Monday, August 5, 2013

Watkins Glen History and Notes


At Watkins Glen International:

History
· After several events were held on the streets of Watkins Glen, a permanent facility was opened in 1956.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was in 1957, won by Buck Baker (83.064 mph, 8/4/57).

· After a six-year absence, NASCAR returned to The Glen in 1964 and 1965.

· After a 21-year absence, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned to The Glen, and has run one race a year there since 1986.

Notebook
· There have been 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen International, one race per season.

· The first NSCS race at Watkins Glen was scheduled for 101.2-miles in 1957, the second race was 161.7-miles (1964) and the third race was 151.8-miles (1965). Every race since has been scheduled for 220.5-miles.

· 245 drivers have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen; 151 in more than one.

· Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip and Terry Labonte lead the series in starts at Watkins Glen with 22 each.

· Buddy Baker won the inaugural Coors Light pole at Watkins Glen in 1957 with a speed of 87.071 mph.

· 18 drivers have Coors Light poles at Watkins Glen, led by NASCAR Hall of Famer 
Dale Earnhardt and Mark Martin with three each.

· Mark Martin is the only NASCAR Sprint Cup driver to post consecutive Coors Light poles at Watkins Glen (three) – 1993, 1994, and 1995.

· Youngest Watkins Glen pole winner: Kyle Busch (8/15/2011 – 26 years, 3 months, 13 days).

· Oldest Watkins Glen pole winner: Morgan Shepherd (8/13/1989 – 47 years, 10 months, 1 day).

· 18 different drivers have won at Watkins Glen International in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, led by Tony Stewart with five wins.

· Four drivers have posted consecutive wins at Watkins Glen, including three consecutive by Mark Martin (1993, ’94, ‘95) and Jeff Gordon (1997, ’98, ‘99). The other two drivers to win consecutive races at Watkins Glen are Tony Stewart (2004, ’05) and Marcos Ambrose (2011, ’12).

· Youngest Watkins Glen winner: Kyle Busch (8/10/2008 – 23 years, 3 months, 8 days).

· Oldest Watkins Glen winner: Geoff Bodine (8/11/1996 – 47 years, 3 months, 24 days).

· Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Watkins Glen in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with six: Jeff Gordon (four), Tim Richmond (one) and Ricky Rudd (one).

· Six different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Watkins Glen; led by Chevrolet with 16 victories; followed by Ford with seven.

· Nine of the 30 (30%) NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Watkins Glen have been won from the Coors Light pole; the most recent was Kyle Busch in 2008.

· The Coors Light pole position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (nine) than any other starting position at Watkins Glen.

· 11 of the 30 (36.6%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen have been won from the front row: nine from the pole and two from second-place.

· 22 of the 30 (73.3%) NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen have been won from a top-10 starting position.

· None of the NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen have been won from a starting position outside the top 20.

· The deepest in the field that a race winner has started at Watkins Glen was 18th, by Steve Park in the 2000.

· Mark Martin leads the series in runner-up finishes at Watkins Glen with three.

· Mark Martin leads the series in top-five finishes at Watkins Glen with 12; followed by Ricky Rudd with eight.

· Mark Martin leads the series in top-10 finishes at Watkins Glen with 16; followed by Ricky Rudd, Rusty Wallace and Tony Stewart with 10 each.

· Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average starting position at Watkins Glen with a 6.182.

· Marcos Ambrose leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in average finishing position at Watkins Glen with a 2.000.

· All seven of the active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners at Watkins Glen participated in at least one or more races before visiting Victory Lane.

· Mark Martin (1993) and Kevin Harvick (2006) competed at Watkins Glen five times each before winning; the longest span of any the seven active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winners.

· Terry Labonte and Michael Waltrip lead the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Sprint Cup starts at Watkins Glen without visiting Victory Lane at 22 each.

· Jeff Gordon leads the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in road course wins with nine (Sonoma, five; Watkins Glen, four); Tony Stewart has the second most road course wins all-time with seven (Watkins Glen, five; Sonoma, two).

· NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison holds the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record for the most wins (six) at a single road course track - Riverside International Raceway.

· Since the advent of electronic scoring the closest margin of victory (MOV) in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen was the 2001 race won by Jeff Gordon over Jeff Burton with a MOV of 0.172 second.

· There have been two NASCAR Sprint Cup races resulting with green-white-checkered finishes at Watkins Glen (Scheduled No. of Laps/Actual No. of Laps): 2005 (90/92) and 2011 (90/92).

· Only one of the 30 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Watkins Glen has been shortened due to weather conditions - the 1992 race – only 51 of the scheduled 90 laps were completed. The Aug. 14, 2011 race was the only NSCS race at Watkins Glen that was postponed to another date due to weather (8/15/2011).

· Qualifying has been cancelled due to weather conditions in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen six times; most recently in 2008.

· Todd Bodine (8/10/1997) posted his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light pole at Watkins Glen.

· One active NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver has posted his first career win at Watkins Glen: Marcos Ambrose (08/15/11).

· Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in laps led at Watkins Glen with 233 laps led in 20 starts.

· Danica Patrick will attempt to join Patty Moise as the second female NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to compete at Watkins Glen.

Watkins Glen International Data
Season Race #: 22 of 36 (08-11-13)
Track Size: 2.45-miles
Number of Turns: 7
Race Length: 90 laps / 220.5 miles

Top 12 Driver Rating at Watkins GleN

Tony Stewart............................120.4
Marcos Ambrose......................120.1
Juan Pablo Montoya................110.5
Kyle Busch............................... 110.2
Jimmie Johnson.......................102.0
Brad Keselowski.......................101.7
Carl Edwards............................94.0
AJ Allmendinger.......................92.4
Kurt Busch.................................90.7
Denny Hamlin............................89.6
Martin Truex Jr........................89.2
Kevin Harvick............................88.8
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2012 races (eight total) among active drivers at Watkins Glen International.

Qualifying/Race Data

2012 pole winner: Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 127.020 mph, 69.438 secs. 8-11-12

2012 race winner: Marcos Ambrose, Ford, 98.145 mph, (02:14:48), 8-12-12

Track qualifying record: Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 127.020 mph, 69.438 secs. 8-11-12

Track race record: Mark Martin, Ford, 103.030 mph, (02:11:54), 8-13-95

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