FIX UNIVERSITY
FIX UNIVERSITY
The Glen gives Smoke opportunity
to rise with first win of year
There's more than a good chance the road to Victory Lane on Sunday at Watkins Glen will run through Tony Stewart's garage.
"Smoke" has owned the twisting 2.45-mile upstate New York road course in recent years rattling off five career wins, including last year's triumph in the Sprint Cup Series' annual visit to The Glen.
But don't ask Stewart what's made him such a road-racing powerhouse at Watkins Glen because he honestly has no idea.
"I don't know," he laughed. "I mean it's kind of that way with Sonoma too. We seem to have taken to the road-racing side of it fairly well and we just have had good luck with it. I don't know that there's a secret to it, necessarily."
Perhaps just the simple fact that Stewart embraces the two road circuit events each year on the Cup schedule is beneficial to his prowess.
"I think a lot of it is when we get here we look forward to being here," Stewart said. "There are some drivers that don't look forward to the road course races, and with us, we actually look forward to it. We like the change in pace and doing something different for a weekend. That's something we always look forward to and it kind of gets us boosted up for the weekend."
A sixth win at The Glen would help Stewart's position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings. He's gone winless this season and with victories and their bonus points crucial to the Chase seeding process, Stewart understands the importance of putting a couple of notches in the win column before mid-September rolls around.
However, despite being winless this season, Stewart refuses to press.
"This is my 30th year in racing," he said. "You take one weekend at a time and you don't think about the numbers as to how long it's been since the last time you've won. You just go with the same attitude you do every weekend, and that's to try and win the race. You go through the steps of trying to put yourself in that position to be there at the end of the day. You focus on what you need to do to win the race you're in."
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| A sixth Watkins Glen win would boost Tony Stewart's spot in the Chase. (Getty Images) |
Ambrose has won a pair of Nationwide races at The Glen and believes that confidence, as well as his ability to put the Sonoma miscue behind him, will be huge in getting to Victory Lane on Sunday.
"What happened at Infineon was an error," he said. "Whatever circumstances got us to that point, yeah, we were short on fuel. We were three laps short. If it had been a green-and-white-checkered scenario.
"We were trying to save fuel. I got greedy trying to save too much and we cost ourselves a win. It was a fundamental error, no doubt about it, and when you make a mistake like that, the worst thing you can do is stew on it, think about it and let it affect future performances.
"I'm looking forward to Watkins Glen just because I have a chance to run at the front. We have put a lot of effort into our road course program and I feel like we are in as good of conditions as we can be to contend for the win."
Who's hot at Watkins Glen
Tony Stewart: Coming off his fifth win in 11 starts, Stewart's 2009 win came in his first track start with Stewart-Haas after leading 34 laps. Stewart recorded eight top 10s with Joe Gibbs Racing in his previous 10 starts and has a 7.3 average finish in 23 overall road-course starts.
Jeff Gordon: He has four wins and eight top 10s in 17 career Watkins Glen starts. Gordon leads all drivers with 227 laps led but has a 25.0 average finish in the three races with the COT. He has nine career road-course victories and sports an 11.9 average finish in 35 overall road-course starts.
Denny Hamlin: Has yet to finish outside the top 10 in four starts at Watkins Glen. Hamlin's best finish, of second, came in 2007. He has yet to lead a lap but has the third-best average finish (6.7) among all drivers that have run in all three races with the COT. He owns a 13.1 average finish in nine overall road-course starts.
Who's not
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: He did lead 33 laps and finished 22nd in his track debut with Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 but finished 39th in 2009. Earnhardt posted three top 10s with Dale Earnhardt Inc. in eight previous starts but has a 21.5 average finish in 21 overall road-course starts.
Jeff Burton: A 29.8 average finish in five starts with Richard Childress Racing. Burton's last of three top 10s (seventh) came with Roush Racing in 2002. He has a 21.2 average finish in 33 overall road-course starts and will make his 17th track start on Sunday.
Sam Hornish Jr.: A 34.0 average finish in two starts, Hornish has a 34.6 average finish in five overall Sprint Cup Series road-course starts.
Make a note
• Stewart has finished first or second in six consecutive Watkins Glen starts heading into Sunday's race. He leads all drivers with five wins at the Glen, one more than Gordon.
• Ambrose leads all drivers with a 2.5 average finish at The Glen
• Four-time winner Gordon leads all drivers in laps (227) led.
• Denny Hamlin has a 7.5 average finish in four starts.
• Kyle Busch (2008 winner) and Carl Edwards have each finished ninth or better in the last four races.
• Juan Pablo Montoya has a 5.0 average in his last two starts at the track.
• Kevin Harvick has one win and four top 10s in his last seven starts at Watkins Glen.
• Kurt Busch has a 9.3 average finish with the COT at The Glen.
• Boris Said will be racing the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota this weekend.
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