Watkins Glen International: 5 Things You Certainly Missed in Go Bowling at the Glen

Earlier last weekend, the NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen wrapped up with William Byron winning the race. Denny Hamlin was 2nd, ahead of his teammate, Christopher Bell. This was a weekend where the Toyotas were particularly strong, especially the Joe Gibbs Racing quartet. They all filled out the Top 6, with AJ Allmendinger’s 4th-placed Chevrolet being the only car separating them.

The 2023 Go Bowling at the Glen had plenty to unwrap, with multiple storylines playing out. Of course, as the race winner, Byron robbed others of most of the headlines. He notched up his fifth win of the season and his ninth overall. Currently, he is the most in-form Hendrick Motorsports driver, and is flying the flag for them. However, there are some interesting facts about the race that flew under the radar.

READ MORE: From Kevin Harvick Getting Final Shot at a Cup Title to Heartbreak for Chase Elliott: 5 Winners and 5 Losers at Watkins Glen

Shortest Race

Clocking in at just under two hours, the 2023 Go Bowling at the Glen is the shortest full NASCAR race. Of course, there are occasions when the weather can force a race to be called off early. However, on most of those occasions, the races are either resumed or canceled entirely. On this occasion, the race ran its full 90-lap distance and clocked 1 hour 58 minutes and 44 seconds. Interestingly, the previous record of 2 hours 7 minutes and 3 seconds was also achieved at Watkins Glen in 2017. This was bettered largely by the absence of stage cautions and very few natural cautions.

Bubba Wallace close to qualifying for his first Playoff

With Watkins Glen done and dusted, there is just one race left in regular season. In the coming weekend, the drivers will travel to the Daytona International Speedway for the regular season finale. 23XI Racing driver Bubba Wallace enters this race, right on the Playoff bubble. He currently occupies 16th place in the standings, and will be praying for a good finish, and that there is no new winner.

Hendrick Motorsports’ nightmare continues

What has happened to Hendrick Motorsports in the last couple of weeks? The organization has been a pale imitation of its dominant form. Now, it isn’t that all four drivers have been performing terribly on the track. However, it has happened that one driver will perform exceptionally well, but the others are nowhere near the Top 10. Watkins Glen was just another example, where Byron won, but Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman endured wretched races.

Kevin Harvick’s swan song

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In the build-up to the Watkins Glen race, Kevin Harvick was on the Playoff bubble. A new race winner would have lowered his hopes of locking his place in the Playoffs for the final time. Safe to say, William Byron did him a massive favor and facilitated his swan song. In other words, Harvick could be in a perfect position to challenge for his second and final Cup Series title.

Brad Keselowski back in the Playoffs

Chris Buescher is one driver who has been in excellent form. Teammate and team owner Brad Keselowski has been right up there alongside him. After the pain of missing out on the Playoffs in 2022, Keselowski has redeemed himself, and it is all thanks to William Byron. Like Harvick, the #6 driver was also on the edge of the Playoff qualification. Since Byron is a repeat winner, there was no danger of losing his berth. Instead, all the pressure is piled on Bubba Wallace, heading to Daytona.

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