Multiple Cup drivers will do double duty this weekend at Watkins Glen International.
Four Cup drivers will compete in Friday’s Craftsman Truck Series race. Four Cup drivers will race in Saturday’s Xfinity Series event. And one Xfinity driver will compete in all three national series races on the road course in New York.
MORE: Cup entry list | Xfinity entry list | Truck entry list
Chris Buescher will make his Truck Series debut Friday, driving the No. 66 for ThorSport Racing. Buescher won last year’s Cup race at Watkins Glen.
Christopher Bell will drive the No. 52 truck for Stewart Friesen, who suffered multiple injuries in a crash in a dirt modified race July 28. This is Bell’s first Truck start of the season.
Kyle Busch will drive the No. 07 for Spire Motorsports. It will be his fifth and final start of the season in the series. He won at Atlanta in February.
Ross Chastain will drive the No. 44 for Niece Motorsports. It will be his fifth and final start of the season in the series. His best finish in the Trucks this year is second at Charlotte in May.
Shane van Gisbergen, who has won the last three Cup races on a a road course, also will compete in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen. He will drive the No. 9 car for JR Motorsports. He won the Chicago Street Race Xfinity event and was second at Sonoma this season.
Riley Herbst will drive the No. 19 in the Xfinity Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. This is his fourth series start of the year. Herbst placed fifth at Sonoma last month in his most recent Xfinity start.
Josh Bilicki also is entered in the Cup race (for Garage 66) and the Xfinity race (DGM Racing).
Kaulig Racing announced Monday that Michael McDowell will drive the No. 11 Xfinity car at Watkins Glen. This marks McDowell’s first Xfinity start since 2016. He won at Road America in his last start in the series.
Kaulig Racing recently announced that it had parted ways with Josh Williams, creating the opening with the No. 11 team. The organization will use multiple drivers in that car the rest of the season. Justin Haley will drive the car at Daytona.
Crew chief Rudy Fugle said last week on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that the No. 24 team was “starving” for a win.
Connor Zilisch will compete in all three series at Watkins Glen. The Xfinity driver will be in the No. 88 for JR Motorsports and has added the Truck race and Cup race to his schedule this weekend.
Zilisch will drive the No. 45 truck for Niece Motorsports, which announced Monday that it has released Kaden Honeycutt from the ride due to Honeycutt signing with a different team and manufacturer for next season.
Zilisch will drive a fourth Cup entry for Trackhouse Racing. This will be his fourth Cup start of the season. He finished a season-best 11th in his most recent start, which was at Atlanta in June.
