Watkins Glen NASCAR Betting Preview: 2021 Go Bowling 235

 

GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN PICKS, PREDICTIONS, ODDS

Aug. 4, 2021

Micah Roberts
NASCAR Expert
VegasInsider.com

The NASCAR Cup Series took the last two weeks off and I must admit that I was wandering aimlessly the last two Sundays bored out of my skull. But the drivers are back this Sunday with the Go Bowling 235 at the 2.45-mile seven-turn Watkins Glen International road course, the fifth of seven road course races in 2021. The two weeks off were a welcome sight for Denny Hamlin’s team.

“It’s definitely different to get a break like this, but I think it was good for everybody, especially the team guys, to get that break,” Hamlin said. ”But now it’s time to get back to business. I’m confident we’ll bring a fast car to The Glen, so we just have to go out there and execute.”

I think the break may have let Hamlin get a much-needed reset himself. He leads the Cup Series in points (874) and is tied for the lead in top-fives (11) and top-10s (15), but doesn’t have a win after 22 races. He had seven wins last season. I think what stands out most for me during Hamlin’s drought is that 13 different drivers have won a race this season.

NASCAR GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN ANALYSIS

Kevin Harvick won a series-leading nine races last season and hasn’t won this season in a bizarre fall. He’s only had six top-fives and I can’t remember him being an actual contender to win in any race this season. I’ve seen blips of speed at stages in races, but his car always goes away from him.

Harvick and Hamlin combined for 16 wins last season and have none so far. Nothing changed with the cars and rules package. They’re the same as last season. Did everyone else just get better and catch up, or did someone lose some 2020 set-up notes?

Harvick hasn’t been very good on the road courses lately so I’d have to be baited by a better price than the 20-to-1 odds to win that William Hill is offering, but I’m listening and flirting with the SuperBook bait at 40-to-1 odds. I’m attracted and now making up reasons why it’s not a horrible bet, such as he led the most laps at New Hampshire finishing sixth the last time the 750 horsepower low downforce race package was used. His teammate Aric Almirola won the race, the first win for Stewart-Haas Racing this season.

Harvick has a 2006 win at Watkins Glen in his 19 starts averaging a 12th-place finish. He was seventh in his last race there in 2019. Remember, New York shut down the state during the pandemic so no race at the Glen. The same goes for the 2020 Sonoma race because of California’s rules.

GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN BETTING RESOURCES

• Date: Sunday, August 8, 2021
• TV-Time: NBCSN, 3:00 p.m. ET
• Venue: Watkins Glen International
• Location: Watkins Glen, New York
• Distance: 220.86 miles, 90 laps
• Defending Champion: Chase Elliott (2019)

As you may have noticed over the course of this season, I’m not a big fan of all the road races or throwing dirt on the Bristol bullring, but I like Watkins Glen because it has some tradition and it’s a fast track. I can’t remember who said it this week, but one of the drivers said Sonoma was Martinsville while Watkins Glen was California Speedway to explain how different the two road courses were. Chase Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson also had a good breakdown on why Watkins Glen is unique.

“Watkins Glen is different from other road courses,“ said Gustafson, who turned 46 on Thursday. “The really high speeds are one reason – the average speed is high, probably in the 140-150 mph range. Aerodynamics is also a huge part, and the braking zones are really important. I think those are the biggest things that stand out. The other thing that is really important is that there are a couple key places in the track, up to the esses and in through the inner loop where you have to change directions really, really fast. The car having stability to change directions really fast is super important to be successful there. I think that’s what makes Watkins Glen so different from the other road courses.”

I like Watkins Glen and Sonoma, and that’s it. Who came up with the idea that NASCAR fans love road courses? Is this their marketing plan to attract new audiences?

“When I first came into this series, nobody wanted to go to Watkins Glen and nobody wanted to go to Sonoma, and then road-course racing became cool somewhere along the line,” Harvick said. “And I think as drivers – I know for me in 2003 – we really decided to put a lot of effort into our road-racing program and we were able to get much better at it than what we had been the previous two years. And as that progression happened, everybody started to get better at it, and the benefit of the road-race ringer kind of went away. It was more equal, and that little bit that the road-race guys had in road-race knowledge,they lost in car knowledge – not having the familiarity with the Cup car and how unique they are to drive.”

Ah yes, the road course ringer. Ron Fellows stepped in to win three Xfinity and two Truck Series races at the Glen. Boris Said was another. Marcos Ambrose is in Australia now but dominated in two Cup wins (2011, 2012) and four Xfinity Series wins at Watkins Glen. Let’s not forget road aces Robby Gordon (2003) and Juan Pablo Montoya (2010).

GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN CONTENDERS

• Chase Elliott +200
• Kyle Larson +450
• Martin Truex Jr. +600
• Kyle Busch +750
• Denny Hamlin +1100
• More NASCAR Futures
• (Odds Subject to Change)

So 40-to-1 with Harvick is a nice long shot to consider. I’m also going to have a bet on 2016 Watkins Glen winner Hamlin, who Circa Sports is offering at +1350, and I also like his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell at 20-to-1 odds to win. Bell’s only Cup win came in February on the Daytona road course. He also was runner-up in his last two races in the 750 HP package at Road America and New Hampshire.

I’m also mulling over Ross Chastain at 50-to-1 odds (William Hill) because of his consistency using the 750 package. Check out his last five starts using it: eighth at New Hampshire, seventh at Road America, runner-up at Nashville, seventh at Sonoma, and fourth at COTA. Both the Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolets, along with Kurt Busch (25/1), have been strong lately. Chastain’s team is giving him great cars.

READ MORE HERE....TOP-5 FINISH PREDICTIONS ON VEGASINSIDER.COM

Odds to win 2021 Go Bowling 235 at the Glen

LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK AT THE WESTGATE

NASCAR CUP SERIES

ODDS TO WIN GO BOWLING 235

WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL

SUNDAY, AUGUST 8, 2021 - 3:00 PM ET

Chase ELLIOTT 2/1
Kyle LARSON 9/2
Martin TRUEX JR 5/1
Kyle BUSCH 8/1
Joey LOGANO 10/1
Denny HAMLIN 12/1
Christopher BELL 20/1
Ryan BLANEY 25/1
Alex BOWMAN 25/1
William BYRON 25/1
Kurt BUSCH 25/1
Ross CHASTAIN 40/1
Brad KESELOWSKI 30/1
Kevin HARVICK 40/1
Tyler REDDICK 50/1
Matt DIBENEDETTO 60/1
Chase BRISCOE 80/1
Michael McDOWELL 100/1
Chris BUESCHER 100/1
Daniel SUAREZ 100/1
Aric ALMIROLA 100/1
Cole CUSTER 200/1
Austin DILLON 300/1
Erik JONES 300/1
Ryan PREECE 500/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 1000/1
Bubba WALLACE 1000/1
Ryan NEWMAN 1000/1
Corey LAJOIE 5000/1
Justin HALEY 5000/1
Anthony ALFREDO 5000/1
Josh BILICKI 10000/1
James DAVISON 10000/1
Garrett SMITHLEY 10000/1
Kyle TILLEY 10000/1
Quin HOUFF 10000/1
RC ENERSON 10000/1

Odds to Win 2020 Go Bowling 235 at Daytona Road Course

NASCAR Cup Series

William Hill Sportsbooks

Odds to win 2020 Go Bowling 235

Daytona Road Course

Sunday, August 16, 2020 - 3:16 pm et

Martin Truex Jr. 4/1 
Chase Elliott 4/1
Kevin Harvick 6/1
Kyle Busch 13/2
Denny Hamlin 13/2
Ryan Blaney 8/1
Brad Keselowski 12/1
Joey Logano 15/1
Kurt Busch 18/1
Clint Bowyer 20/1
Jimmie Johnson 40/1
William Byron 40/1
Alex Bowman 50/1
Matt DiBenedetto 50/1
Erik Jones 55/1
Aric Almirola 60/1
Michael McDowell 100/1
Christopher Bell 100/1
Ryan Newman 125/1
Chris Buescher 150/1
Matt Kenseth 150/1
Tyler Reddick 150/1
Cole Custer 250/1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 350/1
Brendan Gaughan 300/1
Daniel Suarez 350/1
Austin Dillon 500/1
Bubba Wallace 750/1
Ty Dillon 1,000/1
Ryan Preece 1,500/1
John Hunter Nemechek 2,500/1
Reed Sorenson 5,000/1
Corey Lajoie 2,500/1
Joey Gase 5,000/1
Brennan Poole 5,000/1
Quin Houff 5,000/1
Timmy Hill 5,000/1
JJ Yeley 5,000/1
Gray Gaulding 2,500/1

