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Previewing the 2022 Go Bowling at The Glen – Motorsports Tribune

Previewing the 2022 Go Bowling at The Glen – Motorsports Tribune

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series regular season is winding down, with just two races remaining to set the field for the Playoffs heading into the annual trip to upstate New York for the Go Bowling at The Glen.

The Cup Series raced at Watkins Glen in 1957, 1964, and 1965 before returning to the track full-time in 1986, utilizing the “short course” layout initially, but after a series of violent crashes at the end of the long back straightaway, the track underwent changes with the addition of the “Inner Loop” in 1992. The series has raced in the seven-turn, 2.45-mile configuration ever since.

As one of a number of road courses on the 2022 schedule, Watkins Glen races completely different than the others, as Watkins Glen is known for more brute speed down the long straightaways and through the turns. Over the past few years, racing at Watkins Glen has put on some of the most exciting on the circuit with battles all the way down to the finish becoming the norm.

This year’s trip to WGI brings a couple of wrinkles, with the track debut of the Next Gen car, which has flexed its muscles on the other road course races this season. The other is the fact that 15 of 16 spots in the Playoffs have already been claimed by race winners, leaving just one spot up for grabs over the course of the next two weeks at The Glen and Daytona.

Half of the road course races this season have featured first-time winners, so the possibility is there that someone could sneak up and steal one on Sunday, throwing the Playoff outlook into full chaos heading into the regular season finale at Daytona.

Sunday’s race will also feature an international flair, as drivers from seven different countries will be represented. Cup Series regulars from the United States make up the majority of the field, along with Daniel Suarez, who hails from Mexico.

The other countries represented include sportscar ace Mike Rockenfeller from Germany, Kyle Tilley from England, Loris Hezemans from the Netherlands, and former F1 drivers Daniil Kvyat and Kimi Raikkonen from Russia and Finland, respectively.

For Raikkonen, Sunday will mark his first start in the Cup Series as a part of Trackhouse Racing’s PROJECT91 endeavor.

By The Numbers

What: Go Bowling at The Glen, NASCAR Cup Series race No. 25 of 36

Where: Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, New York (Opened: 1956)

When: August 21, 2022

TV/Radio: USA Network, 3:00 pm…

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