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Date August 8, 2010 (2010-08-08) Location Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York Course Permanent racing facility
2.454 mi (5.43 km) Distance 90 laps, 220.5 mi (354.9 km) Weather Mostly sunny with a high around 84; wind out of the SSW at 6 mph. Chance of precipitation: 10%. Average speed 91.967 miles per hour (148.007 km/h) | ||
The 2010 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on August 8, 2010 at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Contested over 90 laps, it was the twenty-second race of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season and the second of two road course competitions on the schedule. The race was won by Juan Pablo Montoya, for the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team. Kurt Busch finished second, and Marcos Ambrose, who started eleventh, clinched third.
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Conditions were sunny at the start of the race. Pole position driver Carl Edwards maintained his lead on the first lap, but Jamie McMurray, who had started in the second position on the grid, took the lead before the fifth lap was over. Afterward, Montoya became the leader, and would eventually lead to the race high of 74 laps. During the final twenty laps, Montoya maintained the lead after multiple cautions. On the final lap, Kurt Busch was gaining on Montoya, but Montoya maintained his position to win his first race of the season.
There were five cautions and ten lead changes among five different drivers throughout the course of the race, Montoya's first win of the season and second in his career. The result moved him up two spots to nineteenth in the Drivers' Championship, 774 points behind of leader Kevin Harvick and thirty-five ahead of Martin Truex, Jr. Chevrolet maintained its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, twenty-seven points ahead of Toyota and fifty-six ahead of Ford, with fourteen races remaining in the season.
Background
Watkins Glen International is one of two road courses to hold NASCAR races, the other being Infineon Raceway. The standard short road course at Watkins Glen International is an 11-turn course that is 2.45 miles (3.94 km) long; the track was modified in 1992, adding the Inner Loop, which lengthened the long course to 3.4 miles (5.5 km) and the short course to the current length of 2.45 miles (3.94 km).
Before the race, Kevin Harvick led the Drivers' Championship with 3,080 points, and Jeff Gordon stood in second with 2,891 points. Denny Hamlin was third in the Drivers' Championship with 2,820 points in a Toyota, Jimmie Johnson was fourth with 2,803 points, and Jeff Burton was in fifth with 2,757 points. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 149 points, twenty-two points ahead of their rival Toyota. Ford, with 99 points, was twelve points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third.
Practice and qualifying
Two practice sessions were held before the Sunday race—both on Friday. The first session lasted 110 minutes, and the Friday afternoon session lasted 120 minutes. During the first practice session, Greg Biffle was the quickest with a time of 1:12.205. Denny Hamlin and Paul Menard followed in the second and third positions, but were ahead of Jeff Burton and Kurt Busch in fourth and fifth. In the Friday afternoon practice session, Biffle remained the quickest with a fastest lap time of 1:11.092. Juan Pablo Montoya followed in the second position, less than a second faster than Marcos Ambrose and Kurt Busch in third and fourth. Kevin Harvick was scored fifth quickest with a fastest lap time of 1:11.355. Tony Stewart, who won this race in 2009, only managed sixth.
During qualifying, forty-six cars were entered, but only forty-three will be able to race because of NASCAR's qualifying procedure. Carl Edwards clinched his fifth career pole position, with a time of 1:10.882. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Jamie McMurray. Montoya qualified third, A. J. Allmendinger took fourth, and Kurt Busch started fifth, after being scored fourth in the practice sessions. The three drivers that did not qualify were J. J. Yeley, Dave Blaney, and Tony Ave.
Race summary
The race, the twenty-second out of a total of thirty-six in the season, began at 1 p.m. EDT and was televised live in the United States on ESPN. Conditions were sunny with a high of 80 °F (27 °C), making the track potentially slippery. Dan Fife, of Bentley Creek Weslyan Church, began pre-race ceremonies, by giving the invocation. Next, American Idol runner-up, Bo Bice performed the national anthem, and Heluva Good! senior vice president of operations, Scott Blake gave the command for drivers to start their engines. During the pace laps, Kyle Busch had to go to pit lane because of problems with his race car.
Carl Edwards held the lead going through the first corner with Jamie McMurray behind him. Going through the esses McMurray ran Edwards off track, but Edwards remained the leader. Edwards vacated first position was filled by McMurray, after Edwards reported that his car was tight. On lap 5, Greg Biffle moved into the fourth position, as Elliott Sadler made a scheduled pit stop for fuel. One lap later, Juan Pablo Montoya passed McMurray for the first position. On lap 9, A. J. Allmendinger passed McMurray for the second position. Afterward, Marcos Ambrose passed Edwards for fourth. On lap 16, Jimmie Johnson reported that he had a tire deflating, as he came to pit lane for four tires and fuel.
Scott Speed drove his car to garage because of engine problems on lap 18. Montoya soon built a six-second lead over second place Allmendinger. On lap 25, green flag pit stops began, as Kurt Busch came to pit lane. On the same lap, Ambrose emerged in second, after passing Allmendinger. Afterward, Montoya and Denny Hamlin came to pit lane for their pit stops. Ambrose came to pit lane next, as Edwards and Allmendinger followed. After Johnson unscheduled pit stop, he moved up to ninth by lap 29. On the same lap, the first full course caution was given because P. J. Jones was off the course. On lap 31, the green flag waved, as Montoya led. By lap 33, Edwards, who restarted second, had fallen to the fifth position.
On lap 40, Ambrose emerged in the first position, after passing Montoya. Two laps later, the second caution was given because Bobby Labonte stopped in Inner Loop. Also on the same lap, Brad Keselowski spun sideways and collided with the guard rail. Both only retained minor damage in the accident. On the restart, Ambrose led, but going through turn one, Ambrose fell to the fourth position, as Montoya became the leader. Afterward, Ambrose passed Allmendinger for the third position. On lap 49, Martin Truex, Jr. had a tire rubbing against the car, which caused him to spin as the race resumed. Ambrose moved into the second position, after passing Kurt Busch. By lap 56, Montoya's lead had dropped under one second ahead of Ambrose. Green flag pit stops began on lap 57, as Clint Bowyer drove to pit lane. Next, Kevin Harvick and Hamlin had their pit stops. On lap 60, Montoya and Ambrose pitted, as Ryan Newman became the leader. One lap later, Bowyer drove to the garage, as the third caution waved because of the debris from his car.
While under caution, Mark Martin, Andy Lally and David Ragan had to come to pit lane, after staying on the track until the caution. Montoya and Ambrose became the leaders, after pit stops. On lap 65, Montoya led to the green flag. One lap later, Boris Said spun and collided with the guard rail, which prompted the fourth caution to come out. The green flag waved on lap 70 with Montoya the leader, but the fifth caution came out, as Johnson spun sideways, collided with the wall. The accident also involved Hamlin, who collided with Johnson. After five laps under caution, the green flag waved with Montoya the leader. On lap 77, Ambrose emerged in second, after passing Kurt Busch. By lap 80, Montoya had a 2.6 second lead over Ambrose. On lap 84, Montoya's lead was over 4 seconds. Montoya maintained the lead to the white flag. Montoya crossed the finish line in first to take his second win of his NASCAR career. Kurt Busch followed in second, ahead Ambrose in third, Allmendinger in fourth, and Edwards in fifth. The race had a total of five cautions and ten lead changes among five different drivers.
Post race
Juan Pablo Montoya appeared in victory lane after his victory lap to start celebrating his first win of the season, and his second in his career. His win broke a 113 race losing streak, which started in 2007. Following his win, he added, "The last few weeks have been really frustrating for the whole team because we’ve been so close to victory. (It) seemed to keep slipping away."
Following the race, Kurt Busch stated, "To come up short just to Montoya, to beat Ambrose, racing with those two world-class guys, it was fun. I learned quite a bit." In the subsequent press conference, Montoya said, "Last year, we were so hung up on making the Chase that it was all about numbers, it wasn't about being fast or slow." Marcos Ambrose stated, "We tried hard all day. Juan drove a heck of a race. He wasn't giving me anything. I just wore out everything trying to pass him." After his third-place finish, Ambrose stated:
"He's really hard to pass. It's going to be a big battle. I'm going to see if I can force him into a mistake. I just want to be clean until the end."
After expressing his win, Montoya said, "I think from Day One we worked so hard to bring the performance of the cars to where they are now. I think that really has helped. It’s been frustrating because you could see the performance get better and better. Even last year in the Chase, (I) finished second, finished third, finished second, finished third. That freaking win would never come, so it was getting frustrating." The race result left Kevin Harvick leading the Driver's Championship with 3,210 points. Jeff Gordon, who finished tenth, was second on 3,025, 130 points ahead of Jeff Burton and 133 ahead of Kurt Busch. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet maintained their lead with 158 points. Toyota remained second with 131 points. Ford followed with 102 points, nine points ahead of Dodge in fourth.