After last weekend’s visit to the superspeedway-style 1.5-mile-long Atlanta Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series is prepared to head to another road course event this season. Heading to the northeast part of the country, drivers and teams will be seen competing at the famed Wakins Glen International this coming Sunday as the Round of 16 prepares to eliminate four drivers from this year’s championship hunt.
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The 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen will mark the second event of the Round of 16 this coming weekend. With varied tracks such as Bristol for drivers to contend on after they visit the twists and turns of the venue situated near Seneca Lake, several competitors were seen vary of what the first round had in store for their championship chances.
Something we’ve always been: iconic.#GoBowlingAtTheGlen #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/LCXbJdKOhT
— Watkins Glen International (@WGI) September 4, 2024
Marking the 29th overall event of the 2024 season, drivers such as Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez will be starting their title hopes on the front foot with veteran challengers such as Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson faltering to make an impact during the first postseason race.
NASCAR’s latest winner at the track, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron will also be looking to repeat his feat from last year in a bid to end a slump in performance that has seen the #24 crew fly somewhat under the radar during the second half of the regular season.
Watkins Glen
ETFri
2-ARCA p&q
5-FS1-ARCA 41Sat
9:30-NBCSportsApp-Xfin p&q
11:30-NBCSportsApp(USA-12:30)-Cup p&q*
2:30-USA-Prerace
3-USA-Xfin 20-20-42Sun-USA
2:30-Prerace
3-Cup 20-20-50*Cup practice is two 20-min sessions for each group
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 9, 2024
Supporting series over the weekend such as the nationwide Xfinity Series as well as the ARCA Menards Series will accompany the big leagues this weekend with their respective sessions and events on Friday and Saturday.
Here is a look at the complete weekend schedule for the upcoming events.
Friday, September 13, 2024
2:00 pm ET – ARCA Menards Practice
3:15 pm ET – ARCA Menards Qualifying
5:00 pm ET – General Tire 100 at The Glen
Saturday, September 14, 2024
9:30 am ET – Xfinity Series Practice
10:00 am ET – Xfinity Series Qualifying
11:30 am ET – Cup Series Practice
1:00 pm ET – Cup Series Qualifying
3:00 pm ET – Mission 200 at The Glen
Sunday, September 15, 2024
3:00 pm ET – Go Bowling at The Glen
It remains to be seen which driver from the highest echelon of the sport can manage to build on his early playoff hopes. With the Next-Gen car and its somewhat processional racing product on road courses, the governance is all set to throw a wrench in the works by giving drivers and teams a choice of tire compounds throughout the race.
Strategic choices made atop the pit box will be key in maintaining track position as well as ensuring the driver has enough rubber to challenge at crucial points of the race. While some will opt to charge hard in the beginning and gain track position, several other drivers could be seen conserving their tires to run through the field at the end of the race.