The field flashes under the green flag at the start of the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International August 2012
Photo – Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
Nationwide Series drivers return to Watkins Glen International and television coverage is on ABC this Saturday, August 10th beginning at 2pm ET. Radio coverage is on MRN, Sirius XM channel 90.
With about a month-and-a-half to prepare since the first road race of the season at Road America, the NASCAR Nationwide Series teams head to Watkins Glen for the Zippo 200 and the second of three road-course events during the 2013 season.
Instead of having to wait 49 days to apply what they learned during the last road-course event, teams will now be able to take what they learn this Saturday at The Glen and immediately apply it next Saturday in the inaugural trip to Mid-Ohio for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital 200.
With only one driver in the top-ten who has even won on a road course in the series – Justin Allgaier (Montreal 2012) – it is likely the next two races will shake up the standings.
The Nationwide Series is NASCAR’s only national series that visits three road courses during the season. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits two, while the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to just one.
The competition for a Nationwide Series title is heating up this season and there are several drivers to watch on the road course at The Glen this weekend.
Over the last seven races, Regan Smith of Cato, NY has compiled 189 points in the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings. On the surface that might seem like a healthy amount of points. But when analyzing the stats of his fellow top-ten drivers over the same period, a different picture appears.
Smith’s points tally of 189 ranks last among all drivers now in the top-ten, indicative of the slide he has experienced recently. Right now Smith is even with Sam Hornish Jr for second, 14 markers behind Austin Dillon, and Smith led the standings for ten consecutive weeks – Talladega through New Hampshire. That’s only eight races ago, when Smith finished first at Michigan and left the Wolverine State with a 58-point advantage in the standings.
Dillon has led all drivers in the top-ten with 270 points collected over the last seven races, followed by Elliott Sadler (255), Brian Vickers (249), Kyle Larson (248) and Hornish (247). Brian Scott (226), Trevor Bayne (220), Justin Allgaier (212), Parker Kligerman (212) and Smith round out the top-ten.
With the series heading to New York for Saturday’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen, Smith hopes he’ll be able to reclaim his spot at the top of the standings in front of a hometown crowd. In six national series starts at The Glen, Smith has one top-ten finish, which was a ninth-place performance in last year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. In two NASCAR Nationwide starts at the 2.45-mile road course, Smith has finishes of 19th and 23rd. He struggled in the first road-course event of the season at Road America, where he finished 32nd. Dillon, who took over the points lead from Hornish two races ago at Indy, is seeking advice from teammate and road-racing specialist Max Papis to make sure that Watkins Glen doesn’t present any hiccups. Dillon’s only series start at The Glen resulted in a 23rd-place finish and earlier this season at Road America, he finished tenth.
Sam Hornish Jr, who has road-course experience from his time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and IndyCar Series, could use this race as an opportunity to capitalize on his résumé, which several of his closest rivals lack.
In six trips to road courses with the Nationwide Series, Hornish has finished in the top-five in the most recent four. Earlier this season, he finished fifth in the first road-course event of the season at Road America. Hornish posted top-five finishes in all three races on road courses last year, finishing third in The Glen race. He also had a runner-up performance at Montreal and a fifth-place showing at Road America.
Hornish competed seven times at road courses in the Sprint Cup Series, scoring a fifth and a 14th in his last two events, which were both at The Glen. His 11 career road-course starts in the IndyCar Series are highlighted by a runner-up finish at Watkins Glen in 2007.
Although Hornish has only one win (Las Vegas) to his credit this season, he has collected a series-high four runner-up finishes among points-eligible competitors that has him tied with Regan Smith for second in the standings.
In all four races that Hornish placed second, he finished behind Sprint Cup regulars, thus earning him the most championship points among NNS regulars in three of the events, and tying him with two other drivers for the most points earned in the fourth.
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series driver Anthony Gandon of Bayonne, France will attempt to make his first national series start this Saturday behind the wheel of the No. 23 Rick Ware Racing Ford.
In eight starts this season in Europe, Gandon has six top-ten finishes. He’s the first NASCAR national series driver from France since Claude Ballot-Lena ran in Sprint Cup in 1979. Alex Bowman, Parker Kligerman, Kyle Larson, Kevin O’Connell, Travis Pastrana, Bryan Silas and Derek White will be making their series Watkins Glen début this weekend.
