NASCAR Cup Series: Chase Elliott wins 2019 Go Bowling at The Glen

Chase Elliott held off Martin Truex Jr. to secure his second victory of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season at Watkins Glen International.

I could stop here and link you to last year’s NASCAR Cup Series race recap at Watkins Glen International, or I could continue.

For the second consecutive season, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott held off Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., although Truex Jr. drove for Furniture Row Racing one year ago, to win the Go Bowling at The Glen. Elliott’s victory in the 22nd race of the 36-race 2019 season is his second victory of the season, and it is his first top 10 finish in the last eight races.

Elliott started this 90-lap race around the eight-turn, 2.454-mile (3.949-kilometer) Watkins Glen International road course in Watkins Glen, New York from the pole position in his #9 Chevrolet, and he won it by 0.454 seconds seconds over Truex Jr. in second place in his #19 Toyota. Elliott is only the second driver to win a race from the pole position in the last 39 races going back to last year.

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One week after a 1-2-3 sweep, Joe Gibbs Racing had to settle for a 2-3-4 sweep, although surprisingly both did not feature Kyle Busch. Denny Hamlin finished in third place in his #11 Toyota ahead of Erik Jones in fourth in his #20 Toyota. Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney was the highest finishing Ford driver of this race. He finished in fifth in his #12 Ford.

Leavine Family Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10 by finishing in sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th place in their #95 Toyota, #4 Ford, #42 Chevrolet, #2 Ford and #1 Chevrolet, respectively.

Kyle Busch, meanwhile, spun out early trying to pass Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron for second place. For a separate incident, Byron ended up running into Busch’s #18 Toyota in retaliation, and while this did cause some damage to the #18 Toyota, Byron’s #24 Chevrolet ended up sustaining more damage. He could only rebound to finish in 21st.

Busch then got into it later in the race with Richard Petty Motorsports’ Darrell Wallace Jr. This incident ended with Wallace Jr. spinning Busch out in turn one. Busch rebounded to finish in 11th place.

This race featured only five lead changes among four drivers, and Elliott himself was never physically passed for the race lead on the track. He led 80 laps of the race, and Truex Jr., Larson and Wood Brothers Racing’s Paul Menard also led at least one lap. Elliott won both stage one and stage two, which, combined with his victory, doubled his playoff point total from seven to 14.

This race featured only four caution flag periods, including two for the regular endings of stages one and two and two for on-track incidents. Of the 37 drivers who competed in this race, 34 finished it and 29 finished on the lead lap.

Here are the full race results of the 2019 Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.

Race Results
1st – Chase Elliott
2nd – Martin Truex Jr.
3rd – Denny Hamlin
4th – Erik Jones
5th – Ryan Blaney
6th – Matt DiBenedetto
7th – Kevin Harvick
8th – Kyle Larson
9th – Brad Keselowski
10th – Kurt Busch
11th – Kyle Busch
12th – Aric Almirola
13th – Chris Buescher
14th – Alex Bowman
15th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
16th – Michael McDowell
17th – Daniel Suarez
18th – Paul Menard
19th – Jimmie Johnson
20th – Clint Bowyer
21st – William Byron
22nd – David Ragan
23rd – Joey Logano
24th – Matt Tifft
25th – Ryan Newman
26th – Parker Kligerman
27th – Ross Chastain
28th – Darrell Wallace Jr.
29th – Landon Cassill
30th – Ty Dillon
31st – Austin Dillon
32nd – Josh Bilicki
33rd – Cody Ware
34th – Corey LaJoie
35th – Daniel Hemric
36th – Ryan Preece
37th – Reed Sorenson

Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time. dark

The next race on the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Consumers Energy 400. This race is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network from Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 11.

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