Cole Custer is 250/1 to win at Daytona road course

COLE CUSTER Returning to Daytona for First Road Course of the Season KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Aug. 11, 2020) – Cole Custer and the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang team head south for Sunday’s road-course event at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. The NASCAR Cup Series will run the speedway’s newly tweaked 14-turn, 3.57-mile layout. Custer will pilot the No. 41 Ford Mustang adorned with HaasTooling.com for his 26th career Cup Series start. In preparation for this weekend’s event, the Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver has spent multiple hours in the Ford simulator. “I’ve probably been in the simulator five or six hours practicing the Daytona road course,” Custer said. “We’ve obviously had to sort through some stuff to get it as realistic as we think we can. From there, it’s trying to get me better and there’s a lot of stuff to work through because we haven’t been there in these Cup cars. We’re trying to make sure we are close on the car, and making sure I’m driving it how I need to. There’s a lot of stuff to be done since we are going to a brand new track layout and we need to make sure we’ve hit everything so we are 100 percent when we show up.” In last weekend’s doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Custer finished 34th in Saturday’s race after an accident ended his day prematurely. On Sunday, Custer ran as high as the top-15 until the handling went away on the No. 41 machine late in the race, and he finished 25th. Teammate Kevin Harvick captured the win both days to earn Ford Performance the prestigious Michigan Heritage Trophy. This Sunday’s Daytona road course was added to the schedule amended due to COVID-19 restrictions and replaces the originally scheduled Watkins (N.Y.) International event. Sunday is the first time the heavy NASCAR stock cars will race on the road-course layout at Daytona. Making the event more unique is that NASCAR continues to institute a no-practice and no-qualifying policy, meaning no one will have the opportunity to drive on the actual course before the green flag drops on the 234.65-mile event. Custer doesn’t have any road-course starts in the Cup Series. However, he has 11 road-course starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, including three each at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, and Watkins Glen, along with two starts at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway’s “roval.” Custer also has three road-course starts in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Toronto. So far this season, the Mustang has earned 13 wins for Ford. Custer and his SHR teammate Harvick have both earned wins for the Blue Oval this season and have accounted for a total of seven victories. With Custer’s Cup Series win July 12 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, he became one of 10 drivers who have won in each of NASCAR’s top three national series, as well as in ARCA and NASCAR’s developmental K&N Pro Series. Team co-owner Gene Haas’ newest holding, Haas Tooling, was launched as a way for CNC machinists to purchase high quality cutting tools at great prices. Haas’ cutting tools are sold exclusively online at HaasTooling.com and shipped directly to end users. Beginning July 1, HaasTooling.com products became available nationally. The cutting tools available for purchase at HaasTooling.com are even more important during the current COVID-19 pandemic as CNC machines have become vital to producing personal protective equipment. There are four races left in the regular season before the playoffs start Sept. 6 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, and Custer’s win at Kentucky earned him one of the coveted 16 playoff spots. Harvick also owns a playoff spot after six wins this season. Overall at Daytona, SHR has three wins on the superspeedway oval – two in the July race by team co-owner Tony Stewart and one Daytona 500 win earned by former SHR driver Kurt Busch in 2017. Haas Automation, founded by Haas in 1983, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets. Even though Custer had a trio of starts in the Cup Series in 2018, 2020 officially marks his Rookie of the Year campaign in NASCAR’s most prestigious series. He’s competing for rookie honors with notables Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick. The three have battled against each other in the Xfinity Series and are making the full-time transition to the Cup Series together. Custer is the first of the 2020 rookie class to earn a win this season.

Cole Custer: Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

How do you feel about the choose cone rule now that it has been in action for a couple of races? “The choose cone rule has been a little bit difficult to figure out what you want to do. It’s an important part of the race to choose which lane you want to be in and to take advantage of it, but it can also be over-thought and be really complicated if you want to do it perfectly. It’s something we still have to work on some. I think we figured out how to do it during Michigan, it’s just a matter of putting it all together.” Do you think the choose cone rule will be more beneficial at some tracks versus others? “The choose rule will be more important at places where there is a dominant lane. You’re really going to want to take advantage of that and know what the numbers are and how to take advantage of it. When it comes to other tracks where the lanes are more equal, it’s not going to be as big of a deal.” How would you rate yourself as a road racer? “I’ve always loved road racing and I feel like I’ve done a fairly decent job at it. I’ve been really close to winning several road-course races but have never won on one, so that’s always made me pretty mad, honestly. It’s always fun to race them and they’re very unpredictable. I’ve come close a number of times and to not have a win is pretty frustrating.”

