This Week in Auto Racing August 7 - 9

This Week in Auto Racing August 7 - 9

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - It's a weekend full of road course racing, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series wind their way through Watkins Glen and IndyCar tackles the turns at Mid Ohio.

Sprint Cup Series

Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen - Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY

With five races remaining until the "Chase for the Sprint Cup" begins, the spotlight shines ever-brighter on the 12th-place cut-off. Greg Biffle, currently in the 12th spot, holds a 101-point advantage over 13th-place Kyle Busch as the Sprint Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International in Upstate New York for its second and final road course race of the season.

Busch dominated Watkins Glen one year ago, leading 52 of 90 laps en route to his eighth -- and final -- win of the season. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver established himself as the new "road course king" last year by winning at Sonoma, CA and Watkins Glen. He finished 22nd at Sonoma earlier this season.

Since winning his third race of the season in May at Richmond, Busch has tumbled eight positions in points. In the last four races, he has finished 14th or worse, including a 38th-place run last week at Indianapolis.

Brian Vickers, Clint Bowyer and David Reutimann are 14th through 16th in points, respectively. All three drivers are within 20 markers of Busch.

While Busch has headed south in points, his teammate, Denny Hamlin, continues to gain momentum in his bid for the Chase. Hamlin ended a 50-race winless streak in what was an emotional victory at Pocono. Last Friday, his grandmother, Thelma Clark, passed away in Tampa, FL at the age of 91.

Hamlin moved up to fifth in points. He has climbed seven positions in the standings since the Pocono 500 seven races ago.

"I'm kind of glad we built a little cushion (Monday) because Watkins Glen will be tough," Hamlin said.

Road course racing has been one of Hamlin's strengths, particularly at Watkins Glen. He has scored consecutive top-10 finishes in three starts there. Hamlin also posted a fifth-place run at Sonoma in June.

Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon are the top road course aces in the series. Stewart, the current points leader, has finished either first or second in the last five races at Watkins Glen. He also finished second at Sonoma this year.

"I love the two road courses," Stewart said. "It's nice because it kind of breaks up the monotony of the season. We do the same thing every week, and it's nice to have two road course races thrown in the mix that give us a chance to do something a little bit off-center for all of us."

Gordon is the all-time road course winner in the series, with five victories at Sonoma and four at Watkins Glen.

Kasey Kahne is one driver who has greatly improved on road courses. Prior to his win at Sonoma this year, Kahne had never finished in the top-10 in a NASCAR road course race. His best finish was 14th, which came twice at Watkins Glen.

At Sonoma, Kahne held off Tony Stewart in several double-file restarts late in the race to capture his first victory this season.

"Our brake system at Sonoma was really good," Kahne said. "You need really good brakes at Watkins Glen. So I think that's gonna benefit us from where we've been in the past."

Sprint Cup regulars Marcos Ambrose and Juan Pablo Montoya began their racing careers on road courses. Both drivers have performed quite well at Sonoma and Watkins Glen lately.

Ambrose won the Nationwide race and finished third in the Cup event at Watkins Glen in 2008. He also finished third at Sonoma this year.

Montoya notched his first Cup victory at Sonoma in 2007. He finished fourth at Watkins Glen last year.

Several road course "ringers" will compete at Watkins Glen this weekend. Patrick Carpentier, Ron Fellows, P.J. Jones, Andy Lally, Max Papis and Brian Simo are among the 46 drivers on the preliminary entry list for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen.

The last time a ringer won a Cup road course race occurred in 1973, when Mark Donohue conquered Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, CA.

Nationwide Series

Zippo 200 - Watkins Glen International - Watkins Glen, NY

The Nationwide Series will join the Sprint Cup at Watkins Glen this weekend. The series will run the first of two road course events this season. Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal is scheduled for August 30.

Kyle Busch finished second at Iowa Speedway and widened his lead to 207 points over Carl Edwards. Busch's second-place run tied Jack Ingram's 1983 series record of finishing in the top-two to nine consecutive races.

"I wish they were all first, that'd certainly be nice then we'd have broken another record - we'd have the most wins in a single season," Busch said after Saturday's race at Iowa. "I should be so grateful and so happy to finish second, but I am not."

Brad Keselowski passed Busch with 10 laps remaining to win the inaugural event at Iowa. Busch has failed to win four Nationwide races this season after holding the lead with 10 laps or fewer to go.

Busch finished second to Marcos Ambrose at Watkins Glen last year, after Ambrose gambled on fuel late in the event. His last stop came on lap 49, as he drove the final 33 circuits around the 2.45-mile road course without pitting. He grabbed the lead with four laps remaining when Jeff Burton ran out of fuel. Ambrose finished four seconds ahead of Busch to win his first NASCAR national touring race.

Ambrose will make his first Nationwide start of the season at Watkins Glen, driving the No.47 car for JTG/Daugherty Racing.

Ron Fellows is among several road course aces who will compete in the Zippo 200. Fellows will drive the No.5 car for JR Motorsports. He has won at Watkins Glen three times, including consecutive victories there from 2000-01. Fellows drove the No.5 car to victory at Montreal last year.

Terry Labonte has the most Nationwide victories at Watkins Glen with four.

Forty-nine teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Zippo 200.

INDYCAR SERIES

Honda Indy 200 - Mid Ohio Sports Car Course - Lexington, OH

After winning last Saturday's race at Kentucky, Ryan Briscoe is sitting atop the championship point standings. Briscoe took an eight-point lead over Scott Dixon and an 11-point advantage over Dario Franchitti. Dixon finished seventh, while Franchitti came in sixth.

Briscoe edged Ed Carpenter by inches to win at Kentucky. The Team Penske driver also won the season-opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL. Carpenter recorded his career-best finish in the series with his second-place run.

With five races remaining this season, the IndyCar Series title is shaping up to be a three-man battle.

"It's very exciting to be in this title hunt and going for a championship," Briscoe said. "It seems like all of us at the front there have trouble hanging on to the points lead. So that's going to be the first goal and really the guys are watching Dixon and Franchitti. I want to be in front of those guys. That's the number one goal."

The 300-mile race at Kentucky featured a season-high 20 lead changes. The event featured the new aero package, which provides more down force for the cars. Kentucky also marked the debut of the Honda overtake assist button. Brief bursts of additional horsepower are made available to drivers through a "push to pass" button on their steering wheels.

The button will be used for the first time on a road/street course this weekend when the series heads to 2.258-mile, 13-turn Mid Ohio Sports Car Course.

"I'm curious to see how effective the push-to-pass button will be," Briscoe said. "I don't think we'll feel the horsepower at all, but we will feel the 200 RPMs which is kind of maybe the opposite to what we were getting in Kentucky."

Briscoe captured his second career IndyCar victory one year ago at Mid-Ohio. Key pit strategies helped Briscoe throughout the race, as he led 43 of 85 laps. He finished seven seconds ahead of teammate Helio Castroneves. Penske recorded its first one-two finish since 2005 at Phoenix.

Dixon won the inaugural event at Mid-Ohio in 2007.