The 2018 Go Bowling at The Glen was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 5, 2018 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Contested over 90 laps on the road course, it was the 22nd race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season. Chase Elliott scored his first career win in this race after holding off a hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. who was the defending winner from last year. This was the final race for Brian France as the CEO of NASCAR, as he was arrested for DUI hours after the race occurred. Jim France was the CEO starting from the Michigan race.
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. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980), but the site has been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series.
Initially, public roads in the village were used for the race course. In 1956 a permanent circuit for the race was built. In 1968 the race was extended to six hours, becoming the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. The circuit's current layout has more or less been the same since 1971, although a chicane was installed at the uphill Esses in 1975 to slow cars through these corners, where there was a fatality during practice at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. The chicane was removed in 1985, but another chicane called the "Inner Loop" was installed in 1992 after J.D. McDuffie's fatal accident during the previous year's NASCAR Winston Cup event.
The circuit is known as the Mecca of North American road racing and is a very popular venue among fans and drivers. The facility is currently owned by International Speedway Corporation.
Entry list Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 6 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Spencer Gallagher (i) BK Racing Toyota 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Josh Bilicki (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing ToyotaOfficial entry list
Practice
First practice Erik Jones was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 1:10.467 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:10.467 125.165 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:10.983 124.255 3 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1:11.328 123.654Official first practice results
Final practice Chase Elliott was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 1:10.832 and a speed of .
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:10.832 124.520 2 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:10.920 124.365 3 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 1:11.141 123.979Official final practice results
Qualifying
Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 1:10.260 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 111 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:10.919 1:10.260 218 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:10.736 1:10.320 39 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:10.489 1:10.323 478 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 1:10.779 1:10.418 542 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1:10.961 1:10.687 622 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1:10.857 1:10.721 710 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas RacingFord 1:11.030 1:10.820 847 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1:10.981 1:10.891 920 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:10.754 1:10.897 1095 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 1:11.077 1:10.897 1112 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 1:11.035 1:10.951 1234 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 1:11.051 1:10.969 1348 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:11.085 — 141 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 1:11.161 — 154 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas RacingFord 1:11.167 — 1624 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:11.194 — 172 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 1:11.196 — 1814 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas RacingFord 1:11.211 — 1931 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:11.233 — 2037 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1:11.235 — 2119 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:11.298 — 2288 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:11.387 — 2317 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1:11.406 — 243 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:11.589 — 2538 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 1:11.617 — 266 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1:11.871 — 2796 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 1:12.038 — 2832 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 1:12.201 — 2943 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 1:12.224 — 3013 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 1:12.328 — 3172 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 1:12.791 — 3215 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 1:13.436 — 3351 Josh Bilicki (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 1:13.750 — 3423 Spencer Gallagher (i) BK Racing Toyota 1:13.809 — 3500 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1:14.934 — 3641 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas RacingFord DSQ - 3721 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford DSQ -Official qualifying results
Race
Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 20
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 102 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 75 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 66 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 57 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 39 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 210 6 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage 2 Laps: 20
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 66 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 57 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 48 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 39 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 210 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 50
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90 502 4 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing Toyota 90 513 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 434 21 19 Daniel Suárez Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 345 9 20 Erik Jones Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 396 5 42 Kyle Larson Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 90 347 14 1 Jamie McMurray Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 90 358 16 24 William Byron (R) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90 379 36 41 Kurt Busch Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 90 2810 15 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 90 3111 18 14 Clint Bowyer Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 90 2612 11 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 90 2713 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 3214 22 88 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90 2715 8 47 A. J. Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 90 2216 23 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Roush Fenway Racing Ford 90 2117 17 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 90 2618 12 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 90 2619 19 31 Ryan Newman Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 90 2320 20 37 Chris Buescher JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 90 2021 10 95 Kasey Kahne Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet 90 1622 7 10 Aric Almirola Stewart–Haas Racing Ford 90 1523 30 13 Ty Dillon Germain Racing Chevrolet 90 1424 27 96 Parker Kligerman (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 90 025 29 43 Bubba Wallace (R) Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 89 1226 25 38 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 89 1127 24 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 89 1028 37 21 Paul Menard Wood Brothers Racing Ford 89 1129 26 6 Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Racing Ford 89 930 13 48 Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 89 1631 35 00 Landon Cassill StarCom Racing Chevrolet 88 632 32 15 Ross Chastain (i) Premium Motorsports Chevrolet 77 033 28 32 Matt DiBenedetto Go Fas Racing Ford 75 434 31 72 Cole Whitt TriStar Motorsports Chevrolet 73 335 34 23 Spencer Gallagher (i) BK Racing Toyota 73 036 33 51 Josh Bilicki (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 69 037 6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1 1Official race results Race statistics Lead changes: 5 among different drivers Cautions/Laps: 4 for 11 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 2 hours, 13 minutes and 44 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen and Steve Letarte called in the regular booth for the race; Motor Racing Network broadcaster Mike Bagley called from the Esses, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call from Turn 5, and Jeff Burton called from Turns 6–7. Dave Burns, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.
NBCBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Steve Letarte Esses Announcer: Mike BagleyTurn 5 Announcer Dale Earnhardt Jr.Turns 6–7 Announcer Jeff Burton Dave BurnsMarty SniderKelli Stavast
Radio Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
MRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Joe MooreAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Esses: Dave Moody Inner loop & Turn 5: Kurt BeckerTurn 10 & 11: Kyle Rickey Alex HaydenWinston KelleySteve Post
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Busch 934 2 Kevin Harvick 864 (–70) 3 Martin Truex Jr. 813 (–121) 2 4 Kurt Busch 705 (–229) 5 Clint Bowyer 703 (–231) 2 6 Joey Logano 691 (–243) 7 Brad Keselowski 670 (–264) 8 Kyle Larson 660 (–274) 9 Denny Hamlin 650 (–284) 10 Ryan Blaney 639 (–295) 1 11 Chase Elliott 619 (–315) 1 12 Aric Almirola 602 (–332) 1 13 Erik Jones 572 (–362) 1 14 Jimmie Johnson 563 (–371) 15 Alex Bowman 523 (–411) 16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 461 (–473)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 810 2 Ford 775 (–35) 3 Chevrolet 715 (–95)Official manufacturers' standings
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
References