“Summer’s Five Things” is a daily column for NASCAR fans to catch up on the most recent, relevant, and need-to-know news and information in the sport! While mostly focused on NASCAR, this column may also feature other interesting and exciting moments from the world of motorsports. Enjoy!
- Rainy XFINITY Series Practice Sessions See Little Action
As persistent rain soaked Watkins Glen International, the NASCAR XFINITY Series teams, for the most part, decided not to take laps.
Only five drivers took a full lap in the first practice session of the day, while only nine made time in the second and final practice session of the weekend.
JR Motorsports driver Tyler Reddick was quickest in the first practice, with a time of 98.533 seconds at 89.513mph– definitely a slower speed than you will see at most tracks on the schedule, albeit in the rain.
Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Preece were the other five drivers who made a lap during the first practice session.
Mike Skeen, it what will be his XFINITY Series debut, led the second and final practice session with a time of 92.240 seconds at 95.620 mph.
Kaz Grala, Alex Labbe, Timmy Hill, and Joey Gase round the top five.
NASCAR required rookies drivers to at least make one lap in practice, regardless of the wet conditions.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice 1
NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice
- Today’s Watkins Glen Schedule
The NASCAR XFINITY Series will qualify and race today, hopefully in drier conditions than what they experienced Friday.
Qualifying will begin at 11:35AM ET and will be broadcast on NBCSN.
The Zippo 200 will be 82 laps and will begin at 3PM ET on NBC.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will have their first on-track activity of the weekend today as well. Their first practice session will be from 10:05AM – 11:20AM ET; the second and final practice session will go from 1:00PM – 2:15PM ET
Pole qualifying will begin shortly after the conclusion of the XFINITY Series race, at approximately 6:35PM ET. As we detailed a couple of days ago, NASCAR has opted to change up the schedule by combining post-qualifying and pre-race inspection tomorrow morning ahead of the event, so the official starting lineup will not be released until tomorrow.
- National Series Stars Invade K&N East Watkins Glen Race
Generally, a triple-header weekend at one track consists of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, XFINITY Series, and Cup Series.
This weekend the K&N Pro Series East was sharing Watkins Glen International with the XFINITY Series and Cup Series, and some national series regulars decided to join them.
Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace were the two most notable names in the field. Wallace wound up finishing sixth, the first time he has competed in a K&N East race since 2012. Jones, meanwhile, was penalized for pitting outside of the regularly scheduled lap 21 break for fuel and tires, and finished 19th.
Truck Series regular Noah Gragson also competed in the race following a weekend where he was pulled from the Truck Series race in Pocono due to health concerns. He has been medically cleared to return to the track and finished 20th in the K&N East Series race.
Truck Series regular Brett Moffitt won the race after leading two laps and working his way up through the field multiple times. Moffitt has three victories in 14 races in the Truck Series so far this year. Friday’s race was the first race for Moffitt in the K&N Pro Series East since 2013.
- WGI Cup Series Race a Virtual Sellout
Adam Stern tweeted on Friday that Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International is considered a sellout by parent company International Speedway Corporation as they have come within 1.5% of a sellout ahead of Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen.
And, of course, additional tickets may be sold today since the race is not until tomorrow.
The sellout revelation came shortly after WGI was named “Best NASCAR Track” by USA Today.
This will be WGI’s fourth consecutive sellout and 36th race in the Cup Series.
The 90-lap race will begin Sunday, August 5 at 3:00PM ET.
- Bubba Wallace “All Good” Following Fierce Wreck Last Week
Unless you’ve been completely avoiding NASCAR at all costs this week, you’ve seen Bubba Wallace’s nasty crash at Pocono Raceway last Sunday.
Wallace said he bit the inside of his cheek and banged up his foot in the wreck, but was otherwise unhurt, and is good to go for this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen International.
“I banged it off the inside of my left foot, I banged it off the gas pedal, and I had a knot the size of a nickel,” Wallace said in a media availability on Friday. “I’ve had that before a couple of times and it would be fine the next day. It was lingering for a day and a half after that. I wore shoes for the first time yesterday. I was just being lazy and wearing flip-flops. I put on shoes and I was like oh, damn, that still hurts a little bit. But, I’m all good now. So we’re all good and healed-up. Ready to go do it again.”
Wallace is in his rookie season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and the crash at Pocono was only his second DNF of the season after 21 races. He has earned one top five and two top 10s this season and is currently 25th in points.
