2008 Centurion Boats at The Glen - Watkins Glen International

2008 Centurion Boats at The Glen Preview:

This Sunday the Sprint Cup stars will visit picturesque Watkins Glen New York for the 2008 Centurion Boats at the Glen. This final road race of the season will feature many road course ringers such as P.J. Jones, Ron Fellows and Boris Said. However, my money this week is on a NASCAR regular who remains winless so far in 2008.

Tickets:

Speedway ticket office 866-461-RACE or 607-535-2481

Buy online from TicketsNow (direct link)

The Track:

Watkins Glen is a 2.45 mile 11 turn road course. This picturesque race track features some dramatic elevation changes and the dreaded "Inner Loop" which is a chicane at the end of the backstretch which never fails to confound a few drivers every year.

Race Distance:

90 laps = 220.5 miles

The Big Picture:

Last week Kyle Busch gave up some of his cushion but still maintains the lead by 176 over Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kevin Harvick overcame his early race incident in Pocono to finish fourth. This jumped him back into the top twelve to eleventh overall. Matt Kenseth fell out of the top twelve and is now eleven points behind Clint Bowyer for the vital top twelve.

The top twelve:

1. Kyle Busch
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -253
3. Jeff Burton -271
4. Jimmie Johnson -315
5. Carl Edwards -320
6. Jeff Gordon -460
7. Greg Biffle -544
8. Denny Hamlin -551
9. Kasey Kahne -563
10. Tony Stewart -605
11. Matt Kenseth -638
12. Clint Bowyer -642

Storylines:

Tony Stewart won this event last year but has not visited Victory Lane since. The two-time Sprint Cup Champion has had some strong runs in 2008 but just hasn't been able to beat the field to the checkered flag.

This weekend is a great opportunity to look at Tony's unprecedented losing streak. What's wrong? Is this the week that he can get back to the Winner's Circle?

Media Coverage:

TV: ESPN Sunday, August 10th, 1:00PM Eastern.

Radio: MRN and SIRIUS Satellite

Actual Race: 2:05PM Eastern

Recent Events:

2007 Winner: Tony Stewart

2007 Polesitter: None (weather)

Last Year:

2007 saw an exciting finish as Tony Stewart capitalized on a rare mistake by Jeff Gordon to claim the victory.

The big story of the race came after a restart with just 18 laps remaining. Juan Pablo Montoya was down low throwing a block as the drivers dove into turn one. Montoya was hit from behind by Martin Truex Jr. Montoya wiggled and got into the side of Kevin Harvick. Montoya and Harvick then got into a pushing match on the track and had to be physically separated.

Predictions:

There are a short list of NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers that can truly be considered a threat to win on a road course. Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon typically top the list of usual road racing suspects.

Looking at the list of recent Watkins Glen winners one name stands out. Tony Stewart won four of the last six Watkins Glen races and finished second last year. Although winless so far in 2008 Tony Stewart is still a great pick in Watkins Glen.

For my backup pick this week I am going out on a limb. Ron Fellows picked up the Nationwide Series win last week in Montreal. Of his four Nationwide Series wins the three previous victories all came here in Watkins Glen. If DEI can give him the equipment and the pit strategy to keep him in contention we could easily see Ron Fellows win one for the ringers.