NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top Story News Schedule Race Update/Results Statistics Point Standings Starting Grid Race Preview Driver Info Team Info Track Info Season Chart All-Time Wins Odds Weather NASCAR - Sprint Cup - Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen Preview From The Sports Network   DATE: Sunday, August 12th SITE: Watkins Glen International (1956) -- Watkins Glen, New York TRACK: 2.45-mile, 11-turn road course CAPACITY: 33,000 (Grandstand Seating) ANNUAL: 30th TELEVISION: ESPN ANNOUNCERS: Allen Bestwick, Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree RADIO: Motor Racing Network (MRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio START TIME: 1 p.m. (et) DEFENDING CHAMPION: Marcos Ambrose RUNNER-UP: Brad Keselowski POLE WINNER: Kyle Busch (Finished 3rd) LAPS: 90 MILES: 220.5 QUALIFYING RECORD: Kyle Busch, 2011 (126.421 m.p.h.) RACE RECORD: Mark Martin, 1995 (103.300 m.p.h.) TOTAL PURSE: $4,784,935 (2011 figures) PAYOUTS: 1st Place - $217,741; 2nd Place - $178,158; 3rd Place - $184,541 2011 Finish Finish Driver Start Finish Driver Start 1 Marcos Ambrose 3 6 Kevin Harvick 23 2 Brad Keselowski 12 7 Juan Pablo Montoya 5 3 Kyle Busch 1 8 A.J. Allmendinger 2 4 Martin Truex Jr. 9 9 Jeff Burton 40 5 Joey Logano 13 10 Jimmie Johnson 4 2011 Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen Facts and Figures AVERAGE SPEED: 99.417 m.p.h. TIME OF RACE: 2 hours, 16 minutes, 2 seconds MARGIN OF VICTORY: Under Caution CAUTION FLAGS: 5 for 14 laps LEAD CHANGES: 14 among 8 drivers POLE WINNER: Kyle Busch (126.421 m.p.h.) Past Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen Winners (Starting Position) Car -- Speed 2011 -- Marcos Ambrose (3rd) -- Ford -- 99.417 m.p.h. 2010 -- Juan Pablo Montoya (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 91.960 m.p.h. 2009 -- Tony Stewart (13th) -- Chevrolet -- 90.297 m.p.h. 2008 -- Kyle Busch (1st) -- Toyota -- 97.148 m.p.h. 2007 -- Tony Stewart (5th) -- Chevrolet -- 77.535 m.p.h. 2006 -- Kevin Harvick (7th) -- Chevrolet -- 76.718 m.p.h. 2005 -- Tony Stewart (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 86.804 m.p.h. 2004 -- Tony Stewart (4th) -- Chevrolet -- 92.249 m.p.h. 2003 -- Robby Gordon (14th) -- Chevrolet -- 90.441 m.p.h. 2002 -- Tony Stewart (3rd) -- Pontiac -- 82.208 m.p.h. 2001 -- Jeff Gordon (13th) -- Chevrolet -- 89.081 m.p.h. 2000 -- Steve Park (18th) -- Chevrolet -- 91.336 m.p.h. 1999 -- Jeff Gordon (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 87.722 m.p.h. 1998 -- Jeff Gordon (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 94.466 m.p.h. 1997 -- Jeff Gordon (11th) -- Chevrolet -- 91.294 m.p.h. 1996 -- Geoff Bodine (13th) -- Ford -- 92.334 m.p.h. 1995 -- Mark Martin (1st) -- Ford -- 103.030 m.p.h. (race record) 1994 -- Mark Martin (1st) -- Ford -- 93.752 m.p.h. 1993 -- Mark Martin (1st) -- Ford -- 84.771 m.p.h. 1992 -- Kyle Petty (2nd) -- Pontiac -- 88.980 m.p.h. 1991 -- Ernie Irvan (3rd) -- Chevrolet -- 98.977 m.p.h. 1990 -- Ricky Rudd (12th) -- Chevrolet -- 92.452 m.p.h. 1989 -- Rusty Wallace (13th) -- Pontiac -- 87.242 m.p.h. 1988 -- Ricky Rudd (6th) -- Buick -- 74.096 m.p.h. 1987 -- Rusty Wallace (2nd) -- Pontiac -- 90.682 m.p.h. 1986 -- Tim Richmond (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 90.463 m.p.h. 1985 -- Not