CONCORD, N.C. – For the fifth time this season, the NASCAR Cup Series will compete on a road course. This weekend's stop takes place at Watkins Glen International, a 2.45-mile circuit located in New York.
For the third and final time in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro will take to the track. William Byron will pilot the ride this weekend. Earlier this season, Kyle Larson competed at Road America and Alex Bowman raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course for the team. Both drivers earned runner-up finishes in their starts. At Watkins Glen, Byron will be making his first start in the No. 17, looking to take Hendrick Motorsports back to victory lane in the Xfinity Series for the first time since 2009. Larson is also entered in the field in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports.
RELATED: Byron to take his turn in No. 17's final Xfinity start of season
The Cup Series shares a rich history with the famous road course. Watkins Glen hosted the sport's top series in 1957 as well as in 1964 and 1965. Following a 21-year absence from the facility, it was Hendrick Motorsports' own Tim Richmond, who took the checkered flag in the Cup Series return to the track. Watkins Glen has occupied a date on the calendar each season since then, apart from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last season’s event saw Larson take the checkered flag for what would be his second of three victories on road courses in 2021. The Elk Grove, California, native paced the field for 27 laps while holding off teammate Chase Elliott. After scoring stage points early in the race, Elliott rebounded from flat spotting his tires during stage two to finish second, nearly catching his teammate by the end of the day.
RELATED: Through the years: Road course wins for Hendrick Motorsports
Byron piloted the No. 24 Chevrolet to a sixth-place finish for his second top-10 finish in three Cup Series starts at the venue. After scoring points at the end of stage one, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native ran inside the top 10 for most of the race. Bowman also scored stage points at the beginning of the race before ending the day in the 20th position.
With only two races to go in the regular season, Elliott holds a 116-point lead over Ryan Blaney. Heading into Watkins Glen, he will need to maintain at least a 61-point cushion to claim the regular season championship and the 15 playoff points that come with it.
The Dawsonville, Georgia, native will look to build off of his recent success at the venue. His first Cup Series victory came here in 2018 as he held off a hard-charging Martin Truex Jr. to take the checkered flag. He followed that up with another win in 2019 and he has seven road course victories on his resume - the most among active drivers. The 26-year-old's average finish of 7.83 in 23 road course starts ranks third among all-time drivers and is the best among the active field.
RELATED: Elliott grabs top-five finish, holds commanding points lead out of Richmond
In their last three starts at Watkins Glen, Larson and Byron have earned an average finish of 5.0 and 11.7, respectively. Since Bowman joined Hendrick Motorsports full time in 2018, he has finished inside the top 10 in 47 percent of his starts (9 of 19) on road courses. With runner-up finishes at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL in 2019 and at Circuit of The Americas this season, the Tucson, Arizona, native will look to Watkins Glen as an opportunity to claim his first road course Cup Series victory.
As a company, Hendrick Motorsports has won nine times at the track located in New York's Finger Lakes region. NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon leads the way with four wins, followed by Elliott's two. Larson, Richmond and Ricky Rudd each have won once at the facility.
Here is what you need to know to catch this weekend’s action.
RELATED: See this weekend's paint schemes
WHAT TIME IS PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING?
For the Cup Series, there will be a group practice session starting at 12:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 20, with coverage starting on the NBC Sports App and USA Network joining in progress at 12:30 p.m. ET. Group qualifying will follow practice, beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on USA Network.
Bowman, Larson and Elliott are in Group A, while Byron is in Group B for the Cup Series practice and qualifying sessions.
The Xfinity Series will hit the track on Saturday, Aug. 20, for practice and group qualifying. Coverage will be available for both events on the NBC Sports App starting at 10:05 a.m. ET.
Larson is in Group A, while Byron is in Group B for Xfinity Series group qualifying.
WHAT TIME IS THE RACE?
The 90-lap, 220.5-mile Cup Series main event is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 21, and will be broadcast on USA Network. The 82-lap, 200.9-mile Xfinity Series race will take place at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 20. and will also be broadcast on USA Network.
CAN I LISTEN ON THE RADIO?
Both races will be on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90).
CAN I STREAM ONLINE?
Yes. Download the NBC Sports App for online coverage. Fans can also keep up with the action on Twitter by following @TeamHendrick.
FIVE FAST FACTS HEADING INTO WATKINS GLEN
Data provided by Racing Insights
3: Larson’s streak of top-10 finishes at Watkins Glen. This mark lands him in a tie for second with Elliott and Kevin Harvick among active drivers.
7: Wins between Bowman and crew chief, Greg Ives. The pair ranks fifth in Cup Series victories among active crew chief/driver pairings.
25: Hendrick Motorsports has this many wins on road courses as an organization - 12 more than the next closet team.
45: Stage points that Byron has scored over the last six races in 2022. That mark is fourth-best in the series and third-best among the Hendrick Motorsports drivers.
62: Laps led by Elliott this season at road courses, which is tied with Daniel Suarez for the most circuits paced on serpentine layouts in 2022.