Background

Watkins Glen International (nicknamed "The Glen") is an automobile race track located in Watkins Glen, New York at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the home of the Formula One United States Grand Prix, which it hosted for twenty consecutive years (1961–1980), but the site has been home to road racing of nearly every class, including the World Sportscar Championship, Trans-Am, Can-Am, NASCAR Cup Series, the International Motor Sports Association and the IndyCar Series.

Initially, public roads in the village were used for the race course. In 1956 a permanent circuit for the race was built. In 1968 the race was extended to six hours, becoming the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen. The circuit's current layout has more or less been the same since 1971, although a chicane was installed at the uphill Esses in 1975 to slow cars through these corners, where there was a fatality during practice at the 1973 United States Grand Prix. The chicane was removed in 1985, but another chicane called the "Inner Loop" was installed in 1992 after J.D. McDuffie's fatal accident during the previous year's NASCAR Winston Cup event.

The circuit is known as the Mecca of North American road racing and is a very popular venue among fans and drivers. The facility is currently owned by International Speedway Corporation.

Starting Lineup

Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 20

Stage Two Laps: 20

Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 50

Larson's victory put him in a tie with Hamlin for the regular-season points lead.

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 7 among 7 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 4 for 6
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 2 hours, 10 minutes and 57 seconds
• Average speed: 101.031 miles per hour (162.594 km/h)

Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side as part of a Radio style Broadcast for the race. Rick Allen and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. MRN broadcaster Mike Bagley called the race from the Esses, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call from Turn 5, and Jeff Burton had the call from a platform located off Turn 10 that covers Turns 6–7. Parker Kligerman and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

Radio

Motor Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle covered the action when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the race when the field raced thru the esses. Kurt Becker covered the action when the field raced thru the inner loop and turn 5 and Kyle Rickey covered the action in turn 10 & 11. Steve Post & Kim Coon called the action from the pits for MRN.