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Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Cup Series have taken place at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York on the 2.454-mile (3.949 km) road course annually since 1986. Since 2018, the 90-lap, 221-mile (356 km) race has been known as Go Bowling at The Glen for sponsorship reasons.[2] It is currently one of five road courses[a] on the schedule as of 2024.

Quick Facts Venue, Location ...
Go Bowling at The Glen
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NASCAR Cup Series
VenueWatkins Glen International
LocationWatkins Glen, New York, United States
Corporate sponsorGo Bowling[1]
First race1957
Distance220.86 miles (355.440 km)
Laps90
Stages 1/2: 20 each
Final stage: 50
Previous namesThe Glen 101.2 (1957)
The Glen 151.8 (1964–1965)
The Budweiser At The Glen (1986–1989)
Budweiser At The Glen (1990–1993)
The Bud At The Glen (1994–1998)
Frontier @ the Glen (1999)
Global Crossing @ The Glen (2000–2001)
Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen (2002–2005)
AMD at the Glen (2006)
Centurion Boats at the Glen (2007–2008)
Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen (2009–2011)
Finger Lakes 355 at The Glen (2012)
Cheez-It 355 at the Glen (2013–2016)
I Love New York 355 at The Glen (2017)
Most wins (driver)Tony Stewart (5)
Most wins (team)Hendrick Motorsports (11)
Most wins (manufacturer)Chevrolet (22)
Circuit information
SurfaceAsphalt
Length2.454 mi (3.949 km)
Turns7
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Chris Buescher is the defending race winner in 2024.

History

Prior to 1986, three races were held in 1957 (in one of the track's first professional races), as well in 1964 and 1965. These races were held in the track's original configuration, which was 2.35 miles long.

The current NASCAR Cup race at the track began in 1986, utilizing a shortened 2.45 mile course. Following the 1991 death of J. D. McDuffie in a crash in the Outer Loop, at the end of the backstretch, and a subsequent, serious crash by IMSA driver, Tommy Kendall, the Inner Loop "bus stop" chicane was added just before the Outer Loop. NASCAR has since utilized this 2.45-mile (3.94 km) "short course," and has never utilized the "Boot" as IndyCar and Formula One have. Some drivers, however, have proposed the use of the full course.

During a 2011 Mobil Oil "Car Swap" at Watkins Glen using the course, Tony Stewart pushed for using the Grand Prix course after driving demonstration laps in both his Chevrolet Impala and the majority of his laps in a McLaren MP4-23 as part of the event with Lewis Hamilton.[3]

ESPN broadcast the race from 1986 to 2000, then again in 2007 to 2014. Starting in 2015 (current contract), NBC had the rights to broadcast the race but the 2015 edition was aired on NBCSN. In 2016, the race was put on USA Network because of the 2016 Summer Olympics airing on NBC and NBCSN. Beginning in 2017, NBC decided to broadcast this race in the style of radio where various analysts would be placed on the course to report what they see in their section of the track to the viewer.

In 2015, more than 95,000 people watched the race.[4]

In 2020, the race was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The State of New York was requiring travelers from several states to isolate for 14 days (including North Carolina, where most of NASCAR's teams are located, and Florida, where NASCAR's corporate offices are), and not giving the series a quarantine waiver to enter the state.[5] NASCAR instead held a race on the Daytona International Speedway road course,[6] the Go Bowling 235.

2024's running of this race was moved to September was the second race of the round of 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.[7]

