NASCAR at Watkins Glen 2016: Winners and Losers from the Cheez-It 355
The red flag got to stretch its wings two times at Watkins Glen for the Cheez-It 355 as oil dumped itself on the track early and late in the race.
As is often the case, you patiently endure most of the race for thrilling finishes, and this past race was no different.
The complexion of the race changed in the final two turns with certain drivers needing points and others gunning for icing on cakes.
Denny Hamlin iced the cake and took advantage of some crucial driver error to put himself in position to win.
“In simple terms," NBCSN's Kyle Petty said, "it was like a game of chicken where those two guys (Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch) lost, and Denny Hamlin won. He made the corner when he got there.”
By and large, the race was sloppy. As much as aggression was the operative word, so too were mistakes, according to Petty:
"The other word is mistake, and we saw so much aggression today. These guys knew with this [Goodyear] tire, they had to make things happen. We saw things happen going into Turn 1, and we saw things happen in the inner loop. The big thing was all the mistakes. We had speeding. We had tires loose on pit road, we saw guys taken out of their rhythm and strategy.
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There’s a lot to shake out, so read on for this week’s winners and losers from the Glen.
Loser: A Fourth DNF in Nine Races
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Jimmie Johnson doesn’t have to worry about making the Chase; he has to worry about performing in the Chase.
Sunday at Watkins Glen started poorly and ended worse for the No. 48 team.
When Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s right-side tires left the track and loosened his handling, Stenhouse spun out and hit the inside wall. Cars parted, and Johnson was left nowhere to go but straight into the No. 17’s rear wheel well. It was a bone-rattling hit.
“The cars all moved out of the way, and he was just sitting there,” Johnson told NBCSN. “I plowed him. I’m just glad I hit his passenger side. Glad to get some on-camera time [for sponsors], just not the kind we were hoping.”
Johnson’s day started out lousy with a pit stop that effectively sent him to the back of the pack.
“We had a rough first pit stop,” Johnson said. “We were biding our time—a fuel stop that could benefit us.”
The DNF marked his fourth in nine races, and with the Chase looming this No. 48 team is going in the wrong direction.
His saving grace in the Challenger Round is the race at Dover—a place where he has won 10 times.
The Chase will have to awaken this team, because right now it doesn’t have it.
Winner: Running for Something Important
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For a moment during a wreck, it looked like Chris Buescher stood to gain a bunch of points on David Ragan, the driver who’s 30th in the standings. Then when the dust cleared, Buescher was also in the accident one spot ahead of Ragan.
A chance to gain the six points Buescher needed and then some went out the netting. Buescher told NBCSN:
"We were on the outside, through the bus stop, went into a wall of dustAs soon as we could see anything there was a car sitting there backwards. Tried to avoid it. Caught the splitter in the mud and ripped it off. It was a pretty big bummer. The silver lining is the other guys got it fixed up and able to gain a couple of points.
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Buescher entered the race six points back of Ragan. Buescher gained three by the end of the race, but the No. 34 team could have surged into the top 30 and put itself into the Chase.
“I knew what we were doing today,” said Buescher. “We’re back to that points racing we did last year. It’s a good thing. It means we’re running for something important. We’re trying to be conservative, but at the same time trying to get all we can get out of this thing.”
It could have been better, but it could’ve been worse as well. Now with Bristol, Darlington, Michigan and Richmond as the remaining tracks, Buescher likes his chances.
“I love Bristol, Darlington is my favorite track, when I look at it, Richmond is the one we need to won on the most,” he said.
He’s got a few more races, but it appears if he gains a few more points, Buescher is in.
Loser: AJ Allmendinger's Sneaky Top Five
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It was commendable for AJ Allmendinger to feel remorse for spinning out Larson on the final turn at the Glen.
He looked visibly uncomfortable, like he stole something, and he did. He stole Larson’s top five.
“I turned him, not on purpose,” Allendinger told NBCSN. “The No. 78 started to spin, and Kyle and I were racing for fifth. He defended down on the inside, and I cut under him off the last corner. I was under him. He turned and I clipped him.”
Allmendinger shook his head.
“Not very happy with myself on that, especially for fourth,” he said. “He did a great job. That’s on me. I never meant to do it. It’s not going to help the case. He’s going to be pissed off, and he should be pissed off. I’d be.”
Allmendinger raced desperately at Watkins Glen. It’s the site of his only win (2014) and his only chance at making the Chase in 2016. By finishing fourth, he did move up into 20th on the Chase Grid, 34 points pack of Larson.
The No. 47 car made mistakes early in the race, and ’Dinger raced hard to get back into contention.
“I definitely cost us a chance to win this race. I gave it everything I could to get it back,” he said.
In the end, he knew he cost Larson about 25 points where the move only gained him one.
He continued:
"I would’ve been OK except for the last corner. I cost us going down pit road. I sped, and I fought hard to get back. Restarts, I was aggressive. I don’t want to race like that. If we’re going for the win it’s all-good. Not like that, I cost Kyle a good finish. I’m just pissed off with myself."
How will he respond? With two short tracks remaining (Bristol, Richmond), Allmendinger could sneak into the win picture. He finished second at Martinsville earlier this year, so he’ll need to hit Victory Lane; otherwise he won’t make the Chase for the second straight year.
