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Preliminary entry lists for NASCAR at Watkins Glen, Eldora

By Jerry BonkowskiJul 29, 2019, 6:09 PM EDT
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It will be an expanded weekend of sorts for NASCAR, with the Gander Outdoors Truck Series racing Thursday night under the lights and on the dirt at Eldora Speedway, while the Xfinity Series will race Saturday and the Cup Series on Sunday on the road course at Watkins Glen International.

Here are the preliminary entry lists for the weekend:

Cup – GoBowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET Sunday on NBCSN) at Watkins Glen

There are 37 cars entered.

NASCAR On NBC’s Parker Kligerman will make his ninth Cup appearance of the season for Gaunt Brothers Racing in the No. 96 Toyota.

Two cars do not have drivers listed yet on the preliminary entry list: the No. 51 Petty Ware Racing Ford and the No. 52 Rick Ware Racing Ford.

Chase Elliott is defending winner of this race.

Click here for the entry list.

Xfinity – Zippo 200 at The Glen (3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC) at Watkins Glen

The preliminary entry list has 37 cars entered in this race.

Ryan Preece will be in the No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

NASCAR on NBC analyst A.J. Allmendinger will be in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.

Ryan Blaney will be in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford.

Kyle Busch will be in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Stanton Barrett will be in the No. 42 Motorsports Business Management Toyota.

There is no driver listed on the preliminary entry list for the No. 74 Mike Harmon Racing Chevrolet.

H2 Motorsports, which owns the No. 28 driven by Shane Lee, announced this week it will not compete this month’s three road-course races.

Joey Logano is the defending winner of this race.

Click here for the entry list.

Trucks – Eldora Dirt Derby (9 p.m. ET Thursday on FS1) at Eldora Speedway.

There are 32 trucks entered.

Chase Briscoe is the defending winner of this race and will be making his first Truck Series start of the season.

Spencer Boyd will be replaced in Young’s Motorsports’ No. 20 Chevy by Landon Huffman due to an injury in a non-racing related incident. Huffman has three career Truck Series starts. His most recent was the 2018 playoff race at ISM Raceway with Niece Motorsports.

Boys said he could potentially miss multiple races.

Click here for the entry list.

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Watkins Glen to host 50th anniversary of Woodstock Music & Arts Festival

Watkins Glen International
By Jerry BonkowskiJan 9, 2019, 7:00 PM EST
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Two weeks after it plays host to the NASCAR Cup Series on Aug. 4, Watkins Glen International will host the 50th anniversary celebration of the Woodstock Music & Arts Festival — also known as Woodstock 50 — from Aug. 16-18.

Yes, it’s been 50 years since Woodstock, whose “3 Days of Peace & Music” in mid-August 1969 captivated the world with musical acts including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Who, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jefferson Airplane, Joan Baez, Santana, Joe Cocker and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Co-producer and co-founder of the original Woodstock 1969 and now Woodstock 50, Michael Lang, announced Wednesday that the 1,000-acre WGI will host Woodstock 50, the only authorized commemoration of the original fest. Tickets are expected to go on sale first for college students ages 18-25 by the end of January.

“The original festival in ‘69 was a reaction by the youth of the time to the causes we felt compelled to fight for – civil rights, women’s rights, and the antiwar movement, and it gave way to our mission to share peace, love and music,” Lang said in a media release. “Today, we’re experiencing similar disconnects in our country, and one thing we’ve learned is that music has the power to bring people together.

“So, it’s time to bring the Woodstock spirit back, get involved and make our voices heard.”

The musical lineup for Woodstock 50 will be announced in the coming weeks, Lang said. The festival will have three main stages and is expected to host a wide swath of artists of various musical genres from rock, hip hop, pop and country music. In additional to contemporary artists, several tribute performances honoring those who played at the first Woodstock will also be held.

WGI has nearly twice the space as the upstate New York farm owned by Max Yasgur, which hosted the original Woodstock Aug. 15-18, 1969. WGI is about 150 miles northwest of the original Woodstock site.

“The original site in Bethel (New York) is wonderful, but much too small for what we’re envisioning,” Lang said. “Watkins Glen International gives us the ability to create something unlike any other commemorative event and something uniquely Woodstock.”

Lang added that when he first saw WGI as a potential host site, he felt “an immediate emotional connection to the land. It’s a beautiful location and an ideal site.”

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Chase Elliott fastest in final Cup practice at Watkins Glen

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By Daniel McFadinAug 4, 2018, 2:24 PM EDT
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Chase Elliott was fastest in the final practice for Sunday’s Cup race at Watkins Glen International (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC).

Elliott posted a top speed of 124.520 mph in the final minute of the session.

Elliott bested Denny Hamlin (124.365 mph), Aric Almirola (123.979), William Byron (123.977) and Michael McDowell (123.911).

Defending race winner Martin Truex Jr. was 10th fastest (123.457).

AJ Allmendinger was 27th fastest (122.031).

Kyle Larson recorded the most laps in the session with 35 and was 25th on the speed chart.

Kyle Busch had the best 10-lap average at 122.345 mph. Elliott was second at 122.334 mph.

Click here for the speed chart.

Watkins Glen, Michigan announce multi-year sponsor deals

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By Daniel McFadinJan 18, 2018, 11:24 AM EST
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Watkins Glen International and Michigan International Speedway announced multi-year sponsorship deals for their Cup Series races Thursday.

WGI announced the Aug. 5 race at the road course will be sponsored by GoBowling.com. The 90-lap race will be called “Go Bowling at the Glen.”

This is not the first time the bowling brand has sponsored a Cup event. It sponsored the spring race at Kansas Speedway from 2016-17 and the August event at Pocono Raceway from 2013-14.

As part of the deal, Go Bowling will have two bowling lanes at the track for the race weekend.

Michigan has renewed its sponsorship deal with FireKeepers Casino Hotel for its June Cup race for “many years.”

The hotel in Battle Creek, Michigan, began its relationship with MIS by sponsoring pole day in 2014. It began sponsoring the June race in 2016.

TheFireKeepers Casino 400 is scheduled for June 10.

ISM Raceway (Phoenix) also announced the title sponsor for its March 11 Cup race.

The event will called the TicketGuardian 500.

TicketGuardian is a mobile ticketing insurance provider. When fans purchase tickets to events at ISM Raceway, they will be given the option to add TicketGuardian’s ticket protection coverage. This allows fans to have insurance on the tickets they’ve purchased in advance.

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