Past winners

More information Year, Date ...
Year Date No. Driver Team Manufacturer Sponsor Race distance Race time Average speed
(mph)		 Report Ref
Laps Miles (km)
2.3 miles (3.7 km) Layout
1957 August 4 87 Buck Baker Buck Baker Chevrolet Oates Motor Company 44 101.2 (162.865) 1:13:06 83.064 Report [8]
1958
–
1963		 Not held
1964 July 19 1 Billy Wade Bud Moore Engineering Mercury N/A 66 151.8 (244.298) 1:32:57 97.988 Report [9]
1965 July 18 21 Marvin Panch Wood Brothers Racing Ford Harvest Ford 66 151.8 (244.298) 1:32:46 98.182 Report [10]
1966
–
1985		 Not held
2.428 miles (3.907 km) Layout (Pre inner loop chicane)
1986 August 10 25 Tim Richmond Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Folgers 90 218.52 (351.673) 2:12:56 90.463 Report [11]
1987 August 10* 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak 90 218.52 (351.673) 2:24:36 90.682 Report [12]
1988 August 14 26 Ricky Rudd King Racing Buick Quaker State 90 218.52 (351.673) 2:56:58 74.096 Report [13]
1989 August 13 27 Rusty Wallace Blue Max Racing Pontiac Kodiak 90 218.52 (351.673) 2:26:55 87.242 Report [14]
1990 August 12 5 Ricky Rudd Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Levi Garrett 90 218.52 (351.673) 2:21:49 92.452 Report [15]
1991 August 11 4 Ernie Irvan Morgan-McClure Motorsports Chevrolet Kodak Film 90 218.52 (351.673) 2:12:28 98.977 Report [16]
2.454 miles (3.949 km) Layout with Inner Loop chicane
1992 August 9 42 Kyle Petty SABCO Racing Pontiac Mello Yello 51* 125.154 (201.415) 1:27:21 88.980 Report [17]
1993 August 8 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:36:04 84.771 Report [18]
1994 August 14 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline/Reese's 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:21:07 93.752 Report [19]
1995 August 13 6 Mark Martin Roush Racing Ford Valvoline 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:11:54 103.030 Report [20]
1996 August 11 7 Geoffrey Bodine Geoff Bodine Racing Ford QVC 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:23:17 92.334 Report [21]
1997 August 10 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:24:55 91.294 Report [22]
1998 August 9 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:20:03 94.466 Report [23]
1999 August 15 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:30:49 87.722 Report [24]
2000 August 13 1 Steve Park Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Chevrolet Pennzoil 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:24:51 91.336 Report [25]
2001 August 12 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet DuPont 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:28:31 89.081 Report [26]
2002 August 11 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Pontiac The Home Depot 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:40:56 82.208 Report [27]
2003 August 10 31 Robby Gordon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Cingular Wireless/FDNY/USA Special Olympics 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:26:17 90.441 Report [28]
2004 August 15 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet The Home Depot 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:23:25 92.249 Report [29]
2005 August 14 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet The Home Depot 92* 225.4 (362.746) 2:35:48 86.804 Report [30]
2006 August 13 29 Kevin Harvick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet GM Goodwrench 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:52:27 76.718 Report [31]
2007 August 12 20 Tony Stewart Joe Gibbs Racing Chevrolet The Home Depot 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:50:38 77.535 Report [32]
2008 August 10 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota M&M's 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:16:11 97.148 Report [33]
2009 August 10* 14 Tony Stewart Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet Old Spice/Office Depot 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:26:31 90.297 Report [34]
2010 August 8 42 Juan Pablo Montoya* Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Target 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:23:52 91.960 Report [35]
2011 August 15* 9 Marcos Ambrose* Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Stanley/DeWalt 92* 225.4 (362.746) 2:16:02 99.417 Report [36]
2012 August 12 9 Marcos Ambrose Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Stanley/DeWalt 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:14:48 98.145 Report [37]
2013 August 11 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota M&M's 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:32:04 87.001 Report [38]
2014 August 10 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Scott/Kingsford 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:26:48 90.123 Report [39]
2015 August 9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford Shell/Pennzoil 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:24:43 91.42 Report [40]
2016 August 7 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota FedEx Freight 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:27:48 89.513 Report [41]
2017 August 6 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota Furniture Row/Denver Mattress 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:07:03 104.132 Report [42]
2018 August 5 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Sun Energy 1 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:13:44 98.928 Report [43]
2019 August 4 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet NAPA Auto Parts 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:14:17 98.523 Report [44]
2020* August 16 Moved to Daytona road course due to COVID-19 pandemic [5]
2021 August 8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet HendrickCars.com 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:10:57 101.031 Report [45]
2022 August 21 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet HendrickCars.com 90 220.5 (354.86) 2:17:52 95.962 Report [46]
2023 August 20 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Valvoline 90 220.5 (354.86) 1:58:44* 111.426 Report [47]
2024 September 15 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford BuildSubmarines.com 92* 225.4 (362.746) 2:38:41 80.226 Report [48]
Close
  • 1987, 2009, & 2011: Race postponed from Sunday to Monday due to rain.
  • 1992: Race shortened due to rain.
  • 2005, 2011, & 2024: Race extended due to NASCAR Overtime.
  • 2020: Race canceled and moved to the Daytona road course due to quarantine requirements in New York associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 2023: Fastest full race time-wise in the NASCAR Modern Era (1972–), taking just 1 hour, 58 minutes, and 44 seconds to complete the full distance.

