NASCAR: Notable omission from Watkins Glen entry list
By Asher Fair
One entry which was to have competed in Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International will not do so.
For the third time this summer, Team Stange Racing will not compete in a NASCAR Cup Series race in which they were initially slated to field the #79 Chevrolet.
The team had previously announced an eight-race schedule for former Formula 1 driver Tarso Marques, including this Sunday afternoon’s Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.
The team had planned to make their Cup Series debut with 46-year-old Brazilian behind the wheel of the #79 Chevrolet at Road America back in early July, but that did not happen.
They announced plans to field an Xfinity Series entry for Marques in the race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course last month in order for him to be given approval to race at the Cup level, but that also did not happen. Unsurprisingly, he did not compete in the Cup Series race at the track either.
The team’s remaining schedule includes races at Daytona International Speedway (Sunday, August 27), the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (Sunday, October 9), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Sunday, October 16), Homestead-Miami Speedway (Sunday, October 23), and Phoenix Raceway (Sunday, November 6).
It remains to be seen if they will indeed enter the #79 Chevrolet in any of these five events.
What is interesting to note here is that had Marques and the team carried through with their plans to compete in this Sunday’s 90-lap race around eight-turn, 2.454-mile (3.949-kilometer) Watkins Glen, New York road course, it would have made Brazil the eighth different country represented among 40 entrants.
Seven is already set to become an all-time Cup Series record. Drivers from Finland, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States are all set to compete in the race, with each country other than the United States having one representative. Aside from Mexico, each non-United States country is represented by a part-time driver.
Next. Kevin Harvick wasn't the big winner at Richmond. dark
The Go Bowling at The Glen is set to be broadcast live from Watkins Glen International on USA Network beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 21. If you haven’t already done so, start a free trial of FuboTV now!