NASCAR 2024: Full Qualifying Order for the Cup Series Race at Watkins Glen International

For the first time in its history, Watkins Glen will be the venue of a playoff race in the NASCAR Cup Series. The playoff drivers will be hoping to run at the front of the pack and win the event, but that can be quite tricky on the fast, sweeping road course.

Passing has always been difficult at the track and Goodyear is bringing a new tire compound to help counter that issue. However, a car with a tire life similar to the one in front will still struggle to pass. Therefore, qualifying well at The Glen is as important as it gets.

The qualifying format will be a bit different than what fans have been used to this season. As it is a road course, the group qualifying format will be used. This means that the field is going to be divided into two groups. Each group will have eight playoff drivers and the top five from each group will advance to the pole position shootout round. As is evident by the name, the fastest driver in this round will start from the front of the pack.

Each of the playoff drivers would want to make it to the pole shootout round but that’s easier said than done. Road-course racing is not most of these drivers’ forte. The likes of Shane van Gisbergen and Juan Pablo Montoya, who have immense experience in such type of racing, will also make matters a lot harder. SVG has already won multiple road course races in the Xfinity Series and will be one of the favorites for Sunday’s race.

What do the groups look like?

The Cup Series qualifying session will take place on Saturday starting from 1 pm ET. The 20-minute per group qualifying session will precede this at 11:30 am ET. The final event of the day will be the Xfinity Series race – Mission 200 at The Glen at 3 pm ET.

Group A

Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 50 23XI Racing Toyota

Kaz Grala, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet\

Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

Group B

A.J. Allmendinger, No. 13 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

Most of the stars of the sport are in the first group which means that there is a chance of some of the biggest names right now not making it to the pole position shootout. Drivers starting from outside the top 10 will have to be patient and manage their tires as long as possible to have a chance of fighting for the win towards the end of the race.