RFK Advance | Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen Event Info:
Date: Sunday, August 10
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Watkins Glen, New York
Format: 90 Laps, 220.5 Miles, Stages: 20-40-90
TV: USA
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 12:05 p.m. ET, Cup Practice (TruTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 1:10 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (TruTV, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 2 p.m. ET, Cup Race (USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Pace Laps:

• Chris Buescher earned his sixth career Cup Series win in last season’s Watkins Glen race, which marked the 143^rdCup win for Jack Roush and sixth under the RFK banner.
  • Buescher led 19 laps and passed Shane van Gisbergen on the final lap in the carousel to secure the dramatic victory last season.
• Buescher is also making his first career Truck Series start this weekend for ThorSport Racing and will pilot the No. 66 FarmPaint.com Ford F-150 on Friday night.
• Jack Roush has seven wins all-time at The Glen, with four coming in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• RFK Racing has had multiple cars finish top five in back-to-back races (Indianapolis and Iowa) for the first time since Texas and Kansas in the spring of 2012
• Buescher holds the third highest Cup Series this season with an average starting position of 11.1, anchored by 11 starts inside the top 10.
  • Buescher is also one of nine drivers with 11+ top-10 results this season, and has an average finish of 14.2 which is the seventh highest among Cup drivers.
• Over his last seven races, Brad Keselowski has posted five top-10 finishes with an average finish of 11.0.
  • He has a trio of top-five finishes across his previous six races at Atlanta (2^nd), Indianapolis (5^th) and Iowa (3^rd).
• Ryan Preece (5,818) has completed the third most laps of any Cup Series driver this season, behind Tyler Reddick (5,851) and Chase Elliott (5,860).

6 Team Info:
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Partner: Esperion

17 Team Info:
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com

60 Team Info:
Driver: Ryan Preece
Crew Chief: Derrick Finley
Partner: Mohawk

Keselowski at Watkins Glen
Starts: 13
Wins: —
Top-10s: 6
Poles: 1 (2021)

• Watkins Glen stands as Keselowski’s best road course statistically with a 14.8 average finish in 14 starts.
• He has six top-10 finishes, including four inside the top five, with three career runner-up results – all of which came in consecutive races from 2011-13. Most recently, he finished 26^th a season ago after starting 28^th.
• Keselowski has an average starting position of 13.6 at The Glen with six starts inside the top-10, and one pole in 2021.
• He also made 10 Xfinity Series starts at WGI with one win (2013) and nine top-10s.

Buescher at Watkins Glen
Starts: 9
Wins: 1 (2024)
Top-10s: 3
Poles: —

• Buescher lines up for his 10^th Cup start at The Glen this weekend and enters as the defending race winner following last season’s victory.
• He has top-10 finishes in each of the last races at WGI, and carries an average finish of 16.1.
• His best qualifying effort also came three summers ago (P7), as he has a 19.8 average starting position overall.
• Buescher also made a pair of Xfinity starts at WGI in 2014-15, earning a third-place finish in 2015.

Preece at Watkins Glen
Starts: 4
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —

• Preece is set for his fifth Cup start at Watkins Glen this weekend, where he posted a career-best finish of ninth at the track last season.
• He holds a 25.8 average starting position at the Glen across his four starts.
• Preece has also made three NXS starts at WGI, finishing fourth in 2018 while driving for JGR after starting eighth.

RFK Historically at Watkins Glen
Cup Wins: 4 (Mark Martin, 1993, 1994, 1995; Chris Buescher, 2024)

• There’s Nothing You Can’t Do, Now, You’re in New York: In 113 NCS starts at WGI, RFK has four wins, 24 top-five and 44 top-10 finishes along with four poles. Three of the four RFK victories came with former driver and NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin (1993, 1994, 1995), while Buescher won the most recent event at Watkins Glen in 2024.
• Top of the List, King of the Hill: Martin secured three-straight wins for RFK at the famed New York road course from 1993-95. He started on the pole for each of the three races and led a combined 183 laps during the three-year streak.
• Tale of the Tape – Road Courses: In 272 road course starts all-time in the NCS, Jack Roush’s Fords have won six races and tallied 43 top-five and 94 top-10 finishes, along with six poles. In those 266 starts, an RFK Ford has led 645 laps for an average finish of 17.3.
• Buescher, Graves Former Road Course Winners: In Buescher’s first full-time Xfinity season in 2014, he and Graves found victory lane at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, after leading 25 laps that day in the No. 60 entry for Roush. Last season, Buescher led 19 laps and fought off Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen to secure the sixth victory under the RFK banner (since 2022) and 143^rdoverall for Jack Roush in NASCAR Cup Series action.

RFK Watkins Glen Wins

1993     Martin                Cup

1994     Martin                Cup

1995     Martin                Cup

1998     Ruttman             Truck

2000     Biffle                   Truck

2012     Edwards             NXS
2024     Buescher            Cup

Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Iowa: Keselowski 3^rd; Preece 5^th; Buescher 22^nd.

Points Standings (17: 16^th, 60: 17^th, 6: 21^st): Buescher sits 23 points above the playoff cutline, ahead of his teammate Preece for the final playoff spot. Keselowski moved up to 21^st in the standings after sweeping the stages and finishing third at Iowa.