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Summer’s Five Things: What You Need To Know For August 4, 2018
“Summer’s Five Things” is a daily column for NASCAR fans to catch up on the most recent, relevant, and need-to-know news and information in the sport! While mostly focused on NASCAR, this column may also feature other interesting and exciting moments from the world of motorsports. Enjoy!
As persistent rain soaked Watkins Glen International, the NASCAR XFINITY Series teams, for the most part, decided not to take laps.
Only five drivers took a full lap in the first practice session of the day, while only nine made time in the second and final practice session of the weekend.
JR Motorsports driver Tyler Reddick was quickest in the first practice, with a time of 98.533 seconds at 89.513mph– definitely a slower speed than you will see at most tracks on the schedule, albeit in the rain.
Austin Cindric, Justin Haley, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Preece were the other five drivers who made a lap during the first practice session.
Mike Skeen, it what will be his XFINITY Series debut, led the second and final practice session with a time of 92.240 seconds at 95.620 mph.
Kaz Grala, Alex Labbe, Timmy Hill, and Joey Gase round the top five.
NASCAR required rookies drivers to at least make one lap in practice, regardless of the wet conditions.
NASCAR XFINITY Series Practice 1
NASCAR XFINITY Series Final Practice
The NASCAR XFINITY Series will qualify and race today, hopefully in drier conditions than what they experienced Friday.
Qualifying will begin at 11:35AM ET and will be broadcast on NBCSN.
The Zippo 200 will be 82 laps and will begin at 3PM ET on NBC.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will have their first on-track activity of the weekend today as well. Their first practice session will be from 10:05AM – 11:20AM ET; the second and final practice session will go from 1:00PM – 2:15PM ET
Pole qualifying will begin shortly after the conclusion of the XFINITY Series race, at approximately 6:35PM ET. As we detailed a couple of days ago, NASCAR has opted to change up the schedule by combining post-qualifying and pre-race inspection tomorrow morning ahead of the event, so the official starting lineup will not be released until tomorrow.
Generally, a triple-header weekend at one track consists of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, XFINITY Series, and Cup Series.
This weekend the K&N Pro Series East was sharing Watkins Glen International with the XFINITY Series and Cup Series, and some national series regulars decided to join them.
Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace were the two most notable names in the field. Wallace wound up finishing sixth, the first time he has competed in a K&N East race since 2012. Jones, meanwhile, was penalized for pitting outside of the regularly scheduled lap 21 break for fuel and tires, and finished 19th.
Truck Series regular Noah Gragson also competed in the race following a weekend where he was pulled from the Truck Series race in Pocono due to health concerns. He has been medically cleared to return to the track and finished 20th in the K&N East Series race.
Truck Series regular Brett Moffitt won the race after leading two laps and working his way up through the field multiple times. Moffitt has three victories in 14 races in the Truck Series so far this year. Friday’s race was the first race for Moffitt in the K&N Pro Series East since 2013.
Adam Stern tweeted on Friday that Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen International is considered a sellout by parent company International Speedway Corporation as they have come within 1.5% of a sellout ahead of Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen.
And, of course, additional tickets may be sold today since the race is not until tomorrow.
The sellout revelation came shortly after WGI was named “Best NASCAR Track” by USA Today.
This will be WGI’s fourth consecutive sellout and 36th race in the Cup Series.
The 90-lap race will begin Sunday, August 5 at 3:00PM ET.
Unless you’ve been completely avoiding NASCAR at all costs this week, you’ve seen Bubba Wallace’s nasty crash at Pocono Raceway last Sunday.
Wallace said he bit the inside of his cheek and banged up his foot in the wreck, but was otherwise unhurt, and is good to go for this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen International.
“I banged it off the inside of my left foot, I banged it off the gas pedal, and I had a knot the size of a nickel,” Wallace said in a media availability on Friday. “I’ve had that before a couple of times and it would be fine the next day. It was lingering for a day and a half after that. I wore shoes for the first time yesterday. I was just being lazy and wearing flip-flops. I put on shoes and I was like oh, damn, that still hurts a little bit. But, I’m all good now. So we’re all good and healed-up. Ready to go do it again.”
Wallace is in his rookie season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, and the crash at Pocono was only his second DNF of the season after 21 races. He has earned one top five and two top 10s this season and is currently 25th in points.
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If you would like to receive this column in your inbox, or if you want to connect with me, you may send an e-mail to [email protected].
You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram.