NASCAR Watkins Glen 2023 Recap

The pressure continues to build for many drivers trying to lock up a playoff spot in the NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series. For the drivers already in, it’s now about trying to find good momentum before heading into the playoffs.

The Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 at The Glen provided a chaotic overtime restart that led to Sam Mayer picking up his second career win and second win of the season. Mayer tagged the back of Ty Gibbs, who won at Indianapolis this past weekend, on the final restart that led to the young Wisconsin native winning the race over Sheldon Creed. Gibbs, who is a rookie in the NASCAR Cup Series this season, led for 70 of the 86 laps and swept both stages.

“On that first one, I got used up, thought I had a good one there,” Mayer said of the two overtime restarts in the race. “All glory to God for this one because we had to work our tails off for it.”

“I wheel-hopped it, that’s unfortunate, and I feel bad for doing that. Obviously, you don’t want to take out any car like that,” Mayer also added. “Just trying to get another win in the Xfinity Series. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. I was in there, I put my nose in there, and that’s part of it.”

“That’s an accident, but I think everyone can agree it’s okay for an Xfinity Series regular to win this race.”

Gibbs, who has had a history with Mayer before, wasn’t too pleased about how the race went.

“I think when you have to race out of desperation like that and you wheel-hop and take the leader out, I guess you can call it a racing incident, but it just really sucks,” Gibbs said. “We had a really fast Toyota Supra, and I really appreciate all the team’s hard work. We had a really good time out there and wish that caution didn’t come. Definitely sucks to get cleaned out there.”

“It’s a part of life and a part of racing, and you just get over it, and when stuff like that happens, desperate moves like that happen, it’s just part of it, and you try to keep going. We were really fast.

When asked about saying anything to Mayer, Gibbs responded with, “I don’t know really know how much of a conversation you can really have with him in that situation.”

“We kind of grew up racing around each other, and I think he has more starts than I do, and this is his second win, so congratulations to him on his second win. Definitely wish I could have gotten my 13th there.”

When the smoke cleared from the wreck, Parker Kligerman was able to escape with a third-place finish. Ross Chastain and Connor Mosack finished fourth and fifth, while John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, Chandler Smith, Alex Bowman, and Jeb Burton rounded out the top 10.

Kligerman was able to come within three points of Riley Herbst, who currently holds the final spot in the Xfinity Series playoffs. Herbst finished 35th.

“We had a great finish and salvaged great points,” Kligerman said after the race. “We kept ourselves in the fight, but I’ve got to sort through this one.”

“I think we’re doing the right things, just need a little more.”

Over on the Cup Series side, William Byron continued his career season with his fifth win of the season at Watkins Glen, and this marking his first career win on a road course. This is also the first time since the historic No. 24 won at Watkins Glen since Jeff Gordon back in 2001. Byron led for most of the race, leading 66 of the 90 laps in the Go Bowling at The Glen.

“Yeah, I would have to think about that a little bit, though,” Byron said after the race. “But it definitely feels really good, just a huge credit to the race team behind me. I want to thank Max Papis. My first road-course win, and we worked years and years for this.”

“Thanks to all the guys on the team. I did a lot of laps on iRacing this week, got a new simulator at home. It’s a great win. It shows when we’re at our best, we can perform like this.”

As Denny Hamlin finished second, just a little over two seconds behind Byron, noted the importance of timing when it comes to this win.

“We seem to go through that summer slump in July and August, and for some reason, we just can’t put the races together, I think it’s the race tracks themselves. But this weekend, we came with a good mindset and focused on getting ready for the postseason. We’ve had fast cars. Just haven’t executed races, but today was flawless.”

For Denny Hamlin, he is now just 39 points back of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Martin Truex Jr, for the Regular Season Championship. Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger, and Ty Gibbs finished out the top five. Martin Truex Jr, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano rounded out the top ten.

Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick, with their finishes of 15th and 21st respectively, locked up the 14th and 15th spots in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, heading into the regular-season finale at Daytona next weekend. Bubba Wallace, who finished 12th, currently holds on to the final spot in the playoffs, as he admits road course racing hasn’t been his strongest. Wallace also said he had a phone call with six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon before the race, earned points in both stages. His 12th-place finish was his best road-course finish of the five races so far this season.

“Just executed, really,” Wallace said, who now holds a 32-point advantage over Ty Gibbs for the final spot.

“I’m proud of myself, and that’s the first time I’ve felt proud of myself after a road-course race. Just executed and didn’t lose focus, maybe one time. And that’s the difference-maker. You’ve got to stay on it in these places. Hats off to my team for sticking with me and believing in me.”

Chase Elliott, the 2020 Cup Series Champion, placed 32nd after a miscalculation on how much fuel he had left before he had to pit with 23 laps to go. Elliott ran out of fuel and had to be pushed to pit road.

The Cup Series concludes the regular season on Saturday, August 26th at Daytona International Speedway where many will be fighting for the final playoff spot. The Xfinity Series will also be at Daytona the night before, as they inch closer to the playoffs.