16 Teams To Test at The Glen Starting Tuesday
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will receive extra track time this week at newly repaved Watkins Glen International, site of the final road-course race on this year's schedule.
According to NASCAR.com, A total of 16 teams are scheduled to converge on the New York circuit for a two-day organizational test Tuesday and Wednesday in advance of the Aug. 7 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen (2:30 p.m. ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The $12 million offseason repaving project marks the first full resurfacing at the facility since 1989. The new asphalt includes the 2.45-mile layout used in NASCAR competition and the longer 3.4-mile configuration used by other series.
Five Sprint Cup teams received their first taste of the new pavement in Goodyear tire testing May 10-11. Drivers helping the tire manufacturer select the proper rubber compound for the race were Trevor Bayne , Carl Edwards , Kevin Harvick , Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano .
Drivers (in alphabetical order) scheduled to participate this week:
-- AJ Allmendinger (JTG Daugherty Racing)
-- Ryan Blaney (Wood Brothers Racing)
-- Clint Bowyer (HScott Motorsports)
-- Chris Buescher (Front Row Motorsports)
-- Kurt Busch (Stewart-Haas Racing)
-- Kyle Busch (Joe Gibbs Racing)
-- Matt DiBenedetto (BK Racing)
-- Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing)
-- Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports)
-- Brad Keselowski (Team Penske)
-- Michael McDowell (Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing)
-- Jamie McMurray (Chip Ganassi Racing)
-- Casey Mears (Germain Racing)
-- Brian Scott (Richard Petty Motorsports)
-- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Roush Fenway Racing)
-- Martin Truex Jr. (Furniture Row Racing)
The on-track schedule will feature two sessions each day -- 9 a.m.-noon ET and 1-5 p.m. ET. The garage will open both days at 7 a.m. ET.
Other new details greeting drivers this week will be new concrete on pit road and on the rumble strips bordering the turns. The track also completed grading and landscaping work in the runoff areas.
NASCAR XFINITY Series teams will get extra practice time on the new surface during an expanded race weekend. The schedule was extended from three days to four this year with the addition of two XFINITY practice sessions on Thursday, Aug. 4.
The organizational test is the third of five scheduled this season for the Sprint Cup Series. It follows two-day tests at Kentucky Speedway (June 13-14) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 12-13). The two-day Watkins Glen stop precedes organizational tests at Chicagoland Speedway (Aug. 23-24) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (Oct. 18-19), sites for the opening race and the finale for this year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.
