Key storylines for NASCAR Cup playoff race at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — NASCAR’s 10-week playoff puts drivers through an emotional rollercoaster and mentally challenges them over the final 70 days of the season.

Kyle Larson entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed and left the playoff opener last weekend at Atlanta 10th in points after a crash. He starts 20th in today’s race at Watkins Glen (3 p.m. ET on USA Network).

Larson faces some hurdles in today’s race and how he handles them will determine what he’ll need to do in next week’s cut-off race at Bristol to advance to the second round.

While Larson exudes calm, he can still feel the pressure. Having won a championship helps him handle those feelings. So does his previous playoff experience.

Even a bike ride can help. Particularly one earlier this summer when he rode with Connor Zilisch, former drivers Josh Wise and Scott Speed and former Olympic speedskating champion Dan Jansen. They rode in Western North Carolina to Mt. Mitchell, which at 6,684 feet is the highest point east of the Mississippi River.

“I’ve never done anything like that before, not even close,” Larson said. “I’ve never spent four-and-a-half hours on a bike before, let alone climb 6,000 feet. … Yeah, you’re just climbing and climbing and you’re by yourself. You’re not like together, you’re kind of just going at your own pace. So we’re all kind of spaced apart a little bit, but it was really relaxing but very challenging.

“You’re just on there, your (rear) is killing you, your legs are, your heart is beating. You know the end is coming. I’ve never done it before so I didn’t know where the end was. But then finally, I remember cresting the corner, the final corner. I was like ‘Oh, my God, thank you so much, finally it’s done.’ At least I thought at the time it was done, but then you still got to go down and there’s still another climb. Accomplishing something that is very challenging that I never would have thought to ride.”

“I’ve always enjoyed being on the bike. I have just never done anything much more than 25 or 30 miles and fairly flat, so I feel like I’m OK on a bicycle and then Josh planned this trip and I was very happy that my schedule allowed for me to go because I’ve wanted to do something challenging just to see if I could do it and how I would stack up to, at least mentally to myself and others. But yeah, it was fun. It was great. It was super challenging for all of us.”

Not every challenge is the same but starting mid-pack won’t be easy for Larson.

Here’s a look at the key storylines for today’s race at Watkins Glen:

Tire wear

Goodyear brought a new tire that would wear and estimated lap times would increase by about three seconds over a 20-lap run.

Teams saw lap times increase about 2.5 seconds over a 15-lap run during Saturday’s practice session. Still some questions remain.

“The challenge is the same for all of us this weekend, just the unknown of the tire, tire wear … how the setups might even from coming here with the (harder) tire,” said Christopher Bell, who starts 17th.

Previously, pit strategy was based on fuel mileage and not tires. It was easy to divide the race into fuel runs. With the way the tires are expected to wear, going that far could cost a driver positions if others pit early. Competitors expect strategy to play a greater role in today’s race.

Hendrick Motorsports seeks its sixth consecutive Cup win at Watkins Glen this weekend.

Noah Gragson, who starts ninth, said: “I think track position is going to be really key still. (The tires) do wear out. We ran 15-16 laps in each (practice) session and you lose a little bit of rear lateral grip. So exiting the corner, you’re going slower, but it’s still hard to pass.”

Denny Hamlin

It has been a tumultuous few weeks for the veteran racer. NASCAR penalized Hamlin 75 points and 10 playoff points after a mistake by Toyota Racing Development led to the company tearing down one of Hamlin’s engines before it could be inspected by NASCAR.

That came amid a 10-race stretch that saw Hamlin finish 24th or worse seven times.

23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Hamlin and Michael Jordan, was one of two teams not to sign the charter agreement last week with NASCAR at the deadline, leaving questions about what happens.

Then last weekend at Atlanta, Hamlin qualified at the back because of a plug wire issue. He ran near the back during the race, fighting an ill-handling car. He decided to stay toward the back late in the race, thinking there would be a crash ahead of him that he could avoid and gain positions. Instead, he was collected in a last-lap crash and finished 24th. That put him just two points ahead of Brad Keselowski, the first driver outside a playoff spot.

Hamlin will start today’s race 20th.

“Certainly I don’t love where I’m at,” Hamlin said. “That’s a given. But I still think if I just do the best I can (Sunday), do the best I can (next week) at Bristol, it will still work itself out.”

Hendrick dominance

Hendrick Motorsports has won the past five Cup races at Watkins Glen. Will that streak continue?

Chase Elliott won at this track in 2018 and 2019. There was no Cup race at Watkins Glen in 2020. Kyle Larson won in 2021 and ’22. William Byron won last year.

Alex Bowman was the top Hendrick car in qualifying and will start fourth. Byron starts 11th, Elliott 14th and Larson 20th.