Held 1984 -- Not Held 1983 -- Not Held 1982 -- Not Held 1981 -- Not Held 1980 -- Not Held 1979 -- Not Held 1978 -- Not Held 1977 -- Not Held 1976 -- Not Held 1975 -- Not Held 1974 -- Not Held 1973 -- Not Held 1972 -- Not Held 1971 -- Not Held 1970 -- Not Held 1969 -- Not Held 1968 -- Not Held 1967 -- Not Held 1966 -- Not Held 1965 -- Marvin Panch (1st) -- Ford -- 98.182 m.p.h. 1964 -- Billy Wade (1st) -- Mercury -- 97.988 m.p.h. 1963 -- Not Held 1962 -- Not Held 1961 -- Not Held 1960 -- Not Held 1959 -- Not Held 1958 -- Not Held 1957 -- Buck Baker (1st) -- Chevrolet -- 87.007 m.p.h. NOTE: Formerly called The Glen 101.2 (1957), The Glen 151.8 (1964-65), Bud at the Glen (1986-98), Frontier at the Glen (1999), Global Crossing at the Glen (2000-01), Sirius Satellite at the Glen (2002), Sirius Satellite Radio at the Glen (2003-05), AMD at the Glen (2006), Centurion Boats at the Glen (2007-08), Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen (2009-11). Past Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen Pole Winners (Finish) 2011 -- Kyle Busch -- 3rd 2010 -- Carl Edwards -- 5th 2009 -- Jimmie Johnson -- 12th 2008 -- None -- Weather 2007 -- None -- Weather 2006 -- Kurt Busch -- 19th 2005 -- None -- Weather 2004 -- None -- Weather 2003 -- Jeff Gordon -- 33rd 2002 -- Ricky Rudd -- 5th 2001 -- Dale Jarrett -- 31st 2000 -- None -- Weather 1999 -- Rusty Wallace -- 3rd 1998 -- Jeff Gordon -- 1st 1997 -- Todd Bodine -- 35th 1996 -- Dale Earnhardt -- 6th 1995 -- Mark Martin -- 1st 1994 -- Mark Martin -- 1st 1993 -- Mark Martin -- 1st 1992 -- Dale Earnhardt -- 9th 1991 -- Terry Labonte -- 34th 1990 -- Dale Earnhardt -- 7th 1989 -- Morgan Shepherd -- 6th 1988 -- Geoffrey Bodine -- 32nd 1987 -- Terry Labonte -- 2nd 1986 -- Tim Richmond -- 1st 1985 -- Not Held 1984 -- Not Held 1983 -- Not Held 1982 -- Not Held 1981 -- Not Held 1980 -- Not Held 1979 -- Not Held 1978 -- Not Held 1977 -- Not Held 1976 -- Not Held 1975 -- Not Held 1974 -- Not Held 1973 -- Not Held 1972 -- Not Held 1971 -- Not Held 1970 -- Not Held 1969 -- Not Held 1968 -- Not Held 1967 -- Not Held 1966 -- Not Held 1965 -- None -- Weather 1964 -- Billy Wade -- 1st 1963 -- Not Held 1962 -- Not Held 1961 -- Not Held 1960 -- Not Held 1959 -- Not Held 1958 -- Not Held 1957 -- Buddy Baker -- 1st Last Race Results RACE: Pennsylvania 400 (August 5th) SITE: Pocono Raceway -- Long Pond, Pennsylvania MILES: 245 (rain-shortened) LAPS: 98 WINNER: Jeff Gordon RUNNER-UP: Kasey Kahne THIRD: Martin Truex Jr. FOURTH: Brad Keselowski FIFTH: Tony Stewart POLE WINNER: Juan Pablo Montoya (Finished 20th) TIME OF RACE: 1 hour, 45 minutes, 34 seconds AVERAGE SPEED: 139.249 m.p.h. MARGIN OF VICTORY: Caution CAUTION FLAGS: 3 for 14 laps LEAD CHANGES: 13 among 10 drivers LAP LEADERS: J. Montoya 1-7; D. Hamlin 8-10; D. Earnhardt Jr. 11-20; J. McMurray 21-23; B. Keselowski 24-31; D. Earnhardt Jr. 32-38; J. Johnson 39-46; M. Kenseth 47; K. Kahne 48; Kurt Busch 49-51; J. Johnson 52-75; M. Kenseth 76-78; J. Johnson 79-90; J. Gordon 91-98. Finger Lakes 355 at the Glen Entry List Car Driver, Hometown Car/Name 1 Jamie McMurray (Joplin, MO) Chevrolet/McDonald's 2 Brad Keselowski (Rochester Hills, MI) Dodge/Miller Lite 5 Kasey Kahne (Enumclaw, WA) Chevrolet/Farmers Insurance 9 * Marcos Ambrose (Launceston, Australia) Ford/Stanley 10 J.J. Yeley (Phoenix, AZ) Chevrolet/Tommy Baldwin Racing 11 Denny Hamlin (Chesterfield, VA) Toyota/FedEx Freight 13 Casey Mears (Bakersfield, CA) Ford/Geico 14 Tony Stewart (Columbus, IN) Chevrolet/Office Depot/Mobil 1 15 Clint Bowyer (Emporia, KS) Toyota/5-Hour Energy 16 Greg Biffle (Vancouver, WA) Ford/3M 17 Matt Kenseth (Cambridge, WI) Ford/Ford EcoBoost 18 Kyle Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Toyota/M&M's 19 Mike Bliss (Milwaukie, OR) Toyota/Humphrey Smith Racing 20 Joey Logano (Middletown, CT) Toyota/Home Depot 22 Sam Hornish Jr. (Defiance, OH) Dodge/Shell/Pennzoil 24 Jeff Gordon (Vallejo, CA) Chevrolet/Drive to End Hunger 26 Josh Wise (Riverside, CA) Ford/MDS Transport 27 Paul Menard (Eau Claire, WI) Chevrolet/Menards/Rheem 29 Kevin Harvick (Bakersfield, CA) Chevrolet/Budweiser 30 Patrick Long (Oak Park, CA) Toyota/Inception Motorsports 31 Jeff Burton (South Boston, VA) Chevrolet/Caterpillar 32 Boris Said (Carlsbad, CA) Chevrolet/hendrickcars.com 33 Stephen Leicht (Asheville, NC) Chevrolet/littlejoesauto.com 34 David Ragan (Unadilla, GA) Ford/Scorpion Truck Bed Liners 36 Dave Blaney (Hartford, OH) Chevrolet/Tommy Baldwin Racing 38 David Gilliland (Riverside, CA) Ford/Mod Space 39 Ryan Newman (South Bend, IN) Chevrolet/U.S. Army 42 Juan Pablo Montoya (Bogota, Colombia) Chevrolet/Target 43 Aric Almirola (Tampa, FL) Ford/Smithfield 47 Bobby Labonte (Corpus Christi, TX) Toyota/Miller Welders Freight 48 Jimmie Johnson (El Cajon, CA) Chevrolet/Lowe's Cortez Silver 49 Jason Leffler (Long Beach, CA) Toyota/America Israel Racing 51 Kurt Busch (Las Vegas, NV) Chevrolet/Phoenix Construction 55 Brian Vickers (Thomasville, NC) Toyota/My Classic Garage 56 Martin Truex Jr. (Mayetta, NJ) Toyota/NAPA Auto Parts 78 Regan Smith (Cato, NY) Chevrolet/Furniture Row 83 Landon Cassill (Cedar Rapids, IA) Toyota/Burger King 87 Joe Nemechek (Lakeland, FL) Toyota/Genny Light 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Kannapolis, NC) Chevrolet/Diet Mt. Dew/Nat Guard 93 Travis Kvapil (Janesville, WI) Toyota/Burger King 95 Scott Speed (Manteca, CA) Ford/Leavine Family Racing 98 Michael McDowell (Glendale, AZ) Ford/Phil Parsons Racing 99 Carl Edwards (Columbia, MO) Ford/Fastenal * - Defending champion Leading Contenders (Finish the last nine years) Driver 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Marcos Ambrose --- --- --- --- --- 3rd 2nd 3rd Won Brad Keselowski --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 20th 2nd Kyle Busch --- --- 33rd 9th 7th Won 4th 8th 3rd Martin Truex Jr --- --- --- 28th 6th 5th 28th 15th 4th Joey Logano --- --- --- --- --- 7th 16th 33rd 5th Kevin Harvick 5th 6th 15th Won 36th 6th 35th 11th 6th Juan Pablo Montoya --- --- --- --- 39th 4th 6th Won 7th Jeff Burton 31st 12th 43rd 11th 40th 17th 38th 9th 9th Jimmie Johnson 4th 40th 5th 17th 3rd 7th 12th 28th 10th Clint Bowyer --- --- --- 14th 16th 23rd 9th 32nd 11th Carl Edwards --- --- 19th 5th 8th 9th 3rd 5th 12th Jeff Gordon 33rd 21st 14th 13th 9th 29th 37th 10th 13th Matt Kenseth 8th 9th 18th 21st 12th 12th 14th 13th 14th Dale Earnhardt Jr 3rd 5th 10th 18th 42nd 22nd 39th 26th 15th Ryan Newman 9th 26th 30th 8th 13th 26th 21st 12th 16th Jamie McMurray 22nd 13th 13th 3rd 34th 16th 40th 6th 17th Brian Vickers --- 30th 8th 16th 41st 18th 11th --- 18th Kasey Kahne --- 14th 17th 22nd 26th 14th 17th 17th 