The 2023 Go Bowling at The Glen was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 20, 2023, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Contested over 90 laps on the road course, it was the 25th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
Background
Watkins Glen International (nicknamed "The Glen") is an automobile race track located in Watkins Glen, New York at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980), but the site has been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series.
Initially, public roads in the village were used for the race course. In 1956 a permanent circuit for the race was built. In 1968 the race was extended to six hours, becoming the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. The circuit's current layout has more or less been the same since 1971, although a chicane was installed at the uphill Esses in 1975 to slow cars through these corners, where there was a fatality during practice at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. The chicane was removed in 1985, but another chicane called the "Inner Loop" was installed in 1992 after J.D. McDuffie's fatal accident during the previous year's NASCAR Winston Cup event.
The circuit is known as the Mecca of North American road racing and is a very popular venue among fans and drivers. The facility is currently owned by International Speedway Corporation.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Andy Lally Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Mike Rockenfeller Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 Josh Bilicki (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice A. J. Allmendinger was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 1:11.148 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 1:11.148 123.967 2 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 1:11.220 123.842 3 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:11.239 123.809 Official practice results
Qualifying Denny Hamlin scored the pole for the race with a time of 1:10.392 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:10.644 1:10.392 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:10.520 1:10.582 3 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 1:10.527 1:10.589 4 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:10.598 1:10.622 5 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:10.700 1:10.631 6 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 1:10.641 1:10.761 7 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:10.824 1:10.903 8 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 1:10.563 1:11.022 9 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:10.924 1:11.078 10 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 1:10.765 1:11.224 11 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 1:10.926 — 12 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 1:10.946 — 13 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 1:10.966 — 14 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 1:10.981 — 15 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:10.992 — 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1:11.080 — 17 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 1:11.123 — 18 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1:11.153 — 19 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1:11.154 — 20 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 1:11.192 — 21 42 Mike Rockenfeller Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 1:11.199 — 22 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 1:11.205 — 23 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 1:11.233 — 24 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 1:11.384 — 25 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 1:11.384 — 26 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1:11.447 — 27 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1:11.456 — 28 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 1:11.473 — 29 15 Andy Lally Rick Ware Racing Ford 1:11.485 — 30 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1:11.720 — 31 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 1:11.723 — 32 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1:11.742 — 33 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1:11.758 — 34 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 1:11.834 — 35 78 Josh Bilicki (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 1:11.947 — 36 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 1:12.063 —Official qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 20
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 102 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 66 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 39 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 210 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 20
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 93 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 66 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 210 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 50
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90 592 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 523 7 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 434 6 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 90 455 4 54 Ty Gibbs (R) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 476 19 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 90 317 13 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 90 308 8 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 90 309 23 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 90 2810 11 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 90 2711 25 38 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 90 2612 12 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 90 3013 28 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 90 2414 9 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 90 2815 24 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 90 2216 17 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 90 2117 30 41 Ryan Preece Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 90 2018 22 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 90 1919 21 42 Mike Rockenfeller Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 90 1820 10 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 90 1721 33 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 90 1622 14 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 90 1523 18 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90 1424 20 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 90 1325 29 15 Andy Lally Rick Ware Racing Ford 90 1226 5 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 90 2327 35 78 Josh Bilicki (i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 90 028 34 51 Cole Custer (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 90 029 31 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet 90 830 27 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 90 731 16 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 90 732 15 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 89 933 32 21 Harrison Burton Wood Brothers Racing Ford 89 434 36 77 Ty Dillon Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 89 335 26 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 83 236 3 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 74 11Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 6 among 5 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 1 for 4 laps Red flags: 0 Time of race: 1 hours, 58 minutes, and 44 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television USA covered the race on the television side. as part of a Radio style Broadcast for the race. Rick Allen and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. MRN broadcaster Mike Bagley called the race from the Esses, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call from Turn 5, and Jeff Burton had the call from a platform located off Turn 10 that covers Turns 6–7. Marty Snider, Kim Coon, and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
USABooth announcersTurn AnnouncersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Steve Letarte Esses Announcer: Mike BagleyTurn 5 Announcer: Dale Earnhardt Jr.Turn 6–7 Announcer: Jeff Burton Marty SniderKim CoonDillon Welch
Radio Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, and former crew chief Todd Gordon covered the action when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the race when the field raced thru the esses. Kyle Rickey covered the action when the field raced thru the inner loop and turn 5 and Dan Hubbard covered the action in turn 6 & 7. Steve Post, Brienne Pedigo and Chris Wilner called the action from the pits for MRN.
MRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Todd Gordon Esses: Dave Moody Inner loop & Turn 5: Kyle RickeyTurn 6 & 7: Dan Hubbard Steve PostBrienne PedigoChris Wilner
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Martin Truex Jr. 861 2 Denny Hamlin 822 (–39) 3 William Byron 785 (–76) 4 Christopher Bell 752 (–109) 5 Kyle Larson 721 (–140) 2 6 Brad Keselowski 697 (–164) 3 7 Chris Buescher 695 (–166) 1 8 Ross Chastain 695 (–166) 9 Ryan Blaney 694 (–167) 4 10 Kevin Harvick 693 (–168) 11 Kyle Busch 688 (–173) 12 Tyler Reddick 683 (–178) 13 Joey Logano 666 (–195) 14 Bubba Wallace 590 (–271) 1 15 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 566 (–295) 1 16 Ty Gibbs 558 (–303)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 927 2 Toyota 867 (–60) 3 Ford 855 (–72)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
References