The lefts and rights of road course racing are a unique change of pace for both drivers and fans of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. As the teams prepared for the final road race of the season at Watkins Glen, someone hoped to steal a Chase berth today.
In qualifying on Saturday, the road course ace A.J. Allmendinger (#47 Kroger Chevy) did not surprise with his pole running speed. Joining him near the front would be two other drivers desperate for wins, Tony Stewart (#14 Mobil 1 Chevy) and Jeff Gordon (#24 Axalta Chevy).
The race would begin quietly, with drivers being certain to give and take in the opening half as to not try and ruin their race early. What would harm more drivers early would be mechanical issues, starting with Chris Buescher (#34 Ford) on the first lap. Jeff Gordon would have a brake line fail early as well, ending his chance of victory far too early. Two other favorites, A.J. Allmendinger and Tony Stewart, would have issues later in the race with their cars not firing.
Chaos would start to build quickly though as those on the Chase bubble became more and more desperate. Turn 1 would be full of spins, including Chase hopeful Aric Almirola (#43 Smithfield Ford). Meanwhile, Jamie McMurray (#1 McDonald’s Chevy) and Kasey Kahne (#5 Time Warner Cable Chevy) would have issues on a restart that would send them to the garage. The bubble continued to tighten throughout the Cheez-It 355 at the Glen.
While the pack battled with mechanical and competitor issues, Brad Keselowski (#2 Miller Lite Ford) took advantage and led for much of the first fifty laps. He would come under fire from Kyle Busch (#18 M&M’s Toyota) later on, after his dominance in recent weeks. However, on an exchange of pit stops under caution, Busch would hand off the lead to his teammate Matt Kenseth (#20 Dollar General Toyota). Kenseth’s time at the front would not last either, giving up the lead on the ensuing restart to Kevin Harvick (#4 Budweiser Chevy).
As the lead was handed back and forth at the front after pit stops, Kyle Busch worked to rally through the field. Busch would need a strong finish at The Glen to lock himself into the Chase for the Sprint Cup. But fuel strategy would be on the mind of Busch and his crew chief Adam Stevens, as many of the leaders would be just a few laps short of finishing.
The laps were winding down, and the leaders were coming closer and closer to running out of fuel. Allmendinger ran out first with seven laps to go, while Kyle Busch and Joey Logano (#22 Shell Pennzoil) closed in on the leaders, knowing they had enough to make it to the end. Kevin Harvick stretched his fuel out to the final lap while leading, but would run out of fuel in Turns 6 and 7, giving the win to Joey Logano at the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.
While Kevin Harvick ran out of fuel, he limped home in third. The other story of the day came home in second, as Kyle Busch secured his spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, climbing into the Top 30 in points. He is now tied with Jimmie Johnson on top of the Chase grid.
Next weekend, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Michigan for the Pure Michigan 400, where Kurt Busch looks to repeat his magic and sweep the races there this year. Coverage can be seen next weekend on NBCSN.
