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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Watkins Glen Battle Awaits
There’s a lot at stake today at Watkins Glen International...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted August 09, 2009   Watkins Glen, NY
Jimmie Johnson will start from the pole at Watkins Glen International. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

If the show Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch put on Saturday is any indication — and if the New York rains hold off — race fans ought to be in for a fine show this afternoon at Watkins Glen International.

Ambrose wowed the Glen crowd and royally ticked Busch off with a daring pass at the chicane on Saturday to capture the Nationwide victory for the second consecutive year. The two likely will be among the protagonists in contention for the win again in today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at the 2.45-mile road course.

Actually, there are a number of interesting storylines for the Cup race:

• The front row starters are Jimmie Johnson, who captured his first road-course pole on Friday, and Kurt Busch, who like Johnson has never won a Cup road race. Recall at Infineon Raceway in June, Johnson got loose and stuffed Busch into a tire barrier, the first of several high-profile incidents between the two series champions. It will be interesting to see how the two race each other on Sunday.

“Truthfully in anything, second really sucks,” said Johnson after capturing the pole. “Third or fourth is much better than second because second you’re looking at what could have been. When I heard Kurt was right behind us, I was pretty excited about that.”

• Tony Stewart has finished first or second in the last five Watkins Glen Cup races and six of the last seven. No matter what happens on Sunday, the two-time series champion will leave Watkins Glen with the points lead. But what he’d really like are 10 more bonus points for the Chase for the Sprint Cup, which he could earn with a race victory. So Stewart will be in a position where he can afford to take a chance at the end of the race.

That said, Stewart qualified 13th, his worst ever at the Glen and only the second time in 11 starts here that he’s qualified outside the top 10. “I like being here at The Glen,” said Stewart. “It's a track that we've always run well at. This is a weekend that a lot of drivers don't look forward to, but I always look forward to the two road courses. Those are two places that I like.”

• The points are getting critical for a lot of drivers. With just five races left prior to the field being set for this year’s edition of the Chase, four drivers have an outside shot at moving from outside the top 12 now into a Chase slot: Kyle Busch, who is 101 points behind 12th-place Greg Biffle; along with Brian Vickers (-104), Clint Bowyer (-115) and David Reutimann (-126).

Busch, the defending race winner, is a skilled road racer, while the other three hate turning right. But if Vickers, Bowyer or Reutimann is to make the Chase, they’ll need a solid run today, likely a top 10 or better.

On the flip side, the top seven drivers in points — Stewart, Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards and Kasey Kahne — are all in great shape for the Chase. The drivers in positions 8-12 — Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Newman, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth and Biffle — will probably play it conservative and not make any wild moves in search of victory.


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