Five men at Watkins Glen
There?s nothing like going for a nice Sunday drive around Watkins Glen. Provided you?re able to do more than turn left.
This week?s stop on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit is the AMD at The Glen, one of two road races on the season ? the other being June?s Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Jeff Gordon took the checkered flag at that event, and he?s among the favorites this week. But he?ll have to contend with Tony Stewart, who came out on top during the last two races at Watkins Glen. He?ll also have to contend with the ?road race ringers? who will be in action.
Here?s a look at five of the men near or at the top of the odds list for Sunday?s race.
Jeff Gordon: Gordon used to eat Watkins Glen for breakfast. He took four of five races between 1997 and 2001, and has six Top 5 results in 13 appearances. But Gordon?s last victory there also came in the last of his four Cup champion seasons. He hasn?t even come close since then, but at least the Vallejo, Calif. native is back in Chase contention despite a somewhat disappointing 16th at last week?s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
Tony Stewart: The defending Cup champion has assumed Gordon?s mantel as the King of Road Racing. Stewart also won the 2002 event at Watkins Glen, and has a pair of victories at Sonoma to boot. His years on the IRL circuit, including a championship season in 1997, have served Stewart well on the road courses. A win this week would be his third in 2005 ? Stewart has finished in the Top 3 in points races on four other occasions.
Robby Gordon: The ?other? Gordon swept both road races in 2003 driving for Richard Childress Racing. Now he has his own part-time NASCAR team, but his No. 7 Chevy isn?t exactly tearing up the track these days. Gordon is 27th in the drivers? standings with just two Top 10 finishes. He placed a brutal 40th at the Dodge/Save Mart 350, as well. Gordon will need to catch a break or two to make a dent in the standings this Sunday.
Boris Said: This man has risen to the top of the road race ringer set. Like Robby Gordon, Said has become a NASCAR owner, joining Frank Stoddard and Mark Simo to give birth to No Fear Racing. It?s been a happy family so far; Said picked up a ninth-place finish at Sonoma and even broke through on the oval with a fourth at the Pepsi 400 ? a race where Said started from the pole position. His Roush Racing-assisted No. 60 Ford Fusion is worth a close look this week.
Ron Fellows: The plucky Canadian made his NASCAR Cup debut at Watkins Glen in 1995, and eight of his 15 career Cup races took place there. His biggest successes at The Glen were in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he won two of four career appearances (grabbing the pole the first three times), and in the Busch Series, where he tamed The Glen three times in six races. Fellows will once again be driving in the No. 32 Tide Ride for PPI Motorsports; last year at Sonoma, he coaxed an eighth-place finish out of this car before encountering mechanical problems at The Glen. Fellows is an accomplished driver with Corvette Racing in the American Le Mans Series. He should have no problem navigating the many turns at The Glen, but it should be noted that no road race ringer has won a Cup event since Mark Donohue took the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside in 1973.
---Perry
BetWWTS.com
There?s nothing like going for a nice Sunday drive around Watkins Glen. Provided you?re able to do more than turn left.
This week?s stop on the NASCAR Nextel Cup circuit is the AMD at The Glen, one of two road races on the season ? the other being June?s Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. Jeff Gordon took the checkered flag at that event, and he?s among the favorites this week. But he?ll have to contend with Tony Stewart, who came out on top during the last two races at Watkins Glen. He?ll also have to contend with the ?road race ringers? who will be in action.
Here?s a look at five of the men near or at the top of the odds list for Sunday?s race.
Jeff Gordon: Gordon used to eat Watkins Glen for breakfast. He took four of five races between 1997 and 2001, and has six Top 5 results in 13 appearances. But Gordon?s last victory there also came in the last of his four Cup champion seasons. He hasn?t even come close since then, but at least the Vallejo, Calif. native is back in Chase contention despite a somewhat disappointing 16th at last week?s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
Tony Stewart: The defending Cup champion has assumed Gordon?s mantel as the King of Road Racing. Stewart also won the 2002 event at Watkins Glen, and has a pair of victories at Sonoma to boot. His years on the IRL circuit, including a championship season in 1997, have served Stewart well on the road courses. A win this week would be his third in 2005 ? Stewart has finished in the Top 3 in points races on four other occasions.
Robby Gordon: The ?other? Gordon swept both road races in 2003 driving for Richard Childress Racing. Now he has his own part-time NASCAR team, but his No. 7 Chevy isn?t exactly tearing up the track these days. Gordon is 27th in the drivers? standings with just two Top 10 finishes. He placed a brutal 40th at the Dodge/Save Mart 350, as well. Gordon will need to catch a break or two to make a dent in the standings this Sunday.
Boris Said: This man has risen to the top of the road race ringer set. Like Robby Gordon, Said has become a NASCAR owner, joining Frank Stoddard and Mark Simo to give birth to No Fear Racing. It?s been a happy family so far; Said picked up a ninth-place finish at Sonoma and even broke through on the oval with a fourth at the Pepsi 400 ? a race where Said started from the pole position. His Roush Racing-assisted No. 60 Ford Fusion is worth a close look this week.
Ron Fellows: The plucky Canadian made his NASCAR Cup debut at Watkins Glen in 1995, and eight of his 15 career Cup races took place there. His biggest successes at The Glen were in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he won two of four career appearances (grabbing the pole the first three times), and in the Busch Series, where he tamed The Glen three times in six races. Fellows will once again be driving in the No. 32 Tide Ride for PPI Motorsports; last year at Sonoma, he coaxed an eighth-place finish out of this car before encountering mechanical problems at The Glen. Fellows is an accomplished driver with Corvette Racing in the American Le Mans Series. He should have no problem navigating the many turns at The Glen, but it should be noted that no road race ringer has won a Cup event since Mark Donohue took the Motor Trend 500 at Riverside in 1973.
---Perry
BetWWTS.com
