WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — A pair of overlooked road-course racers, Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman enter Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) in opposite points positions with just three races remaining until the 16-driver postseason field is set.
A two-time series champion, Busch heads to the Finger Lakes sitting minus-73 to the elimination line, in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the second year in a row. It’s been 80 races since the last time the 40-year-old wound up in Victory Lane, the longest streak of his career, and he’s on a streak of 11 races without leading a lap.
RELATED: Starting lineup | At-track photos: Watkins Glen
But Busch heads to The Glen with a glimmer of optimism.
“Rowdy” owns two wins in the Finger Lakes (2008, 2013), and, statistically speaking, road courses have been Busch’s best track type in 2025 with top 10s in three of the four such races this year. The pinnacle nearly came at Circuit of The Americas in March, when the Richard Childress Racing driver led 42 laps and nearly held off Christopher Bell for what would’ve been a loud return to the winner’s circle.
Instead, the Las Vegas native looks to channel similar magic as his postseason hopes likely hinge on a win between now and Daytona in three weeks.
“Not real sure, just it’s kind of worked out that way for us,” Busch said Saturday when asked about his road-course racing success in 2025. “It’s just road courses are a little bit of an anomaly where it’s just a lot of inconsistencies in finishes and runs and what guys do towards the end of those races and the crashes they cause, so you just got to stay on track.
“You just race. Race the race and let it play out. Richmond’s one of my best places, statistically. Would like to think that we could be good there. Austin (Dillon, defending race winner) had a great race car there last year, and then Daytona has always been great for us at RCR with the speed that we’ve carried there each time.”
Busch’s six wins at the 0.75-mile Richmond Raceway are the second most of any track in his career (only to Bristol Motor Speedway with nine), and 10 of his last 13 starts there have resulted in top 10s. But with the speed the No. 8 driver has shown on the road, it’s certainly possible the Cup veteran finds his way into the mix as the laps wind down at The Glen.
On the other side of the coin, Bowman heads to The Glen at plus-63 above the bubble, where he’s safe … for now.
RELATED: Busch shows displeasure toward Bowman at Iowa
With Watkins Glen’s wild-card nature, a new winner — other than Tyler Reddick (already a near-lock at plus-122) — would significantly complicate the playoff picture for the No. 48 team. A lack of consistency oftentimes plagues the 32-year-old, but since a hard crash at Michigan that left the Hendrick Motorsports driver with back pain, he’s gotten hot. Over the last eight races, Bowman’s scored 11th or better in seven of them, calculating to an average finish of 8th — second best in the series during that span.
The 2024 Chicago Street Course winner, Bowman’s career average finish at road courses is 14.9 and he has top 10s in three of the four events this season, including fourth at Mexico City in June.
Bowman described his points position as “stressful” on Saturday at Watkins Glen. Along with Sonoma, he explained, Watkins Glen is his worst road course with no finish better than 14th in eight total starts; his numbers favoring the newer road courses on the circuit. And although he’s won at Richmond in the past, parlayed with Daytona as the regular-season finale, it amplifies the importance of Sunday’s 90-lapper at The Glen.
“You have to expect [a new winner] in the situation that we’re in,” Bowman said. “It’s three not-great race tracks for us. We’ve won at Richmond before, but we’ve been extremely hit-or-miss there over the years. We’re either really good or really bad every time that we’re there, so hopefully, we’re on the really good side of that. And Daytona, just got to put yourself in position to be there at the end.
“This one (Watkins Glen) is tough. I felt like I figured out how to make a little bit of pace last year, but still, passing is really difficult. I think we’re in a position where we have to take stage points, which makes winning this race extremely difficult … I don’t know if I just kind of adapted to the places that guys don’t have 20-year notebooks at. But shoot, I’ve been coming here for 10 years now, so, I don’t know. (Watkins Glen and Sonoma) have just been tough on me.”
Both Busch and Bowman will start Sunday’s race with track position, rolling off fifth and seventh, respectively, with major playoff implications up for grabs in the quaint northeastern town.
Read the full article here