Mission 176 at The Glen
Location: Watkins Glen, N.Y.
Course: Watkins Glen International
Format: 2.45-mile road course
Laps: 72
NASCAR Trucks Mission 176 at The Glen Race Preview
Layne Riggs became the third NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver to win multiple races two weeks ago when he drove to victory at Lucas Oil Raceway. His victory left three playoff spots available to claim with two regular-season races remaining, but all is not quiet on the playoff front. While there hasn't been action on track since that race, there has been plenty to talk about off track. First, Stewart Friesen was injured racing in a SuperDIRT Car Series race in Canada, suffering several injuries that will force him out of competition while he recovers. Following that news, it was announced that Kaden Honeycutt was released with immediate effect from Niece Motorsports after the playoff contender signed a future deal to drive for another competitor. Connor Zilisch will step into Honeycutt's vacated No. 45 machine this week at Watkins Glen before Bayley Currey takes over for the remainder of the season, but Honeycutt's playoff hopes are not lost with his exit. It was announced Tuesday that he will fill in for Friesen starting at Richmond while Christopher Bell takes the wheel at Watkins Glen. Honeycutt will remain playoff eligible by racing at Watkins Glen with Young Motorsports. With unexpected changes and two races remaining to finalize the playoff field, nearly anything remains possible with a potential shot at the 2025 championship still to play for.
Key Stats at Watkins Glen International
- Number of races: 6
- Winners from pole: 4
- Winners from top-5 starters: 5
- Winners from top-10 starters: 6
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
- Fastest race: 97.790 mph
Previous Watkins Glen International Winners
2021 - Austin Hill
2000 - Greg Biffle
1999 - Ron Fellows
1998 - Joe Ruttman
1997 - Ron Fellows
1996 - Ron Hornaday, Jr.
This week's trip to Watkins Glen will be the seventh race at the track in NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series history and the first since 2021. Prior to the last race, the series visited five times from 1996 through 2000. The track is a natural-terrain road course with elevation changes, fast flowing turns, and long straights with some calling it the superspeedway of road courses. However, like all road courses, track position is a key ingredient of success. In the six series run there so far, five of those were won from the front row. The furthest back anyone started to win was 10th in 1996. Having positive track position and the freshest tires at the end will give drivers an advantage making it a tough combination to beat at Watkins Glen. It will be just the second road course outing of the season for the trucks, and the only prior race, at Lime Rock, was won by Corey Heim. He and the rest of the series regulars will face a stacked field of competition this week with several NASCAR Cup and Xfinity regulars racing on Friday in a bid to gain track time, though. Since lap time and track position are such critical components of success this week, fantasy players are advised to revisit rosters and make final selections after practice and qualifying, focusing on drivers that practiced and start inside the top 10 where possible.
RotoWire NASCAR Truck Series DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Mission 176 at The Glen (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Connor Zilisch - $12,000
Corey Heim - $11,300
Kyle Busch - $10,800
Christopher Bell - $10,300
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Ross Chastain - $10,000
Layne Riggs - $9,500
Ty Majeski - $9,200
Chandler Smith - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Parker Kligerman - $8,700
Daniel Hemric - $8,500
Tyler Ankrum - $8,300
Ben Rhodes - $8,100
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Grant Enfinger - $7,400
Kaden Honeycutt - $7,000
Rajah Caruth - $6,900
Matt Crafton - $6,000
NASCAR Truck Series DFS Picks for the Mission 176 at The Glen
Connor Zilisch - $12,000
Layne Riggs - $9,500
Ben Rhodes - $8,100
Grant Enfinger - $7,400
Kaden Honeycutt - $7,000
Matt Crafton - $6,000
Connor Zilisch is a NASCAR star of the future with a road racing pedigree that puts him among some of the best. Evidence of his skill was his Xfinity victory over Shane van Gisbergen just a few weeks ago at Sonoma Raceway. This week's race will be his seventh series start and first of this season. He has two poles and a best finish of fourth from six series starts in 2024 and won his Xfinity Series debut at Watkins Glen last season. This time, he'll be driving the No. 45 in place of Kaden Honeycutt and racing in all three NASCAR races at the Glen this weekend. One series driver Zilisch will have to contend with is Layne Riggs. The Front Row Motorsports driver won his second race of the season last time out at Indianapolis. He is picking up momentum just in time for the playoffs and could offer some serious competition all the way to Phoenix. Riggs finished 13th in the only road course race held so far this season but qualified third for the race, running well until a late mistake cost him a top finish. Combine that with an eighth-place start at Circuit of the Americas last season and you can see that Riggs has road course speed and just needs to carry it through to the end. Ben Rhodes has also shown pace at road courses. He finished fourth at Lime Rock and has four series top-10 finishes at COTA despite starting one of those races 34th. He also finished fifth at Mid Ohio in 2023, winning a stage. His prior road course finishes suggest he should be one of the top runners this week at the Glen.