Winner: The Experience of Jamie McMurray
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Experience paid off for Jamie McMurray toward the end of the Cheez-It 355.
McMurray finished eighth on the day and ensured a 39-point cushion on the Chase Grid. He avoided the melee at the end that effectively devoured his teammate and third-year driver Kyle Larson.
McMurray told NBCSN:
"I was glad to make it to the end. The No. 47 got to me. I probably could have raced him, but I knew he would be pushing harder than most. We’re in the position with the Chase that we need to get all the points that we can. To get wrecked and lose 15 points on the last lap is not worth it.
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Larson was clear for fourth until Allmendinger—driving for his season—clipped the No. 42 car.
NBCSN’s Dale Jarrett said, “Experience as to how you balance that and do it. This is the last lap. Kyle Larson just lost a lot of points...23, 24 points toward his effort.”
McMurray survived where so many didn’t. And he may be the final driver to get in on points because it’s only a matter of time before Buescher qualifies. Once he does, that will bump McMurray into 16th—the danger zone for non-winners.
Loser: Kyle Larson in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time
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Larson drove a great race at the Glen.
He was set to earn a top-five and probably have a 33-point cushion in the final spot on the Chase Grid. Instead of perhaps finishing fourth, he finished 29th, giving him only an eight-point buffer over Trevor Bayne.
NBCSN’s Dale Jarrett said:
"Experience as to how you balance that and do it. This is the last lap. Kyle Larson just lost a lot of points, 23, 24 points towards his effort. He did nothing wrong. There have been days where he’s been too aggressive and it cost him. This wasn’t the case. He had done an outstanding job.
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Bristol is a good track for Larson, and he could gain a good chunk of points. Larson’s problem is Buescher. When the No. 34 hits the top 30, Larson will get bumped off the Grid. Either Larson needs a win or he needs to keep Buescher out of the top 30.
There are many moving parts in the final few races, and Larson is right in the thick of this action.
Winner: Brad Keselowski's Late Surge
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Contrition was the theme at the end of the Cheez-It 355.
Brad Keselowski, who probably should have won this race if it wasn’t for Joey Logano dogging him with about five laps to go, got into the back of Truex when Truex was looking to clip Hamlin at the line (much like Hamlin did to Truex at the Daytona 500).
Kez spun out Truex and cost him the race.
“Obviously it’s my fault when you run into the back of somebody,” Kez told NBCSN. “I saw the 11 was running low, and I thought the 78 was going to get in behind and rub up the 11. I wanted to be on the outside to make a crossover and get both.”
The tone of these restarts set up that final sprint among those three cars. They bunched up in that final turn, and you knew it would be ugly. It was going to be a matter of degree.
“I was already committed,” said Keselowski. “I didn’t think he’d come back up. You make a commitment before you know what’s going to happen. He got the bad end of it. That’s my fault. Luckily with the way the Chase is—I know he won’t care [about already being in the Chase]—it doesn’t hurt you too bad.”
Truex was not shy about his disgust with Keselowski, but to both drivers’ credit, they kept their cool where drivers like Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth have gotten far more physical with Keselowski in the past.
Loser: Martin Truex Jr.'s Final Turn
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For the final two laps of the Cheez-It 355, it appeared Truex would have his revenge on Hamlin.
Hamlin, after all, side-drafted and surged past Truex to win the Daytona 500. Truex looked poised to drag race at the Glen, but Keselowski got into the back of him and turned a possible runner-up effort into a seventh-place finish.
Truex told NBCSN:
"He said it was his fault I said I knew that. Simple as that. It’s all good. It’s just hard racing. I just wanted to let him know I wasn’t happy at the end of the race. As far as the rest of it, it’s a road course, going for the win at the end. I thought I could get a run on the 11 if I hadn’t got spun around.
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Truex spent the next lap bumping into Keselowski, rubbing up against him, gesturing angrily. He made his point. Kez went over and diffused the situation, though Truex was considerably miffed.
“We had to fight hard today,” he said. “Restarts weren’t our friends. It took four or five laps to get going. We kept getting the outside. I had a good car and worked hard on it.”
Winner: Denny Hamlin Earns 1st Road-Course Win
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Maybe Hamlin needs to race injured more often?
About a year ago, he tore his ACL playing hoops and then won at Chicagoland in the Challenger Round.
Before Sunday’s race, “I woke up with back spasms,” Hamlin told NBCSN. “It hits me every three or four months. I just wake up and can’t move. I really doubted being in the car today to be honest with you.”
He limped around like someone three times his age.
This win should’ve made it a clean sweep of the road courses this year. He blew the final turn at Sonoma allowing Tony Stewart to get the win.
“Should’ve won both road courses, which we never would have predicted at the beginning of the year,” Hamlin said.
Earning a road-course win gives Hamlin a victory at each themed track: a plate race, intermediate, short track and now road.
“This is a good sign,” he said. “Finally, I’ve won at all the race tracks. It means a lot. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was we didn’t win last time. I overshot the corner and didn’t want to do it this time. I probably under-did it this time and backed those guys up.”
Hamlin last pitted at Lap 49 and saved fuel like a champ. The win also gives this team a much-needed jolt. The middle of the year could be characterized as complacent and sloppy.
“This is a sign of good things to come. I think we’ll be a threat in the Chase,” he said.
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