Turn 1 was pivotal, chaotic at Watkins Glen last year. What to expect in 2023
The Turn 1 grandstands provided a perfect view of the deciding action during last year's NASCAR weekend at Watkins Glen International.
For contending drivers, Turn 1 provided either a pathway to victory or road to ruin, with the outcomes of two of the three races during Go Bowling at The Glen weekend dictated by what took place at the 90-degree right-hander that greets drivers seconds after restarts.
With five laps to go, Kyle Larson maneuvered past Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott, who was left high and dry after picking the outside lap, and held on to repeat as winner of the Cup Series' Go Bowling at The Glen.
Two days earlier, Brandon Jones took advantage of side-by-side contact between Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray in Turn 1 on the final lap of the ARCA Menards Series race to gain the win. In between, some shuffling out of the track's first turn was a pivotal part of the Xfinity Series event won by Larson.
All three race series return to The Glen the weekend of Aug. 18 to 20, with ARCA's General Tire 100 at The Glen at 6 p.m. Friday, Xfinity Series' Shriner's Children's 200 at The Glen at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and the Go Bowling at The Glen at 3 p.m. Sunday.
The obvious question: Will any of the races come down to Turn 1 chaos off a restart? Recent history says yes.
More: Kyle Larson wins second straight race at Watkins Glen as he seeks to defend NASCAR championship
Turn 1 has plenty of history
Turn 1 has always had its moments at Watkins Glen since becoming an annual stop for Cup drivers in 1986.
In 2007, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon each spun out in Turn 1 while leading before Stewart took the checkered flag.
In 2011 Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose ended up three-wide on a restart with two laps left before Ambrose overtook Keselowski for the win.
That trio went bumper to bumper to bumper again in 2012. Busch started the final lap in the lead, went wide in Turn 1, then was spun by Keselowski after returning to the track as Ambrose went on to win after passing Keselowski.
Restarts and runoff a potent combo
These days every bit of the expansive runoff area in Turn 1 is fair game for drivers, who can pull away if they grab the lead there and maintain it through the remainder of the track's 2.45-mile NASCAR configuration.
NASCAR has basically given drivers carte blanche when it comes to utilizing the expansive runoff area surrounding Turn 1. More than ever, the drivers are taking advantage.
"It’s all about having position on the other end of the corner and for the most part that’s where the car is right now," said Cup driver Tyler Reddick of Turn 1. "It’s so hard getting through the Esses by yourself, so if you can get the lead off of Turn 1 and maintain it up through the Esses, you’ve really increased your chances of winning the race.
"So everyone recognizes that, so they push really hard into Turn 1 to try to be that first car up through the Esses. I think everyone’s just gotten better with this car, the Next Gen car, that you can be more aggressive with and we just keep pushing limits it seems."
The strategic element that comes into play for a leader late in the race is whether to take the outside or inside on restarts. Larson said last year it worked against him to be in the right lane in the Xfinity race. As it turned out, Elliott couldn't hold the advantage from the outside in the Cup race.
"I'm not proud of it," Larson said last year of the decisive pass in which Elliott was pinched farther outside. "The leader choosing the left lane, it wins out. When it gets late in the race, it's definitely risky. I knew that was my only opportunity to get by him. I felt our cars were kind of equal today and had a lot of fun after the green-flag cycle trying to chase him down."
Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen could come down to Turn 1
