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Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Hindustan Times
Road course specialists hope to seize on opportunity at Watkins Glen
As the NASCAR Cup Series hits the two-thirds mark this weekend, drivers will be turning right to make it right at the checkered ending. HT Image A.J. Allmendinger just needs a repeat of 2014 to make his 2025 right when the series arrives in upstate New York for the Go Bowling at the Glen on Sunday in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Nearly 11 years ago, Allmendinger -- owning a reputation as a hot shoe driver on road courses -- led 29 laps at Watkins Glen International, tying superstar Jeff Gordon for the race high, but Allmendinger was around at the end of the 90-lapper while Gordon's famous No. 24 fell off the lead lap. Driving the No. 47 Chevrolet for JTG Daugherty Racing, Allmendinger raced away from Australian Marcos Ambrose by more than a second to score the first of his three Cup victories over now 465 career starts at NASCAR's top level. With only three races left, winning is about the only way the 43-year-old veteran of 18 Cup seasons will get to compete for this season's championship. Slotting in at 20th and with just one top-five finish thus far (Charlotte), Allmendinger is 118 points behind Chris Buescher, who slides his seat up to the 16-car playoff table as the final competitor. "Watkins Glen is always special to me; it's a racetrack that we're always really fast at as well," said Allmendinger, who had transmission trouble on Lap 1 at the Glen last year. "We have the opportunity to be in contention this weekend if we execute well. Obviously, we want a shot to win, but ultimately, we need a solid run, and this is a race track that we can do it at." With a baker's dozen different winners occupying the locked-in title contenders, Buescher may be primed to turn the tables on Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman -- both winless and gridding in 14th and 15th, respectively -- and leapfrog them. That's because Buescher made a last-lap pass in September to beat Shane van Gisbergen in a race dominated by polesitter Ross Chastain, who led 51 circuits on the famous layout. It's a race that still haunts the New Zealander, who was leading coming to the white flag but made a mistake that Buescher capitalized on for his most recent win. "I still get frustrated thinking about that race," van Gisbergen said this week. "When I make a personal mistake like that, it makes me angry to think that I threw that one away myself, especially after how good of a day it was, and we had the fastest car all day. Then to do that." After finishing sixth in Austin on March 2, van Gisbergen claimed checkers at the next three road courses in Mexico City, Chicago and Sonoma and is aiming for four straight on the twisty circuits. Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott, who lost the top spot Sunday in the point standings to Iowa winner William Byron, has two victories at the Glen, taking the checkers in 2018 and 2019. The sport's most popular driver also possesses the most road racing checkered flags of any active driver -- seven -- but his last one came at Elkhart Lake four years ago on July 4. Sunday's Cup event will feature 19-year-old upstart Connor Zilisch and mark the fifth time in 2025 that NASCAR has gridded a full 40-car field. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. says 2023 Daytona 500 win was ‘life-changing'
DAYTONA, Fla. (WGHP) — Can do it again just two years after his 'life-changing' Daytona 500 win? , of Olive Branch, Mississippi, drives the No. 47 Chevrolet for . He has 12 full seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series behind him. Here's what you need to know ahead of the 2025 Daytona 500 This will be his 14th Daytona 500 after eight with RFK Racing and five with JTG Daugherty Racing. 2025 marks his first time running the 500 with Hyak Motorsports. What sets this run apart from most of his past races is that, now, Stenhouse Jr. returns as a Daytona 500 champion after claiming victory in 2023. 'It was unbelievable,' he said. 'Now when I come into Daytona 500 media day, I've got that trophy with my name on it, so that never gets old. But I think for us and our small team, it was life-changing. It felt like it gave our whole team just a little pep in their step. And now when you come down here to Daytona 500, way more confidence, way more relaxed, and ready to go win another one.' Stenhouse came in 47th during the 2024 Daytona 500, but this could be the year he collects his second win, which would place him among star drivers like Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. DraftKings puts his odds of winning the 2025 Daytona 500 at +3500. FOX8's and and WFLA's spent Wednesday afternoon catching up with drivers as they get ready to hit the speedway this Sunday for the Daytona 500. You can check out their full interview with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the video player above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
