Nascar Cup Series at Watkins Glenn Pre - Race Thread

StandOnIt

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Weather looks perfect. Rain both Saturday and Sunday. Oh yeah. Road course in the rain. Let's do this!

I agree a rain race would be great but I don't think NASCAR will push it too hard with wetness given this is the tightest and fastest RC on the circuit.
 
I'm not sure the Trucks have any rain equipment. I hope they can get that race in. Interesting field for that race, hate to see that one not happen.
 
Goodyear Racing Notes – Watkins Glen International

This weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International marks the second road course of the season, with the field racing on the same Goodyear Racing Eagle tire setup used earlier this year at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).

This road course tire, developed to promote increased wear and performance fall-off, was also used at all six road courses on last year’s schedule.

“Teams are familiar with the Goodyear Racing Eagle road course tires we’ve brought to Watkins Glen, which will help them plan their race strategies,” said Rick Heinrich, Goodyear NASCAR product manager. “That consistency gives teams the benefit of a detailed notebook and a strong understanding of how it responds over the course of a run, which is particularly important at a high-speed track that has historically seen low tire wear.”

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series teams will also run on familiar Goodyear Racing Eagle tires this weekend. Teams in both series will use identical tire setups; O’Reilly Auto Parts Series teams ran this setup at COTA in March, while Craftsman Truck Series teams used it the same weekend when they raced on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

All three series will also have wet weather tires available in case of inclement weather.

Goodyear Racing Eagle tires are also in action this weekend in Belgium for the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship – Saturday’s 6 Hours of Spa – and in the British Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch.

Fast Facts

NASCAR Cup Series
Race: Go Bowling at The Glen (100 laps / 245 miles)

Track: Watkins Glen International (2.45-mile road course)
Date/Time: Sunday, May 10, 3:00 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, HBO Max

Tire: Goodyear Racing Eagle
Tire Code: D-5242
Previous Usage in 2026: COTA

Tire Circumference: 2,279 mm (89.7 in.)

Recommended Minimum Inflation: LF – 26 psi, RF – 24 psi, LR – 21 psi, RR – 21 psi

Total Dry Weather Sets: 7 (5 new race / 1 qualifying transfer to race / 1 practice)
Total Wet Weather Sets: 6 (4 new race / 1 qualifying transfer to race / 1 practice)

NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series
Race: Mission 200 at The Glen (82 laps / 200.9 miles)

Track: Watkins Glen International (2.45-mile road course)
Date/Time: Saturday, May 9, 4:00 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: CW, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Tire: Goodyear Racing Eagle

Tire Code: D-6166
Previous Usage in 2026: COTA

Tire Circumference: 2,240 mm (88.2 in.)

Recommended Minimum Inflation: LF – 26 psi, RF – 24 psi, LR – 21 psi, RR – 21 psi

Total Dry Weather Sets: 5 (3 new race / 1 qualifying transfer to start race / 1 practice)
Total Wet Weather Sets: 4 (2 new race / 1 qualifying transfer to start race / 1 practice)

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Race: Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at The Glen (72 laps / 176.4 miles)

Track: Watkins Glen International (2.45-mile road course)
Date/Time: Friday, May 8, 4:30 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: FS1, NASCAR Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Tire: Goodyear Racing Eagle
Tire Code: D-6166
Previous Usage in 2026: St. Petersburg

Tire Circumference: 2,240 mm (88.2 in.)

Recommended Minimum Inflation: LF – 26 psi, RF – 24 psi, LR – 21 psi, RR – 21 psi

Total Dry Weather Sets: 5 (3 new race / 1 qualifying transfer to start race / 1 practice)
Total Wet Weather Sets: 4 (2 new race / 1 qualifying transfer to start race / 1 practice)
 
Tire packs in 1, and exit of 5.....Hmmmmmm......this should be interesting especially if it gets wet.
 
Tire packs in 1, and exit of 5.....Hmmmmmm......this should be interesting especially if it gets wet.
Lot of bad wrecks have happened in and around turn 5. Turn one is where they overshoot into the runoff area and there is a wall there when it narrows back.

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Turn 1 should of not stopped being grass in the first place. I can't believe people are actually mad about this, typical "fans".
 
Of course, reducing passing zones with this car will make the racing much better!
These guys could carry so much speed through the corners without track limits that it shortened braking zones more than anything. This should actually make turn 1 (in particular) more of a challenge than it had been in a while.
 
What genius scheduled this race for May?
Supposedly, the schedule was mostly set before Richmond sold out last August, after which NASCAR didn’t want to forfeit that calendar date for RR so they effectively swapped its tentative date with Watkins Glen. But it sounds like it should be a one-off.