Multiple winners (drivers)

More information # of wins, Driver ...
# of wins Driver Years won
5 Tony Stewart 2002, 2004–2005, 2007, 2009
4 Jeff Gordon 1997–1999, 2001
3 Mark Martin 1993–1995
2 Rusty Wallace 1987, 1989
Ricky Rudd 1988, 1990
Marcos Ambrose 2011–2012
Kyle Busch 2008, 2013
Chase Elliott 2018–2019
Kyle Larson 2021–2022
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Multiple winners (teams)

More information # of wins, Team ...
# of wins Team Years won
11 Hendrick Motorsports 1986, 1990, 1997–1999, 2001, 2018–2019, 2021–2023
7 Joe Gibbs Racing 2002, 2004–2005, 2007–2008, 2013, 2016
4 Roush Racing/RFK Racing 1993–1995, 2024
2 Blue Max Racing 1987, 1989
Richard Childress Racing 2003, 2006
Richard Petty Motorsports 2011–2012
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Manufacturer wins

More information # of wins, Manufacturer ...
# of wins Manufacturer Years won
22 Chevrolet 1957, 1986, 1990–1991, 1997–2001, 2003–2007, 2009–2010, 2014, 2018–2019, 2021–2023
9 Ford 1965, 1993–1996, 2011–2012, 2015, 2024
4 Pontiac 1987, 1989, 1992, 2002
Toyota 2008, 2013, 2016–2017
1 Mercury 1964
Buick 1988
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Race summaries

