The NASCAR Cup Series drivers take on Watkins Glen International on Sunday, Aug. 8, at 3 p.m. ET as Chase Elliott seeks his third consecutive victory at the road course. Unfortunately for the defending Cup Series champion, he will start at the rear of the field.
NASCAR announced Sunday morning that the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro had failed inspection twice, sending Elliott to the back of the pack. He had an original starting spot of 11th but will now have to make up considerable ground through the 37-car field in order to fight for the win.
According to Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass, the issue was with the rear window air deflector. NASCAR responded to the failed inspections by docking Elliott 10 points and suspending crew chief Alan Gustafson for one race. NASCAR also fined Gustafson $25,000.
Elliott is the two-time defending champion at Watkins Glen, racing to Victory Lane in 2018 and 2019. Both times, he captured the checkered flag after holding off Martin Truex Jr. NASCAR did not travel to Watkins Glen in 2020 due to COVID-19 altering the season schedule.
Elliott Has Previously Rebounded From Poor Starting Spots
GettyChase Elliott celebrates a win at Road America on July 4.
Starting from the rear of the field is not ideal, but Elliott has shown the ability to rebound from a pre-race issue and lock up the win. A fitting example is the July 4 race at Road America. Elliott did not fail inspection, but he started at the rear after he and multiple other drivers were unable to complete a qualifying lap.
Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. all headed out onto the Wisconsin road course with the goal of posting a fast time, but an incident on the track disrupted their respective laps. Kyle Tilley spun and brought out the caution flag, negating their hot laps. The incident also impacted Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch.
The group headed out onto the track once more with roughly five minutes remaining in the session. However, Bubba Wallace experienced a mechanical issue and had to pull to the side of the track while the officials waved the caution flag. Hamlin and Busch completed their laps, but The group headed onto the track once again with roughly five minutes remaining in the session for another attempt. Hamlin and Busch completed their laps, but Elliott, Briscoe, and Stenhouse all headed back to pit road without a time.
Despite starting from the rear of the field, Elliott still raced his way to another win. He led 24 of the 62 laps and built up a sizable advantage over Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch. Now he will try to recreate this feat just over one month later, albeit at a different road course.
Elliott Can Tie a Hall of Fame Driver at Watkins Glen
GettyTony Stewarts tests out Circuit of the Americas.
Entering Sunday’s race at the New York track, Elliott sits third on the all-time road course wins list. Jeff Gordon has the top spot with nine victories in his Hall of Fame career. Tony Stewart is second with eight. Elliott is now up to seven after wins at Circuit of the Americas and Road America.
Watkins Glen served as the site of several of Stewart’s wins due to the relative lack of road courses on the schedule during his career. He logged three victories at Sonoma Raceway in California and a staggering five at Watkins Glen in only 16 starts. For comparison, Gordon only won four times at the road course during his career.
If Elliott can win his third consecutive race at Watkins Glen, he will tie Stewart for second and move one step closer to history. Given his age (25) and the large number of road courses on the schedule, there is little doubt that he will ultimately surpass both Stewart and Gordon on the all-time road course wins list. The only question is when he will do so.
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