Marcos Ambrose started on the pole. He had won the previous two races at Watkins Glen and was looking to make it three in a row. The race went green and Ambrose was able to cruise around and lead the first lap. It was a short time before the first caution of the race waved on lap 6. David Reutimann lost an engine and slowed on track between turns 6 and 7. No drivers received the lucky dog. The strategy started early in this race. Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon, David Ragan, and other drivers at the back of the field pitted to help improve their cars. The stops finished and the race went back green. It was a short time after this that a race and championship contender would have trouble. On lap 14, Brad Keselowski went into turn 1 and tried to pass Jamie McMurray. Keselowski, who was running seventh, wheel hopped and went for a spin. He was able to keep his car from hitting the rest of the drivers and get back going before the caution waved. The green would stay out only a minute or two longer before the second caution waved on lap 14. Jeff Gordon attempted to pass Denny Hamlin coming out of the esses and his car got high on the track. This caused him to hit the outside guardrail and spin down the track. This caused Gordon to slam the inside wall. Luckily, no other drivers hit him, but he had huge amounts of damage. He would get back on track later, but his chances for a good finish were lost. No drivers received the lucky dog. Even more strategy was used during the caution. Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Danica Patrick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and others pitted while the leaders stayed out. It would be interesting to see if these drivers could get up front.
The race went back green and continued on until the first round of green flag pit stops on lap 28. Most drivers pitted for four tires while Brad Keselowski and others took just fuel. Kevin Harvick, who had pitted during the previous caution, stayed out and took the lead. It was a few laps after this that the third caution of the race waved on lap 35. Michael McDowell broke a trackbar and lost a left rear tire. This caused him to slow in turns 5 and 6. Alex Kennedy received the lucky dog. Even more strategy was used during the caution. Ron Fellows, Danica Patrick, David Gilliland, and others who had not pitted under green came down pit road. Kevin Harvick, who did not pit under green, stayed out on track. The pit stops finished and the race went green once again. The race continued on until the most devastating wreck brought out the fourth caution on lap 40. Ron Fellows tagged Travis Kvapil coming out of the esses. Kvapil went for a spin and slammed the inside wall while Fellows slammed the outside wall. Tomy Drissi and Victor Gonzalez Jr. ended up wrecked next to the other two drivers. Landon Cassill got away with some damage. The race was red flagged due to the amount of oil and debris on track. Brian Keselowski received the lucky dog. The track crew did a really good job cleaning up the track and the red flag was pulled in after about twenty minutes. The drivers decided to stay on track and the race went back green.
On the restart, one of the most talked about drivers of the weekend would have trouble. Max Papis, who was replacing Tony Stewart after Stewart broke his leg in Iowa on Monday, had trouble in the inner loop. He tried to make a pass on Greg Biffle, but he did have enough room and the two drivers made contact. This caused Papis to spin off track. He was able to get the car straightened out and keep going, but he lost a good bit of time. It was a short time after this that Kevin Harvick made the move to pit road on lap 51. This led to the second round of green flag pit stops of the race on lap 58. The stops were almost cut short on lap 59. A.J. Allmendinger, who had been running up front, slowed on track. He had actually ran the car out of fuel and he had to coast around to pit road. He made it and the caution did not wave, but it was only a lap before the fifth caution of the race came out on lap 60. Aric Almirola had a possible tire problem in turn 5. His car immediately broke to the left and he slammed into the tire barrier. His car was really damaged after the incident and he would not continue on. David Gilliland received the lucky dog. This put a lot of drivers up front in a tight spot. Most drivers had pitted during the stops, but a few had not made the move yet. In fact, some had made the move at the same time as the caution. Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Paul Menard, and A.J. Allmendinger were unable to make it onto pit road before the caution lights came on, but all they had to do was not pit. Instead, these four pitted and would have to start at the back of the field on the restart. Marcos Ambrose, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, and others came in because they had not stopped under green. This left these drivers at mid pack and hoping to get back up near the front.
The race went back green with Kyle Busch leading and Martin Truex Jr. running second. It would be a short time before the sixth caution waved on lap 78. Travis Kvapil blew a tire coming out of the esses and hit the guardrail. He limped around to the inner loop before the tire casing came off and left debris on track. Boris Said received the lucky dog. The leaders stayed on track while drivers at mid pack stopped. The race went back green and it would be a really short time before the seventh caution waved on lap 80. Matt Kenseth got into Marcos Ambrose in the esses which caused Kenseth to go up the track into Kasey Kahne. Kahne went for a slide as Kenseth hit the outside wall. Dale Earnhardt Jr. almost sneaked by until Kahne slid in front of him and he slammed into his left front. Jeff Burton and David Ragan spun, but were able to get back going. The wreck left Kahne and Earnhardt with significant damage that ended their race. Landon Cassill received the lucky dog. Kyle Busch had lasted one restart, but he would have to last another.
