NASCAR at Watkins Glen results: Kyle Larson holds off Chase Elliott for fifth win of season

Zac Al-Khateeb

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NASCAR at Watkins Glen results: Kyle Larson holds off Chase Elliott for fifth win of season image

Not even the recent road track success of Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. could overcome Kyle Larson's sustained brilliance in 2021.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver won for the fifth time this year in the NASCAR Cup Series, finishing ahead of second-place Elliott and third-place Truex on Sunday. Larson took the lead from pit road on Lap 65 and never let it go. Credit to Elliott, though; he managed to fight from the rear for his second-place finish after he was hit with an L1 penalty prior to the race.

Larson's win is good news for Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick, who finished eighth and 10th, respectively. They're the last two drivers in the projected NASCAR Cup playoff field. A first-time winner this season would knock Reddick, then Harvick out of the playoff running.

Sporting News tracked live updates and highlights from NASCAR's race at Watkins Glen on Sunday. Follow for complete results from the Go Bowling at The Glen road race:

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NASCAR at Watkins Glen live updates, highlights

(All times Eastern)

5:14 p.m.: For the fifth time this year, Kyle Larson is your winner. Your top 10:

  1. Kyle Larson
  2. Chase Elliott
  3. Martin Truex Jr.
  4. Kyle Busch
  5. Denny Hamlin
  6. William Byron
  7. Christopher Bell
  8. Kevin Harvick
  9. Chase Bricscoe
  10. Tyler Reddick

5:11 p.m.: Three laps remain, and Elliott has reduced Larson's lead to fewer than 3 seconds, but there might not be enough time left to stage the comeback.

5:04 p.m.: Elliott moves into second place behind Larson with just nine laps remaining but trails by more than 5 seconds.

5:02 p.m.: Larson, Truex, Elliott, Kyle Busch and Byron make up your top five with 10 laps remaining. Hamlin, Bell, Harvick, Ross Chastain and Chase Briscoe make up the remainder of the top 10.

4:48 p.m.: Elliott's doing good work out there today.

4:45 p.m.: Larson's in a strong position to win his fifth race this season, but it's not entirely because of him:

4:42 p.m.: More spinouts, this one from Keselowski, who spins out and hits Logano. The road race is getting the better of a lot of drivers, but not bringing up too many cautions thus far.

4:29 p.m.: And there goes Bell.

4:15 p.m.: This is shaping up to look like a close race. ...

4:05 p.m.: Caution 4 (Lap 40). And there's Stage 2 in the books. Truex wins. The top 10:

  1. Martin Truex Jr.
  2. Christopher Bell
  3. Kevin Harvick
  4. Kyle Larson
  5. Chase Briscoe
  6. Ross Chastain
  7. Matt DiBenedetto
  8. Denny Hamlin
  9. Joey Logano
  10. Kyle Busch

3:51 p.m.: A little bumpy out there, isn't it?

3:43 p.m.: Caution 3 (Lap 25). James Davison spins and stalls out on Turn 6, which is proving problematic for drivers.

3:36 p.m.: Kurt Busch jumps 11 spots to the front of the pack following the caution.

3:31 p.m.: Caution 2 (Lap 20): The final 10 laps of the stage go through no problem. Your top 10:

  1. Joey Logano
  2. Kyle Larson
  3. Denny Hamlin
  4. Tyler Reddick
  5. William Byron
  6. Kyle Busch
  7. Alex Bowman
  8. Chase Elliott
  9. Austin Dillon
  10. Erik Jones

3:24 p.m.: Logano in the lead, by the way; Keselowski no longer in the top 10 after the caution.

3:18 p.m.: Caution 1 (Lap 10): Competition caution.

3:15 p.m.: And there goes the leader on Turn 6:

3:07 p.m.: Brad Keselowski has lead each of the first three laps at Watkins Glen. He's followed closely behind Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Reddick, William Byron, Harvick and Alex Bowman in the top 10, respectively.

3:03 p.m.: And they're off!

2:54 p.m.: Details of Sunday's race: 90 laps, 220.5 miles and stages ending at Laps 20, 40 and 90.

2:19 p.m.: "I'm here to knock over pins and win races, and I'm all out of pins," — Aric Almirola, probably.

2:08 p.m.: A significant development for the two-time defending winner at this track:

2:10 p.m.: More information on Elliott and Christopher Bell's L1 penalties:

NASCAR start time today

  • Time: 3 p.m. ET (TV time)
  • TV channel: NBCSN (TSN 3,5 in Canada)
  • Live stream: NBCSports.com | fuboTV (7-day free trial)

The green flag for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International is scheduled to drop shortly after 3 p.m. ET.

While the race might start on time, there's a small chance drivers will be racing on rain tires. The National Weather Service forecast for Sunday in Watkins Glen, N.Y., calls for a 30 percent chance of rain, with showers and thunderstorms possible after 2 p.m. Otherwise, skies are expected to be mostly sunny and the high temperature is expected to reach the low to mid-80s.

NASCAR starting lineup at Watkins Glen

Here is the complete starting lineup for Sunday's race at Watkins Glen International, the Go Bowling at The Glen.

Start Driver Car No. Team
1 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
2 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
3 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
4 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports
5 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
6 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
7 Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
8 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
9 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
10 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
11 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
12 Ross Chastain 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
13 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
14 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
15 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
16 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
17 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
18 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
19 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
20 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
21 Daniel Suarez 99 Trackhouse Racing Team
22 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
23 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
24 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
25 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
26 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
27 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
28 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
29 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
30 Justin Haley 77 Spire Motorsports
31 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row Motorsports
32 Garrett Smithley 53 Rick Ware Racing
33 Kyle Tilley 78 Live Fast Motorsports
34 Josh Bilicki 52 Rick Ware Racing
35 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
36 James Davison 51 Petty Ware Racing
37 RC Enerson 15 Rick Ware Racing

Zac Al-Khateeb

Zac Al-Khateeb Photo

Zac Al-Khateeb has been part of The Sporting News team since 2015 after earning his Bachelor's (2013) and Master's (2014) degrees in journalism at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining TSN, he covered high school sports and general news in Alabama. A college sports specialist, Zac has been a voter for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy since 2020.