  • 1986: The true inaugural running of this race, resulted in Geoff Bodine leading the most laps. Tim Richmond won the race after Bodine made too long of a pit stop with less than 10 laps to go.
  • 1989: On the day that Tim Richmond, who in 1986 won the first Budweiser at the Glen race since NASCAR returned to Watkins Glen, lost his battle with AIDS; eventual 1989 Winston Cup champion Rusty Wallace became the first driver to win this race a second time (Wallace having previously won in 1987).
  • 1991: Ernie Irvan won the race but the race was overshadowed by the death of NASCAR pioneer J. D. McDuffie during a crash on lap 5. Also during this race Richard Petty collected his final Top 10 finish, coming in 9th.
  • 1992: Rain pushed back the start of the race more than three hours, and with rain expected to move back into the area, teams expected the race to be a sprint to the halfway point. Kyle Petty won a heated battle for the lead with Ernie Irvan between laps 32–36. After a caution, the race was restarted on lap 44, one lap before the halfway point. Petty brushed off then-leader Dick Trickle on lap 45 and on lap 46, the skies opened. After five laps under caution, the race was red-flagged, with Petty declared the winner. 1992 would be the only season Kyle Petty won multiple races.
  • 1995: Wally Dallenbach Jr. appeared to have had the win wrapped up, but a caution with 9 laps to go resulted in him being passed by former teammate Mark Martin on a final restart.
  • 1996: Two weeks after suffering a broken collarbone and sternum in a crash at Talladega, and one week after stepping out of the car at Indianapolis, Dale Earnhardt won the pole position with a track record of 120.733 mph. Earnhardt was quoted as saying "It hurt so good." Earnhardt led 54 laps, but Geoff Bodine stole the victory when he short-pitted on his final stop. Bodine pitted early, and with newer tires, made up track position while everyone else pitted to hold the lead. It was Earnhardt's final career pole, and Bodine's final career win.
  • 1999: Jeff Gordon started on pole, led the most laps and held off Ron Fellows for the win.
  • 2000: After Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart tangled early, Jeff Gordon's hopes to win four consecutive Watkins Glen races ended. Steve Park won his first Cup series race.
  • 2001: Jeff Gordon got redemption from his 2000 heartbreak by winning the race. Road expert Robby Gordon led the most laps and had the winning car but a pit road fire ended his hopes for his first Cup series victory.
  • 2002: A week after nearly being fired by his team for an incident in the Brickyard 400, Tony Stewart led the most laps alongside Robby Gordon and won the race. The race ended in controversy because it was discovered that Stewart had jumped the final restart.
  • 2004: A very sick Tony Stewart gutted through a sinus infection, food poisoning and stomach pains, and held off Ron Fellows to win the race.
  • 2007: Jeff Gordon led the most laps, but spun out with 2 laps to go, handing the win to Stewart.
  • 2008: Michael McDowell punted David Gilliland into the barriers on the frontstretch and caused a huge melee including Sam Hornish Jr. hitting the sand barriers and Bobby Labonte hitting the armco hard and going to the hospital for a hand injury. Gilliland got hit by other cars 3 times. A total of 9 cars were involved including Dave Blaney, Reed Sorenson, Michael Waltrip, Max Papis, and Joe Nemechek. Kyle Busch won the race, the 8th and final win of his 2008 campaign.
  • 2009: Tony Stewart won his record 5th Watkins Glen race. The race was marred by a huge accident involving Sam Hornish Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Jeff Burton. Kasey Kahne was racing with Hornish out of turn 9 where Kasey got loose and got into Hornish sending Hornish into the tire barriers. Hornish shot back across the track right in front of Jeff Gordon which sent Gordon into the Armco barrier head on. Hornish's fuel cell came out of his car from Gordon's impact. Hornish was then hit again by Jeff Burton which nearly sent Hornish on his side. Other cars including Joey Logano and Andy Lally were involved for running over debris.
  • 2010: Juan Pablo Montoya ended a 113 race winless streak and won in dominating fashion, beating Marcos Ambrose for the win, thus making him the first foreign-born driver to win multiple NASCAR Cup races.
  • 2011: Marcos Ambrose's first career Cup series victory over Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. David Reutimann flipped over violently after hitting the armco barrier head on into the fence after contact from Boris Said and David Ragan.
  • 2012: Oil that dropped on the track by Bobby Labonte led to a dramatic finish as a caution was not called. Leader Kyle Busch lost control and spun off the bumper of Brad Keselowski in the Esses on the final lap, leaving Keselowski and Ambrose to battle both each other and the adverse track conditions, banging off of and passing each other several times during the lap. They even went through the grass at one point. Ambrose won the race after Keselowski got loose in the oil off-turn eleven and backed out of the throttle.
  • 2014: A. J. Allmendinger won his first Cup victory, after a lengthy marathon that included two red flags for track repair caused by serious accidents: the first for a severe accident in which Ryan Newman and Michael McDowell crashed in the exit to turn 5, which saw McDowell's rear wheel housing break off and puncture a hole in the Armco barriers, and a second one caused by Denny Hamlin crashing into the gravel barrels at the entrance to pit road.
  • 2015: An accordion wreck happened on the front stretch, fluid was on the track, which led to a nine-minute three second red flag to facilitate cleanup on the track, A. J. Allmendinger's car lost power, and came to a stop past turn 10. Joey Logano took advantage of fuel problems for Kevin Harvick and won his first NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen and second of the season.
  • 2016: Denny Hamlin passed Martin Truex Jr. late in the race to win his first road course victory and avenging his 2007 runner-up at the Glen. On the final lap, Truex got spun by Brad Keselowski and finished 8th while Kyle Larson expressed discontent with A. J. Allmendinger for spinning him on the final lap as well. Truex and Larson both voiced their displeasure with their adversaries through slight contact with Keselowski & Allmendinger after the race ended, during the cool-down lap.
  • 2017: Martin Truex Jr. overcame adversity from the race last year by winning over Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer while saving fuel. The race was run in just over two hours, the shortest race by time in the Modern Era at the time.
  • 2018: Chase Elliott earned his first Cup Series win after holding off Martin Truex Jr., the defending winner. Truex Jr.'s No. 78 ran out of fuel on the last lap while behind Elliott and he managed to hold on to 2nd place.
  • 2019: Elliott won his second race in a row at the track, again beating Truex Jr.
  • 2021: No race was held in 2020, but Truex led the most laps in the 2021 edition. However, he finished third to Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott.
  • 2022: Elliott and Larson started up front, but the first part of the race was run under wet track conditions. After halfway, Elliott and Larson drove away from third-place Michael McDowell. Larson took the lead after contact with Elliott on a late restart to take the win, relegating Elliott to fourth. Seven countries were represented in the race, a NASCAR record (besides the full-time contingent of drivers from the United States and full-time driver Daniel Suarez of Mexico in Trackhouse Racing's 99 car, competing in the race were Team Hezeberg teammates Daniil Kvyat of Russia and Loris Hezemans of the Netherlands, Kyle Tilley of England in the 78 car for Live Fast Motorsports, Mike Rockenfeller of Germany in the 77 car for Spire Motorsports, and 2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Raikkonen of Finland debuting Trackhouse's Project91 program).

Notes

  1. Including one Street Course

References

External links

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