t until 2018 when the Golden Boy of Hendrick Motorsports bagged his first victory at Watkins Glen and also in his Cup career. “Watkins Glen has significant meaning. I had a lot of fun at Chicago last year. I thought that was a cool event, but I would say true road course, probably Watkins Glen or Sonoma,” he said, reliving his victory five years ago.

But his 2023 story around the famed road course wasn’t too happy. Last year, the 2020 Cup winner ran out of both fuel and luck and missed his last chance to make it to the playoffs for the first time in his tenure in Mr. H’s team. The Dawsonville native hopes to regain his lost mojo and find his winning momentum back this year.

Why do NASCAR drivers love Watkins Glen so much?

Well, the simple answer can be summed up in two factors: one, there are right-hand turns, and two, no turn is alike. This brings a variety to the monotonous errand in NASCAR oval racing, which is marked by left turns.

In addition to that, there are bumps and dents on the track, which the speedsters can capitalize on to pack more speed. But that’s not the only reason why it is different from the other street courses.

The Watkins Glen features a long backstretch, also known as the “bus stop”, which requires the drivers to decelerate significantly before driving through a challenging inner loop before driving around a very wide turn. Moreover, the race at the 2.45-mile track is only 90 lap-long. Hence, it is not as long as the other races on NASCAR’s roster. For some of the NASCAR fans, it might even come off as less boring.