NASCAR at Watkins Glen: Schedule, watch info, favorites for playoff race

The NASCAR playoffs are rolling into New York this weekend.

Watkins Glen International, an 11-turn road course in the Finger Lakes region, will host its first ever postseason race after an exciting opener at Atlanta Motor Speedway last week.

There are just two races remaining in the Round of 16 before four drivers are eliminated from title contention, so the stakes will be elevated on Sunday.

So, who is racing at Watkins Glen? What’s the schedule for TV and streaming? And what drivers could contend for the win? Here’s everything you need to know for 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen:

NASCAR Watkins Glen entry list, drivers

Thirty-eight drivers will race in Watkins Glen – the 34 full-timers, plus four others.

Juan Pablo Montoya is the headliner as he returns to NASCAR for his first start in 10 years. The former Indy 500 and F1 race winner will drive the No. 50 for 23XI Racing. Road course aces Shane van Gisbergen and A.J. Allmendinger, who are both Xfinity Series regulars, will drive for Kaulig Racing. Then there’s Kaz Grala, who is back in the No. 15 car for Rick Ware Racing.

Here’s the full entry list for Watkins Glen:

Car number	Driver	Team	Sponsor
1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	Busch Light
2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	Autotrader
3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	Get Bioethanol
4	Josh Berry	Stewart-Haas Racing	Bed Bath & Beyond
5	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	HendrickCars.com
6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing	King's Hawaiian
7	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	Gainbridge
8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	Zone
9	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	NAPA Auto Parts
10	Noah Gragson	Stewart-Haas Racing	Bed Bath & Beyond
11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	FedEx
12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	Menards/Pennzoil
13	A.J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	Go Bowling
14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing	HighPoint.com
15	Kaz Grala	Rick Ware Racing	Meat N' Bone
16	Shane van Gisbergen	Kaulig Racing	WeatherTech
17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing	BuildSubmarines.com
19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing	Reser's Fine Foods
20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	DeWalt
21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing	Freightliner
22	Joey Logano	Team Penske	Shell/Pennzoil
23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	Mobil 1
24	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	Liberty University
31	Daniel Hemric	Kaulig Racing	Cirkul
34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	Benebone
38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	Boozy Jerky!
41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing	Mohawk Northeast
42	John Hunter Nemechek	Legacy Motor Club	Dollar Tree
43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club	Family Dollar
45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	Monster Energy
47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing	Kroger
48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	Ally
50	Juan Pablo Montoya	23XI Racing	Mobil 1
51	Justin Haley	Rick Ware Racing	Pinnacle
54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	CW Sports
71	Zane Smith	Spire Motorsports	Focused Health
77	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	Mattress Warehouse
99	Daniel Suarez	Trackhouse Racing	Freeway Insurance

Watkins Glen predictions, picks, favorites

The beauty of road courses is that you can firmly rule some drivers out of contention. The difficulty is that there are now well over a dozen competitors who are standout road racers.

When it comes to Watkins Glen specifically, Hendrick Motorsports has had a stranglehold on victory lane. The organization hasn’t lost a race in Upstate New York since 2017. Elliott won consecutively in 2018 and 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 race, Larson won in 2021 and 2022, then Byron won last summer.

Aside from the Hendrick stable, a pair of Toyota drivers and a pair of road ringers stand out.

Elliott (9.4 average finish in seven starts), Larson (12.2 in nine starts) and Byron (11.6 in five starts) all figure to be contenders again in 2024, as well as their final HMS teammate Bowman (who won the Chicago Street Race in July).

Bell (6.0) and Reddick (8.3) have the two best average finishes at Watkins Glen among active drivers, although the caveat is that they both only have three starts. Despite the small sample size, both Toyota stars have been stout on all different types of road courses in their young careers.

Then there’s Xfinity Series regulars Allmendinger and van Gisbergen for Kaulig Racing. The ‘Dinger has three Cup road course wins, including his maiden victory at The Glen in 2014. SVG, though he hasn’t ever raced at this track, has three Xfinity road wins in his rookie season. Both drivers will be joining the Cup Series full-time next season.

Some longshots to monitor are McDowell (17 laps led at Watkins Glen in 2023) and Suarez (three career top-fives at Watkins Glen).

When is the NASCAR race in Watkins Glen?

The Go Bowling at The Glen is set for Sunday, Sept. 15, at 3 p.m. ET.

Before the race on Sunday, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. The 38 drivers will be split into two groups (found here), with 20 minutes of practice scheduled for each.

The field will then compete in two-round qualifying. Here’s how it works:

• The 38 drivers will remain split into their two groups.
• First round: 15 minutes for each group. Drivers can make unlimited laps.
• The five fastest drivers from each group advance to the second round. Starting positions 11 through 38 are set based on speeds from the first round.
• Second round: 10 minutes for the 10 drivers who advanced. Drivers can make unlimited laps. The top 10 starting positions are determined based on the best single-lap speeds from the second round.

What is the NASCAR TV schedule this weekend?

NBC Sports’ signature “Radio Style” broadcast returns at Watkins Glen with announcers Leigh Diffey (play-by-play), Steve Letarte (analyst), Jeff Burton (analyst), Mike Bagley ("The Esses") and Dillon Welch ("The inner-look" and "The carousel"). Marty Snider, Kim Coon, and Parker Kligerman will serve as pit reporters. Here’s the full TV and streaming schedule:

Saturday, Sept. 14 (USA Network and streaming)

• Practice: 11:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app
• Qualifying: 1 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app

Sunday, Sept. 15 (USA Network and streaming)

• Countdown to Green: 2:30 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app
• Go Bowling at The Glen: 3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app
• NASCAR Cup Series Post Race: 5 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports app

NASCAR playoff standings entering Watkins Glen

The playoff opener was kind to many of the 16 competitors, but others weren’t so lucky. Nine of the top-10 finishers in Atlanta were playoff drivers, while three championship hopefuls finished outside the top-30. Watkins Glen is the second race in the Round of 16 as drivers now have just two weeks to secure their position in the Round of 12.

You can find a full explanation of NASCAR’s playoff format right here.

Here’s the playoff standings entering Watkins Glen, with only Logano locked into the next round due to his Atlanta win:

Rank	Driver	Points
1.	Ryan Blaney	2,071
2.	Christopher Bell	2,066
3.	Tyler Reddick	2,059
4.	William Byron	2,059
5.	Joey Logano	2,054
6.	Alex Bowman	2,054
7.	Austin Cindric	2,054
8.	Chase Elliott	2,050
9.	Daniel Suarez	2,048
10.	Kyle Larson	2,041
11.	Denny Hamlin	2,028
12.	Ty Gibbs	2,027
13.	Brad Keselowski	2,026
14.	Harrison Burton	2,011
15.	Martin Truex Jr.	2,008
16.	Chase Briscoe	2,006

NASCAR Watkins Glen winners list, race history

Eight of the 38 drivers in the field are past winners at Watkins Glen, including three with multiple victories.

Larson (2021, 2022), Elliott (2018, 2019) and Busch (2008, 2013) are two-time winners, with Byron (2023), Truex (2017), Hamlin (2016), Logano (2015) and Allmendinger (2014) scoring one win apiece.