The 2015 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on August 9, 2015 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Contested over 90 laps on the 2.45 mile (3.94 km) road course, it was the 22nd race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Joey Logano won the race, his second of the season. Kyle Busch finished second. Kevin Harvick finished third. Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch rounded out the top five.
A. J. Allmendinger won the pole for the race and led 21 laps on his way to a 24th-place finish. Kevin Harvick lead a race high of 29 laps on his way to a third-place finish. The race had eight lead changes among eight different drivers, five cautions for 16 laps and one red flag for nine minutes and three seconds.
This was the tenth career victory for Joey Logano, second of the season, first at Watkins Glen and first at the track for Team Penske. The win brought Logano to within 42–points of Kevin Harvick in the points standings. Despite being the winning manufacturer, Ford left Watkins Glen trailing Chevrolet by 70–points in the manufacturer standings.
The Cheez-It 355 at The Glen was carried by NBC Sports on the cable/satellite NBCSN network for the American television audience. The radio broadcast for the race was carried by the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Report Background
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. Kevin Harvick entered Watkins Glen with a 46–point lead over Joey Logano. Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered 63 back. Jimmie Johnson entered 67 back. Martin Truex Jr. entered 86 back.
Entry list The entry list for the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen was released on Monday, August 3 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. Forty-four cars were entered for the race. All but the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Ford, driven by Michael McDowell, were entered the previous week's race at Pocono. The three driver changes for this race were Chris Buescher, making his sixth Sprint Cup Series start and first since Talladega in May, Boris Said – attempting to start the race in the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford – and T. J. Bell – making his first Cup Series start since the 2012 season – driving the No. 62 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski (PC3) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (PC1) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Tony Stewart (PC4) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Matt Kenseth (PC6) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 Jeff Gordon (PC7) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Boris Said (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 34 Chris Buescher (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 41 Kurt Busch (PC5) Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson (PC2) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 62 T. J. Bell (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 98 Timmy Hill (i) Premium Motorsports FordOfficial initial entry listOfficial final entry list Key Meaning (R) Rookie (i) Ineligible for points (PC#) Past champions provisional
Practice First practice Clint Bowyer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 1:09.412 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 1:09.412 127.067 2 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1:09.503 126.901 3 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:09.923 126.139Official first practice results
Final practice Jeff Gordon was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 1:09.267 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:09.267 127.333 2 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1:09.422 127.049 3 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1:09.456 126.987Official final practice results
Qualifying
A. J. Allmendinger won the pole with a time of 1:08.993 and a speed of . "Track position is critical around here," Allmendinger said. "Everybody is so close, it's tough to pass, you start beating and banging on each other, and your fenders get torn up. So this is a good start, and strategy plays a lot in this race - fuel mileage and everything. I don’t know if I’ll sleep any better tonight, but I’ll be ready for Sunday." "That was all I had and I’m content with it," said Tony Stewart after qualifying third for his first race at Watkins Glen since 2012. "Three good weeks of qualifying make me happy, at three different tracks with three different packages. That's an awesome way to start the weekend." "Our laps weren’t great, we were just OK," said Kyle Busch after qualifying eighth. "We were way too loose and didn’t have the balance we needed to get the speed out of it for some of the corners."