26th Tony Stewart 11th Won Won 2nd Won 2nd Won 7th 27th David Reutimann --- --- --- --- --- 33rd 25th 23rd 29th Greg Biffle 30th 35th 38th 38th 10th 21st 5th 24th 31st Paul Menard --- --- --- 29th 19th 28th 19th 16th 32nd Denny Hamlin --- --- --- 10th 2nd 8th 10th 37th 36th Kurt Busch 12th 10th 39th 19th 11th 10th 7th 2nd 38th Mover of the Week Jeff Gordon - Started in the 27th position and finished 1st Sports Network Selections Pick to Win - Jimmie Johnson Darkhorse - Kurt Busch Last Week's Pick to Win (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) - Finished 32nd Last Week's Darkhorse (Paul Menard) - Finished 11th NOTES: The Sprint Cup Series runs its second and final road course race of the season this weekend at Watkins Glen International. Clint Bowyer won the season's first road course event in June at Sonoma, Calif. Marcos Ambrose became a first-time Sprint Cup race winner one year ago when he took the checkered flag at Watkins Glen. The event was delayed one day due to rain. Ambrose passed Brad Keselowski for the lead during a green-white- checkered finish and then held it for his maiden victory in his 105th start in NASCAR's top series. He won three Nationwide races in a row at this track from 2008-10. Last year's race ended under caution after a horrifying multi-car crash involving David Reutimann, David Ragan and road-course expert Boris Said in turn two on the final lap. Reutimann's car slammed hard into the tire barrier and then flipped around. Ragan's car was badly damaged as well after impact. Ambrose and Steve Park are the only drivers who have claimed their first career Sprint Cup victories at Watkins Glen. Park's win there came in 2000. He ended Jeff Gordon's streak of three straight wins at this racetrack (1997-99). Mark Martin is the only other driver with three wins in a row at Watkins Glen. Martin started on the pole and won each of those races there from 1993-95. He is not competing in this year's event. Tony Stewart, the defending series champion, holds the record for most victories at Watkins Glen with five. Stewart's most recent win there came in 2009. Gordon has the second most victories at this track with four. His last win there occurred in 2001. Gordon currently holds the record with most career laps led at Watkins Glen with 233. Stewart is second on the list with 225 laps. Nine of the previous 29 Cup races at Watkins Glen have been won from the pole position. Kyle Busch last did it there in 2008. Qualifying for the '08 race was canceled due to weather. Busch was awarded the pole based on his team's first ranking in car owner points at the time. Just eight races at Watkins Glen have been won from a starting position outside the top-10. Park's victory in this event 12 years ago came from the 18th starting spot, which is the furthest back a driver has started and won at this track. Sprint Cup has been competing at Watkins Glen once each year since 1986. The inaugural race there occurred in 1957, with Buck Baker winning from the pole. The series ran at Watkins Glen again from 1964-65, but this track was not included in the schedule for the next 21 years. The next Sprint Cup Series race is the Aug. 19 Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Kyle Busch won last year's race there. 08/07 14:38:40 ET As of August 7, 2012, at 02:38 PM ET