Clint Bowyer is 20/1 to win at Daytona road course

CLINT BOWYER Relying on Mobil 1 at the Daytona Road Course KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Aug. 10, 2020) – It was more than seven years ago and he barely remembers it, but Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), is one of the few NASCAR Cup Series drivers who’ve logged laps on the 14-turn, 3.57-mile road course at Daytona (Fla) International Speedway where the series will race for the first time in Sunday afternoon’s Go Bowling 235. Bowyer drove an AF Corse GT entry in the 2013 Rolex 24 with teammates Rob Kauffmann, Rui Aguas and two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip. The foursome finished 16th overall and seventh in class in the 24-hour event, logging 677 laps around the track. His Daytona road course experience, Bowyer is the first to point out, came in a much more nimble sports car compared to the 3,500-pound Cup Series car he’ll driving Sunday. “I’m probably unique since at least I have some laps on the racetrack,” Bowyer said. “It was a long time ago. I don’t even remember those laps, but I ran the Rolex 24 and have some experience on that track. I think there are definitely drivers and teams who have experience of running at the Rolex who will be ahead of the pack, ahead of the curve, for sure. But, it’s nothing like driving one of these Cup cars. That’s going to be totally new to all of us.” Bowyer’s limited experience became even more important when NASCAR ruled there would be no practice or qualifying for Sunday’s 234.65-mile event. NASCAR also added a chicane to the exit of the superspeedway oval’s turn four to help slow speeds before entering the infield portion of the course. There is already a chicane on the backstretch of the oval. The rumble strips used for the chicane are the same ones used for the “roval” at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Temporary lights will be brought in for the infield in case the 65-lap race has to be run into the night. “I think it’s a tall order to show up there and to run a track that we’ve never been on before with a tire combination, rule package, aero, horsepower, everything we’ve never even seen before,” Bowyer said. “It’s going to be a crapshoot for everybody.” He said he understands why NASCAR is not allowing practice or qualifying amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “These are challenging times,” he said. “To ask the team to come up with a unique car again for a backup car and everything else, I mean, it’s saving them money. I get it. Everything’s tight right now. So, you’ve got to give and take in this scenario, and I think that’s definitely a given for this race.” Bowyer will carry the decals of Mobil 1 on his No. 14 Ford on Sunday. Mobil 1 isn’t just the world’s leading synthetic motor oil brand, it also provides the entire SHR team with leading lubricant technology, ensuring that all SHR Mustangs have a competitive edge over the competition on the track. In its 17th consecutive season as the “Official Motor Oil of NASCAR,” Mobil 1 is used by more than 50 percent of teams throughout NASCAR’s top three series. “With all the unknowns this weekend at Daytona, we are glad we can count on Mobil 1 in our Ford Mustang,” Bowyer said. “There are a lot of questions, but I know our Roush-Yates engines are going to be strong and reliable. ExxonMobil knows our sport and our engines inside out. Andy Moran and his Mobil 1 lubricant engineering team help to develop new formulations at points throughout the year, which constantly exceed our very high expectations and provide the vital improvements we need.” Sunday’s race is as important as any race so far this season, according to Bowyer. He arrives 12th in the driver standings after finishes of 14th and 19th in last weekend’s doubleheader at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Bowyer is 14th in the playoff standings with a 60-point cushion for the final transfer spot into the 16-driver playoff field. A win at Daytona Sunday secures a spot in NASCAR’s postseason, but a good run helps in padding his points cushion with just three races left in the regular season thereafter. The Cup Series will run its third doubleheader of the season Aug. 22 and 23 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway, then return to Daytona Aug. 29 to race on the oval for the regular-season finale. “This is the time of the year when the pay window starts to open and we want to be there,” Bowyer said. “Obviously, we need some good runs at both Daytonas and both Dovers coming up in the next few weeks. I’m pretty confident. Both of those places have been good to us in the past.” Bowyer should be one of the favorites Sunday at Daytona. He has scored the fourth-most points of any driver in the last nine road-course races held at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International and at the Charlotte “roval.” He owns 12 top-five finishes in his 30 career road-course races. With laps on the track at Daytona, even though it was a long time ago, a successful career on road courses, and partnering with Mobil 1, Bowyer has an arsenal of weapons as he goes into battle for Sunday’s race.

CLINT BOWYER, Driver of the No. 14 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Do you enjoy battling for the playoff position in these final regular-season races and eventually competing in the playoffs? “I wish we had a win earlier in the season and we wouldn’t have to worry about these races, but it’s still fun. It’s do-or-die time. It’s the playoffs. You watch these football teams go through these playoffs and how exciting it is and it’s our turn to have those nerve-racking moments and do-or-die moments for your race team and your season. But I’m looking forward to it.” Has your mentality changed to the must-win way of thinking? “It’s kind of a must-win situation at all times. In life, if you wake up and say, ‘I don’t really need to win today,’ you’re probably going to suck.” What do you remember about the 2013 Rolex 24 on the Daytona road course? “It was a really, really cool, the atmosphere and the excitement in the air before the race, the prerace ceremony, the starting grid. That was their biggest race of the year. I think our Daytona 500 is exactly like that, with the thrill and the excitement in the air like that, especially down on the starting grid. It’s kind of comparable.”