Watkins Glen Go Bowling At The Glen Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ross Chastain
Watkins Glen Fantasy Outlook – Ross Chastain was elite last summer at Watkins Glen en route to a 4th and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a factor once again. That said, last year’s result is also his only top ten at Watkins Glen, so it’s very much so a “One Off” for him in the results column. This year at road courses, Chastain has the 11th best Driver Rating, a 12.4 average running position, the 13th best Total Speed Ranking and a 15.5 average finish. Heading into the weekend, I would conservatively just view him as a top ten contender.
Watkins Glen Track History – In the Next Gen at Watkins Glen, Ross Chastain ranks 7th in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings and has a 14.3 average finish. Last year’s race is ultimately the most important, and Chastain was stout. Last year, Chastain started 1st, had the best average running position (4.8), earned the best Driver Rating, led the most laps and then finished 4th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Chastain ranked 2nd but take note his speed over the segments were 1st, 1st, 3rd and 11th, so he clearly wasn’t at his best late. In 2023, Chastain was a complete non-factor. In the race, Chastain finished 18th, had a 17.7 average running position and ranked 15th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. In 2022, Chastain didn’t run well and also spun out at one point (didn’t hurt him too much since he was back in the 20’s on lap 64 when it happened). When the checkered flag waved, Chastain finished 21st and had a 19.5 average running position.

Ryan Preece
Watkins Glen Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Preece should be on your radar at Watkins Glen. Preece snuck in a top ten last summer (9th) and he’s run well at road courses this year. In 2025 on this track type, Preece has the 8th best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and his average finish over the last three races is 11.3. Heading into the weekend, I would look for Preece to be solid and potentially compete for a top ten.
Watkins Glen Track History – At Watkins Glen, Ryan Preece has finished better in each new start, so hopefully that trend won’t end. Last year, Preece had his best result at this NY track by a mile, despite being involved in a lap #1 accident. In the race, Preece finished 9th, earned the 17th best Driver Rating and had a 21.3 average running position. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Preece ranked 15th. In 2023, Preece started 30th, had the 22nd best Speed Ranking, had a 20.5 average running position and then finished 20th. In his two starts prior to that from his time at JTG, Preece had results of 28th (2021) and 36th (2019).

Ryan Blaney
Watkins Glen Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Blaney has been a solid performer at Watkins Glen and on Sunday, I would view Blaney as a top ten contender. Blaney’s run well at “The Glen” and since 2017 minus last year and 2022, Blaney has a 9.6 average finish. This year at road courses, Blaney has the 12th best Track Type Total Speed Ranking, the 12th best Driver Rating and a 15.0 average finish minus Sonoma, where he looked top five good, but problems led to a DNF.
Watkins Glen Track History – Ryan Blaney has been a pretty solid performer at Watkins Glen and in 5 of the last 8 races, he’s finished between 5th to 14th. Last year, Blaney literally crashed on the opening lap which marked the end of his race, so no lessons learned from his 38th place showing. In 2023, Blaney finished 9th and had a 15.5 average running position. In terms of speed stats, Blaney ranked 9th for Speed Late In A Run and then 12th for Total Speed Rankings. In 2022, Blaney just never ran well and finished a clunker 24th. In the race, Blaney had an 18.1 average running position and the 20th best Total Speed Ranking. Over the four races prior to that, Blaney had results of 14th, 5th, 12th and then 8th.

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