Veteran Grant Enfinger isn't a name that typically comes to mind when talking about road courses, but his finishes at the tracks have been pretty good. He finished 11th this season at Lime Rock and hasn't finished worse than 12th in four career tries at COTA, too. He was part of the last series race at Watkins Glen but retired early with transmission failure. His past statistics suggest he should be in store for a top-15 run this week, though. Kaden Honeycutt will definitely be a driver to watch. He was dumped from his ride with Niece Motorsports, but is keeping his playoff hopes alive by driving the No. 02 Young's Motorsports entry before moving over to fill in for Stewart Friesen for the remainder of the season. Honeycutt holds a 75-point advantage over Jake Garcia with two races remaining to shore up a championship entry. Honeycutt finished 12th at Lime Rock and was 15th at COTA back in 2023. Two more finishes like that should be enough to see him into the championship battle. Another veteran that showed speed at Watkins Glen is Matt Crafton. He qualified fourth at the track when the series raced there in 2021. He also finished 19th just a few weeks ago at Lime Rock. While Crafton isn't likely to be a contender for the victory, his experience and ability to fight for top-15 finishes consistently at road courses make him a potentially valuable lower-priced option.
NASCAR Truck Series Best Bets for the Mission 176 at The Glen
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 1:00 PM ET Friday.
Race Winner - Connor Zilisch -120, Corey Heim +350
Top-Three Finish - Chris Buescher +180
Top-Five Finish - Layne Riggs +225
Connor Zilisch's entry in this week's race at Watkins Glen widens the odds we would typically see for the usual favorites. This week, Corey Heim to win is a better option than usual because of that. Even against one-off specialist drivers, Heim has gotten the better results this season. He is a five-time winner this season that has been behind the wheel of this equipment all season. Compare that with Zilisch, who just agreed to drive this race a few days ago and hasn't raced in the series since last season. Heim has the advantage in seat time with a well-drilled crew to support him, which could make all the difference at a place like Watkins Glen where execution and strategy are defining factors of success.
One interloper worth considering this week is Chris Buescher. His positive odds for a top-three finish are good value. Yes, this will be Buescher's series debut, but he went up against the best in the world at this track in the Cup series last season and won. He is a consistent top-10 finisher at road courses in Cup and Xfinity, and that success gives him an edge this week at a track he knows well with a team he can rely on. He will be piloting the No. 66 ThorSport Racing entry, which finished fifth in the hands of Cam Waters at Lime Rock Park. While unconventional, there is a lot to like about Chris Buescher as a top-three option this week.
A more conventional option is Layne Riggs as a top-five finisher. Riggs is achieving peak form with a second victory under his belt last time out. He finished 13th at the only other road course race held so far this season but not for lack of speed. He qualified third for that race and slipped down the order after a mistake on a late restart on old tires. That is a mistake he and the team will learn from and wagerers should expect him to be among the front runners throughout this weekend's race.
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