Beat The Experts: Cheez-It 355 At Watkins Glen
By Cole Mentzel
The Sprint Cup Series will visit Watkins Glen this weekend for the last road course race of the season. Road course races are always fun and you never know what could happen due to the fact that there can be so many wrecks and pit road incidents. The BTF staff gives their predictions for who they think will win this weekend:
John Harlow – Tony Stewart – He has been running well and is great at the Glen. Stewart has won there 5 times in his career, the most all-time.
Joseph Shelton – Kyle Busch – Busch is a two-time winner at the Glen, plus with the way he’s running, a road course sweep is not out of the question, especially when you consider that he did it once before in 2008.
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Zach Roethlisberger – AJ Allmendinger – Coming off of a top 10 finish last week, I think you’ll see some momentum carried into the Glen this week where he is spectacular. He won this race a year ago and doesn’t have to beat Marcos Ambrose this time. Look for Allmendinger to win on Sunday and throw this Chase picture for a ride.
Brian Thornsburg – Dale Earnhardt Jr. – He has been doing a lot better at road courses and if him and Greg Ives can formulate a good strategy, they’ll get the win on Sunday.
Mike Hutton – Tony Stewart – He has five wins at the track plus the team has shown improvement the last two weeks with solid practice and qualifying efforts, even if race results haven’t followed. This shows that the team is arriving at the tracks better-prepared and competitive. That alone is evidence of improvement. Plus, I don’t want anyone else behind the wheel besides Stewart when there are only a handful of races left to make the Chase.
Claire Steen – Carl Edwards – I feel like Cousin Carl could pull it off this weekend at the Glen. He has been a solid contender each time they race there. In ten races at Watkins Glen, Carl has only finished outside of the top ten on 3 occasions and I think this weekend might be the perfect time for him to get to Victory Lane.
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Cole Mentzel – Kurt Busch – He’s finished in the top 10 the last 5 out of 7 races at the Glen. At Sonoma this year, he finished in 2nd place, behind his brother Kyle. Recently, Kurt has just been very solid on road courses and I believe he will make it to Victory Lane this weekend.
Christopher Olmstead – Jeff Gordon – Gordon leads all NASCAR drivers in road course victories with nine, Stewart is second on that list with seven. On Sunday Gordon has the chance to become the first NASCAR driver to win 10 races at a road course. If Gordon were to do that it would also give him his first win of the 2015 season and it would lock him into the chase.
Underdog of the Weekend – Jeff Gordon – Jeff Gordon is still searching for his first win of the season and what better way to get it on a road track that he’s won at four different times. He had an unfortunate ending to the race at Sonoma earlier this year but he just might surprise you at Watkins Glen.
Watkins Glen always provides chances for drivers that you don’t normally see competing for a win. Whether it’s due to a late wreck or fuel strategy, you might be shocked by who comes out on top. If a dark horse ends up winning this weekend, it could completely change the Chase standings.
Who do you think will win at Watkins Glen this week? Let us know in the comments below!