Definitely one of the stranger two-week stretches in recent memory with a May trip to Watkins Glen followed by a Dover daytime ASR.
 
Lot of bad wrecks have happened in and around turn 5. Turn one is where they overshoot into the runoff area and there is a wall there when it narrows back.

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No problem with track limits expressed as tire packs. This will be very interesting.....I don't think they could get that in the sim....unless they have known for awhile....changes braking zones, etc.
 
No problem with track limits expressed as tire packs. This will be very interesting.....I don't think they could get that in the sim....unless they have known for awhile....changes braking zones, etc.
Unless they were planning on hitting the wall in the first place I can't see any changes to braking zones. Tires are only going to help if you blow the corner.
 
No problem with track limits expressed as tire packs. This will be very interesting.....I don't think they could get that in the sim....unless they have known for awhile....changes braking zones, etc.
That's the way it should be and sometimes makes the show better. Don't let them science everything out and make them figure it out at the track
 
That's the way it should be and sometimes makes the show better. Don't let them science everything out and make them figure it out at the track
I get it, but that approach is not sustainable. Science is a part of this. Can't go back.
 
Unless they were planning on hitting the wall in the first place I can't see any changes to braking zones. Tires are only going to help if you blow the corner.
Not if you hit them. I think this changes things a bit. They were using that run off as a racing line.
 
Not if you hit them. I think this changes things a bit. They were using that run off as a racing line.
I thought we were talking about a braking zones? Now a run off area is a racing line? Who knows where the tires are going? They filling the whole thing up to the rumble strips that didn't work in one? That racing line lol.
 
I thought we were talking about a braking zones? Now a run off area is a racing line? Who knows where the tires are going? They filling the whole thing up to the rumble strips that didn't work in one? That racing line lol.
Briscoe just answered my question on NASCAR Radio. Think that the packs in 1 will impact corner speed maybe some braking zone impact with big concerns over run off if weather comes. Doesn't think that the packs in 5 will be huge....just impacts corner off which might be more significant into 6. Fun stuff.
 
Anybody have thoughts about whether or not COTA performance translates to The Glen? Does COTA have too many twisty parts to compare? .....or doesn't it even matter to SVG?
 
Anybody have thoughts about whether or not COTA performance translates to The Glen? Does COTA have too many twisty parts to compare? .....or doesn't it even matter to SVG?

Watkins Glen is a lot faster of a track than COTA. It's all wide apexes and sweeping corners. COTA was built for F1. Even-ish mix of wide/fast turns and super slower, tight apexing corners built for passing. I don't think it matters to SVG. He's won at Mt Panorama which is arguably the most challenging circuit in the world at the moment.
 
That's the way it should be and sometimes makes the show better. Don't let them science everything out and make them figure it out at the track
I strongly disagree. It's a sport, not an entertainment property. It's the highest form of racing in North America. Its purpose is for elite racers to compete for trophies and championships. They deserve an opportunity to set up their cars.

It may be hilarious if the Yankees and Red Sox show up at the stadium, only to be told just before first pitch that, tonight we'll use a softball and you only get two strikes. But it's not how the game should be played at the highest level. That's a silly analogy, but my point is, Nascar needs to be administered more as a sport, and less as casual entertainment. Just my opinion, but it's one I feel strongly about.
 
I strongly disagree. It's a sport, not an entertainment property. It's the highest form of racing in North America. Its purpose is for elite racers to compete for trophies and championships. They deserve an opportunity to set up their cars.

It may be hilarious if the Yankees and Red Sox show up at the stadium, only to be told just before first pitch that, tonight we'll use a softball and you only get two strikes. But it's not how the game should be played at the highest level. That's a silly analogy, but my point is, Nascar needs to be administered more as a sport, and less as casual entertainment. Just my opinion, but it's one I feel strongly about.
They have practice at Watkins Glenn. I think you should have used the chicken or the egg example myself. It's entirely possible it can be both and it is. Entertainment and a sport.
BTW Don't compare motor racing to stick n ball when trying to make a point it's just silly. Be more like Ernest.

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Ernest was bad wrong. The bull doesn't know it's competing, wouldn't if it had a choice, and has little chance of surviving the encounter.

Fortunately, the mountain doesn't give a crap.
In your case you might sustain an injury from a wayward golf club competing for a spot on a lawn chair lol.
 
In your case you might sustain an injury from a wayward golf club competing for a spot on a lawn chair lol.
Sorry, but having attended a couple of tournament rounds, being there live isn't for this arnchair warrior. I miss too much staying in one place, and I'm too short to see anything if I wander around.
 
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