Two NASCAR insiders have made the call on who will win the Cup Series race at Watkins Glen on Sunday. On The Teardown podcast, Jordan Bianchi and Jeff Gluck of The Athletic revealed who will win the road course race.
When Gluck asked Bianchi if he was picking Shane van Gisbregen (SVG) or the field, Bianchi said, “field.” Bianchi explained why, saying, “SVG lost last year. I get it. I know SVG lost last year. I know he’s good on road courses. …He lost at COTA this year. I’ll take the field. I feel confident in AJ Allmendinger. I like Chris Buescher, I like Kyle Larson. I’ll take the field, and I will tell you what, I feel confident in the field. So if you want to put a side wager on this, I’m down for this.”
Gluck responded, “No, I’ll remember that. I’ll take SVG.” Bianchi asked Gluck if he wanted to make a side bet. “No. I mean, the bragging rights when you’re wrong are plenty for me,” Gluck said.
Which NASCAR drivers are favored to win the Watkins Glen race?
For what it’s worth, BetMGM Sportsbook says van Gisbergen is favored to win at Watkins Glen since he has won three road course races this year. SVG first competed in the Watkins Glen race last year and finished second.
The next driver favored to win at Watkins Glen is Connor Zilisch, who has been dominant in the Xfinity Series this year. Zilisch has won five Xfinity races this year, including the road courses of COTA and Sonoma. He last competed in the Cup Series at Atlanta in June and earned a P11 finish.
Gluck also talked about how the regular season is winding down as NASCAR heads to Watkins Glen. “Suddenly, it’ll be down to Richmond and Daytona,” Gluck said about what’s next after Watkins Glen. “I always feel like you get to June, July, you feel like, ‘Oh man, still got a long way to go. We’re kind of in the middle.’ All of a sudden, it’s like, ‘No, there’s three races until the playoffs.’ Crazy.”
And that’s why Watkins Glen is a big race for guys on the playoff bubble like Ryan Precce, Kyle Busch, Buescher and Allmendinger. These drivers need to find a way to win at either Watkins Glen, Richmond or Daytona to secure a spot in the playoffs.
