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CUP CORNER

Nextel Cup Racing Preview

This Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International will be the second of two road course events for Cup drivers this year, the first being at Infineon Raceway in June. Drivers will make 90 laps around this 11-turn, 2.45-mile track. As I see it, the following drivers have the best chance of pulling out a top finish this Sunday. I have compiled my ranking by analyzing drivers? success at this track and similar tracks such as Indy, then throwing ol? momentum into the mix by factoring in the last month of racing.

TOP TWENTYONE
1) 20 Tony Stewart
2) 24 Jeff Gordon
3) 2 Kurt Busch
4) 07 Clint Bowyer
5) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya
6) 29 Kevin Harvick
7) 60 Boris Said
8) 5 Kyle Busch
9) 99 Carl Edwards
10) 31 Jeff Burton
11) 12 Ryan Newman
12) 48 Jimmie Johnson
13) 17 Matt Kenseth
14) 26 Jamie McMurray
15) 11 Denny Hamlin
16) 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
17) 16 Greg Biffle
18) 7 Robby Gordon
19) 25 Casey Mears
20) 88 Ricky Rudd
21) 96 Ron Fellows

Watkins Glen International, simply known as the Glen, might be the reason Tony Stewart has become known as a ?dog days of summer? driver. He ?owns? the upstate New York road course, with three wins and one runner-up finish in the past five races. In 2005, he put on one of the more impressive performances in NASCAR history, leading 83 of the 92 laps.

Stewart notwithstanding, the story may shift to the battle for 12th place this Sunday. Kurt Busch moved into the top 12 with his win in the Pennsylvania 500. He now has a seven-point cushion over Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt has not performed well recently at Watkins Glen, except for a third-place finish in 2004. Busch has fared better over the last two years at the Glen, earning a Driver Rating of 96.4.

Juan Pablo Montoya will look to make NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series history this Sunday by becoming the first driver to win on three road courses in the same season. Earlier this year, Montoya won road-course events in the Busch Series (Mexico City) and in the Cup Series (Infineon), becoming only the third NASCAR driver to ever post two road-course wins in different series in the same year, joining Ernie Irvan and Darrell Waltrip. Montoya: ?I think it?s going to be pretty exciting. I think we have been having a good season lately. The last few races we have been getting better. We have been getting very good results. I think it should be exciting. We actually are driving the Wrigley?s Big Red car in both races, the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup.?

Kevin Harvick returns as the defending champion of the event. He fell to ninth in the standings after a 17th-place finish at Pocono, so Watkins Glen will be a welcome stop for Harvick. He led 28 laps in last year?s win and has finished in the top 10 in three of the last four Glen races.

SELECTED WATKINS GLEN HIGHLIGHTS

Keys To Victory:
? The Glen can be considered the superspeedway of all road courses. It features long straightaways, corners with a lot of banking and its configuration allows the drivers to attain high speeds. A driver also has plenty of opportunities to pass.

? Pit stops are configured differently at The Glen and are in a sense, flip-flopped from normal pit stops. The gas filler is on the opposite (passenger) side of the car. The tire changer and gasman have to run in the opposite direction to service the car during a pit stop at this road course.

? Sunday will be the ninth Car of Tomorrow race of the year. The previous eight races have been competitive, with many close finishes. The road course event at Infineon earlier this summer was likewise a Car of Tomorrow race and provided good drama and good racing down the stretch. Expect much of the same Sunday at The Glen.

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet)
? Three wins, four top fives, six top 10s
? Average finish of 6.8
? Series-best Average Running Position of 2.5
? Series-best Driver Rating of 140.1
? Series-high 53 Fastest Laps Run
? Fastest Green Flag Speed
? Series-high 182 Laps in the Top 15

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
? Four wins, six top fives, seven top 10s
? Two poles
? Driver Rating of 96.5, ninth-best
? Average Running Position of 13.3, seventh-best
? Three Fastest Laps Run, tied for seventh-most
? 108 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
? Fifth-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 106 Laps in the Top 15, ninth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Light Dodge)
? One top 10; one poles
? Average finish of 25.0
? Driver Rating of 96.4, ninth-best
? 26 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
? 10th-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 92 Laps in the Top 15, 10th-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
? One win, two top fives, four top 10s
? Average finish of 8.0
? Average Running Position of 11.6, seventh-best
? Driver Rating of 106.5, fourth-best
? Five Fastest Laps Run, tied for fifth-most
? Third-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 136 Laps in the Top 15, fourth-most

Boris Said (No. 60 SoBe No Fear Ford)
? One top five, two top 10s
? 22.7 average finish
? Average Running Position of 14.3, ninth-best
? Driver Rating of 86.9, 10th-best
? Nine Fastest Laps Run, third-most
? 121 Laps in the Top 15, sixth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe?s Chevrolet)
? Two top fives
? Average finish of 16.4
? Average Running Position of 8.7, third-best
? Driver Rating of 101.2, fifth-best
? Seventh-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 147 Laps in the Top 15, third-most

Jamie McMurray (No. 26 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford)
? One top five
? 12.8 average finish
? Average Running Position of 12.3, seventh-best
? Driver Rating of 100.3, tied for sixth-best
? Sixth-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 120 Laps in the Top 15, seventh-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Chevrolet)
? One top 10
? Average finish of 10.0
? Average Running Position of 11.2, fifth-best
? Driver Rating of 100.3, tied for sixth-best
? Ninth-fastest Green Flag Speed
? 75% of his laps were in the top 15, fourth-highest percentage of any driver
? 28 Quality Passes, third-best average per race

Other Watkins Glen Highlights:
? There have been 24 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup races at Watkins Glen International since the first race there in 1957. Races were run in 1957, 1964 and 1965, then returned in 1987 where there has been one race a year since.
? Fifteen different drivers have won races at the Glen, led by Jeff Gordon (four).
? The Busch Series held its first race at the Glen in 1991 with Terry Labonte claiming the checkered flag.
? Seventeen of 24 races at Watkins Glen have been won from a top-10 starting position.
? The race winner has started from the Bud Pole eight times, the most-productive starting position.

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