WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.: Hendrick Motorsports has dominated the GoBowling at The Glen NASCAR Cup Series race for the last five years.
Even after NASCAR transitioned from the Gen 6 to the Next Gen ride in 2022, HMS’ dominance continued with Kyle Larson scoring the second of his back- to-back victories and William Byron topping Denny Hamlin last season.
Still, with the changes to the race track—new rumble strips and interchangeable curbing in the bus stop—along with a new tire, Byron didn’t think twice about running double duty to acclimate to the innovations.
“I love running here, so it was just really a place where I wanted to come run,” Byron said of the Xfinity race. “And also, more laps on a road course are always great. The last one we had was Chicago, which is very unique. So it’s just nice to have 20 minutes of practice and a full race going into tomorrow.
“Hopefully, it’s fun and hopefully we can compete for the win and be up there with Shane (van Gisbergen) and whoever else is up front.”
Byron studied Friday’s ARCA race to get a sense of the track. He qualified seventh for the Mission 200 at the Glen Xfinity Series race, 0.683 seconds behind pole winner Connor Zilisch. He was 21st in Cup practice, posting his fastest time on his second lap (72.839-sec.)
For Sunday’s Bowling at the Glen, Byron rolls off 11th.
“It looked pretty dirty within the rumbles that they cut in the track,” Byron said. “It looked like there was a lot of residual dirt and dust. We’ll just see. I think we’ll be still using some runoff, but obviously, not to the level we were, probably.”
Before Byron’s generation of racers arrived on the scene, not every driver was competitive on road courses. But with success and versatility being synonymous in NASCAR’s top tours, Byron learned early in his development to add turning left and right into his repertoire.
“It was kind of ingrained in me from early on, K&N Series level,” said the 26-year-old racer. “Like we’d go do tests with that, and then go race my cart at GoPro (now Trackhouse) Motorplex.
“I don’t really feel like at the time that there were that many road courses. By the time I got to the Cup Series, it was three with the ROVAL…then, it just kind of kept going and expanding. So it just fit the fact that I was ready for it, but I don’t think I really did it from a young age or anything. But definitely started to up my game when I was 16 or 17 years old.”
Certainly, the resources at Hendrick Motorsports contribute to Byron success. The company has earned 11 wins at Watkins Glen starting with Tim Richmond, who won from the pole in 1986. Ricky Rudd, Jeff Gordon, Chase Elliott and Larson, all celebrated victories at the Glen under the HMS banner—with Byron being the most recent to add his name to the list.
In 2024, Hendrick has swept all of the road and street courses in Cup with Byron winning Circuit of the Americas, Larson winning Sonoma Raceway and Alex Bowman collecting the checkers on the Chicago Street Course.
“We’ve had pretty good road course stuff for like a little less than a decade, and I feel like it just builds on itself, even though there was a car change,” Byron said. “We actually did struggle with this car on the road courses initially, like quite a bit. And then once we figured out what it needed; we have smart drivers and smart crew chiefs and we all contribute and get a package that we like, and then we go from there.
“I think that’s what it took with this car. And then, yeah, Watkins Glen is just a faster place, so it takes a little bit of everything. The engine is really important, and we always have great engines. So I feel like we’ve been able to make the straightaways good; get through the braking zones and everything.”
Byron has qualified for the Playoffs for the last six seasons. His best result came last year when he advanced to the Championship 4 Round and finished third. With experience comes confidence, but Byron knows a solid points buffer is key.
“Last year, with all the bonus points that we had—36, I guess 41 by the time we got to the Round of Eight—it was easy to feel like, ‘Man, we can kind of just point our way through this deal,’” Byron said.
“And then you get to the Round of Eight and guys start to win, and it all really goes out the window. So I feel like for me, it’s learning from that; not letting my guard down and just really trying to show up each week and have winning speed.”
One bonus for Byron this weekend is having the ability to compete against former F1 winner and IndyCar champion Juan Pablo Montoya, who is driving the No. 50 Toyota for 23XI Racing. Byron was just 12 when Montoya won at the Glen in 2010.
“He was the man when I was growing up,” Byron said. “He was really good here. He was good everywhere, just didn’t maybe win the oval races that he could have or should have.
“But yeah, it’ll be nice to be on the track with him. Hopefully, he’s nice and respectful of the playoff guys (laughs).”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