The race went back green and Kyle Busch was able to jump out to the lead, but the race was halted by the eighth and final caution on lap 85. Max Papis made contact with Marcos Ambrose in the esses which caused Ambrose to spin. Ambrose spun up the track and clipped Brian Vickers, which caused Vickers to slam the outside wall. Both drivers cars were completely destroyed. Ambrose, who was in contention to win, voiced his displeasure. He threw his steering wheel in the car and slung his helmet in the window. A chance at a three peat was gone. Landon Cassill received the lucky dog. Kyle Busch would have to outlast one final restart. He lined up first with Brad Keselowski next to him. The race went green for the final time and Busch jumped out to the lead. Keselowski stayed hot on his tracks and the white flag waved. Brad would have one lap to get by Busch. He made a charge exiting the inner loop, but he was unable to do it. With two corners left, Keselowski did everything he could, but Busch exited turn 7 the leader and race winner. It was a much deserved win for Busch after the last two races at Watkins Glen had been taken from him. Now, he sits in a good spot heading into the Chase.
Kyle Busch has been pretty impressive in anything he has jumped in this year. He has three Sprint Cup Series wins, eight wins in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, two wins in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and even three late model wins. If Kyle Busch was running it this year, he most likely won in it. It was another disappointing finish for Brad Keselowski. Even though he finished second, it was his third straight second place finish at Watkins Glen. Keselowski definitely wants the win, but second is definitely not something to go home sad about. The wild card battle also heated up. Kasey Kahne, who was involved in an incident, fell back to eleventh and took the first wild card spot. Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski moved into the top 10 while Ryan Newman grabbed the second wild card spot after Tony Stewart could not race. With only four races until the Chase begins, the battle will only become more heated. The series heads to the amazingly fast Michigan International Speedway next week. Will Greg Biffle win three in a row, will the Hendrick drivers rebound after bad finishes at the previous race at MIS, or will another driver take the victory? We will have to wait until next week to find out.
(More Stats Down Below!)
Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 6- David Reutimann lost and engine and slowed on track in turns 6 and 7.
2nd Caution: Lap 14- Jeff Gordon hit the outside wall coming out of the esses and went for a slide that caused him to slam the inside wall.
3rd Caution: Lap 35- Michael McDowell broke a trackbar and lost a left rear tire causing him to slow in turns 5 and 6.
4th Caution: Lap 40- Ron Fellows tagged Travis Kvapil in the esses and caused both drivers to hit the wall. Tomy Drissi, Victor Gonzalez Jr., and Landon Cassill also received damage in the stack up.
5th Caution: Lap 60- Aric Almirola had problems in turn 5 and slammed into the tire barrier.
6th Caution: Lap 78- Travis Kvapil lost a tire in the esses and slammed the guardrail before losing the tire casing in the inner loop.
7th Caution: Lap 80- Matt Kenseth got into Marcos Ambrose in the esses causing Kenseth to go up into Kasey Kahne. Kahne went for a spin before being slammed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff Burton and David Ragan also spun.
8th Caution: Lap 85- Max Papis made contact with Marcos Ambrose in the esses and caused Ambrose to spin and clip Brian Vickers. Both drivers slammed the wall.
Lucky Dogs:
1st Caution: None
2nd Caution: None
3rd Caution: Alex Kennedy
4th Caution: Brian Keselowski
5th Caution: David Gilliland
6th Caution: Boris Said
7th Caution: Landon Cassill
8th Caution: Landon Cassill
Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Kyle Busch
2nd: Brad Keselowski
3rd: Martin Truex Jr.
4th: Carl Edwards
5th: Juan Pablo Montoya
Notables Not in Top 5:
8th: Jimmie Johnson
13th: Kevin Harvick
20th: Danica Patrick
23rd: Matt Kenseth
30th: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
34th: Kasey Kahne
36th: Jeff Gordon
Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series/leaderboard/leaderboard-live.html
http://racing-reference.info/race/2013_Cheez-It_355_at_the_Glen/W
-Image:
http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/2507359b5a13013378e2d3dcf2c762f4358f6c1b/c=227-0-3557-2502&r=3330x2502&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/USATODAY/test/2013/08/11/1376255849000-8-11-busch-glen.jpg
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