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1:09.110 1:08.993 2 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet 1:09.358 1:09.139 3 14 Tony Stewart Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 1:09.390 1:09.187 4 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 1:09.296 1:09.222 5 24 Jeff Gordon Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:09.357 1:09.350 6 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1:09.494 1:09.477 7 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:09.497 1:09.497 8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:09.442 1:09.521 9 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:09.330 1:09.543 10 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:09.541 1:09.565 11 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 1:09.474 1:09.938 12 51 Justin Allgaier HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 1:09.519 1:10.011 13 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:09.544 — 14 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 1:09.564 — 15 19 Carl Edwards Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:09.626 — 16 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1:09.663 — 17 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1:09.671 — 18 15 Clint Bowyer Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 1:09.677 — 19 55 David Ragan Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota 1:09.705 — 20 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:09.730 — 21 43 Aric Almirola Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 1:09.949 — 22 10 Danica Patrick Stewart–Haas Racing Chevrolet 1:09.962 — 23 5 Kasey Kahne Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:09.978 — 24 9 Sam Hornish Jr. Richard Petty Motorsports Ford 1:10.003 — 25 16 Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1:10.043 — 26 20 Matt Kenseth Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:10.061 — 27 83 Matt DiBenedetto (R) BK Racing Toyota 1:10.084 — 28 27 Paul Menard Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:10.122 — 29 13 Casey Mears Germain Racing Chevrolet 1:10.125 — 30 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1:10.214 — 31 95 Michael McDowell Leavine Family Racing Ford 1:10.238 — 32 34 Chris Buescher (i) Front Row Motorsports Ford 1:10.306 — 33 35 Cole Whitt Front Row Motorsports Ford 1:10.438 — 34 6 Trevor Bayne Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1:10.705 — 35 33 Alex Kennedy (R) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 1:10.778 — 36 40 Landon Cassill (i) Hillman-Circle Sport LLC Chevrolet 1:11.090 — 37 38 David Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 1:11.114 — 38 32 Boris Said (i) Go FAS Racing Ford 1:11.157 — 39 7 Alex Bowman Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet 1:11.167 — 40 46 Michael Annett HScott Motorsports Chevrolet 1:11.220 — 41 26 Jeb Burton (R) BK Racing Toyota 1:11.572 — 42 23 J. J. Yeley (i) BK Racing Toyota 1:11.891 — 43 98 Timmy Hill (i) Premium Motorsports Ford 1:12.744 —Failed to qualify 44 62 T. J. Bell (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 1:11.355 —Official qualifying results
Race First half Start The race was scheduled to start at 2:18 p.m., but started at 2:23 p.m. when A. J. Allmendinger led the field to the green flag. On lap 3, Jimmie Johnson overshot the entrance to the inner loop and was forced to come to a complete stop before continuing. As a result, he fell from ninth to 22nd. On lap 10, Aric Almirola got loose and spun out in turn 1. Paul Menard, who took the outside line, made minor contact with him. Both drivers continued on and the race remained green. Outside polesitter Martin Truex Jr. passed Allmendinger in turn 11 to take the lead on lap 22. That same lap, Kevin Harvick climbed his way to second, putting Allmendinger in third-place. Jeff Gordon pitted from eighth on lap 24. Debris on the backstretch brought out the first caution of the race on lap 26. The debris came from Greg Biffle's car. Cole Whitt opted not to pit and assumed the lead Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson were tagged for speeding on pit road and restarted the race from the tail-end of the field.
Second quarter The race restarted on lap 29. Brad Keselowski passed Whitt in turn 1 to take the lead. On the same lap, the hood of Denny Hamlin's car flew up. He didn't pit that lap and was black flagged for not pitting to put the hood down. As he pulled off pit road, another piece of debris flew off his car and landed in the esses. This brought out the second caution of the race on lap 32.
The race restarted on lap 36. Justin Allgaier got loose and spun out exiting turn 1, but the race remained green. Kyle Larson got loose and made contact with Austin Dillon on lap 42. Both went spinning in turn, but the race remained green. Debris on the backstretch brought out the third caution of the race on lap 46.
Second half Halfway The race restarted on lap 50. An accordion wreck on the front stretch brought out the fourth caution of the race. The amount of fluid on the front stretch brought out the red flag. Allmendinger's car lost power and came to a stop past turn 10. After nine minutes and three seconds, the red flag was withdrawn and the race continued under caution.
The race restarted on lap 55. Kyle Busch tapped Keselowski going into turn 10 and took the lead on lap 57. The fifth caution of the race flew on lap 57 when Tony Stewart came to a stop just before reaching the inner loop. He jumped onto the radio and said that something broke in the drive-train. In an unrelated incident, Johnson spun out in turn 5. Matt Kenseth opted not to pit and assumed the lead, dropping Busch back to 21st.
The race restarted on lap 61. Harvick passed Kenseth going up turn 2 to take the lead. Martin Truex Jr. got out of the groove in turn 11 and made an unscheduled stop with 22 laps to go. The culprit was a flat left-front tire.
Final ten laps