William Byron puts on clinic for fifth win of season at Watkins Glen Cup Series race

The State Newspaper reporter Lou Bezjak provided real-time updates and analysis during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International Raceway. See those musings in the section below.

Click here for a look ahead to who’s in, who’s out with one week to go in the Cup Series regular season.

Unofficial results

Running commentary

Stage 3

Lap 90: After a summer slump, William Byron turns in a dominant performance and wins the Go Bowling at The Glen. It was Byron’s series-high fifth win of the year. Before this season, he had won only four races. It also was his first road-course win.

Byron led 66 of the 90 laps.

Lap 76: Michael McDowell’s day started off strong but they he had two pit-stop penalties. Then, McDowell said the motor shut off and had to make an unscheduled pit stop. Moments later, McDowell team pushes his car to the garage and his day is done.

Lap 73: Aric Almirola spins coming into Turn 7 but no caution. Almirola was 28th at the time.

Lap 70: The top-five with 20 laps are William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs.

Lap 58: William Byron retakes the lead. He has led a race-high 34 laps so far.

Lap 56: Another driver runs out of gas as race leader Bubba Wallace, who also is in mix for playoff spot, runs out of fuel.

Lap 55: Chase Elliott, who needs a win to make the playoffs, runs out of gas bringing out the first caution of the day. He is now a lap down.

Lap 54: Green flag pit stops begin as drivers think they can make it through the rest of the way on fuel. Michael McDowell has another pit road penalty with too many crew members over the wall, second big mistake from him today.

Lap 52: Ty Gibbs, who has running up front most of day, dropped back from third to fourth as he overdrove it and Kyle Larson was able to pass him.

Stage 2

Lap 40: William Byron wins stage two for his eighth stage win of the year, most among Cup drivers. There is yet to be a caution in the race. Denny Hamlin is second followed by Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson and AJ Allmendinger. Chase Elliott is seventh. After the pass-through penalty, Michael McDowell is 11th.

Lap 22: Michael McDowell is penalized for pit road penalty, driving through too many pit boxes. It is a pass-through penalty. You are only allowed to drive through three pit boxes. William Byron is the race leader.

Stage 1

Lap 20: Michael McDowell continues his hot streak and wins stage one at the Go Bowling at The Glen. Will Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 17: Green flag pit stops start with three laps left in the stage.

Lap 5: Daniel Suarez spun after jumping over one of the curbs. He didn’t have any contact with any other car. Race continues. Michael McDowell, last week’s surprise winner, is currently in front after passing Denny Hamlin.

Green flag 3:23 p.m.: Pole sitter Denny Hamlin leads the field to the green and we are under way.

3:10 p.m.: Engines fired for the Go Bowling at The Glen.

2:26 p.m.: It is the question that is asked almost every time for the past month - Is this the week Chase Elliott breaks through for his first win of the season? Elliott can’t get into the playoffs unless he wins this week or next. The betting network, Action Network, says Elliott is their favorite to win this week. In six Cup races at Warkins Glen, Elliott has won twice and has four top-10 finishes.

2:17 p.m.: Officials at Watkins Glen announce grandstand seats for Sunday’s race is a sellout. It is the eighth straight sellout.

2:12 p.m.: Pre-race coverage starts on USA Network at 2:30 p.m. Here is list of other key times before the green flag drops:

2 p.m.: A little more than an hour before the green flag drops at Watkins Glen. There will be a few drivers going to the back of the field because of unapproved changes. Brad Keselowski had a faulty ECU unit had to be replaced. Corey LaJoie had a broken left front shock. Aric Almirola, Justin Haley and Cole Custer also will be headed to the back of the field.

NASCAR race at Watkins Glen

• Race: Go Bowling at The Glen
• Place: Watkins Glen International
• Date: Sunday, August 20
• Time: 3 p.m. ET
• Purse: $7,154,312
• TV: USA, 2:30 p.m. ET
• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 220.5 miles (90 Laps)
• Stages: Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 20), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 40), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 90)

Starting lineup for race at Watkins Glen

1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota

2. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet

3. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford

4. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota

5. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet

6. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet

7. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota

8. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota

9. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet

10. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet

11. (22) Joey Logano, Ford

12. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota

13. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford

14. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet

15. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet

16. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet

17. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford

18. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet

19. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota

20. (31) Justin Haley, Chevrolet

21. (42) Mike Rockenfeller, Chevrolet

22. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet

23. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford

24. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford

25. (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford

26. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford

27. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford

28. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet

29. (15) Andy Lally, Ford

30. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford

31. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet

32. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford

33. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford

34. (51) Cole Custer, Ford

35. (78) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet

36. (77) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet

This story was originally published August 20, 2023 at 2:07 PM.

Lou Bezjak

The State

(803) 771-8419

Lou Bezjak is the High School Sports Prep Coordinator for The (Columbia) State and (Hilton Head) Island Packet. He previously worked at the Florence Morning News and had covered high school sports in South Carolina since 2002. Lou is a two-time South Carolina Sports Writer of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Support my work with a digital subscription