Another road course means it's a good weekend for Juan Pablo Montoya.

This week we go to the second road course of the schedule. A road course is very different than the usual fare of ovals that we see from week to week.  No monotony of left turns here, we get to see lefts and rights.

Just like at Infineon raceway in June we are going to be seeing an interesting mix of strategies employed this weekend. Passing is always difficult on road courses but there will be more opportunities to pass here than at Infineon.

Usually qualifying is very important because even though it is possible to come from the back and get to the front, it is far easier to stay in the top ten by starting in the top ten. However, due to the weather it was rained out so the starting grid is assigned by owner’s points.

Jeff Gordon is one of those drivers that is good at any type of track and Watkins Glen is no exception. He has four wins here and starts on the pole as the points’ leader.

There is another driver who excels on any track that you put him on and that is Tony Stewart. He has three wins at the Glen and is on his charge up in the points. His aggressive driving style will no doubt be fun to watch as he maneuvers the tracks turns and moves his way to the front.

Speaking of aggressive driving that will be fun to watch, Juan Pablo Montoya will be another one to watch. He’s the new Tony Stewart. He won at Infineon and had to start at the back of the pack there. Here, he will be closer to the front and may not need to rely on fuel mileage to manage a way to the front.

Kevin Harvick has had a hard time getting back in the winner’s circle since his trip at Daytona in the beginning of the season. Watkins Glen is one place he could break this streak. If it were not for Montoya’s uncanny ability to get premium fuel mileage out of his car Harvick would have been the winner at Infineon.

Jamie McMurray or Denny Hamlin. While I want to pick Jamie my gut tells me Denny will have a better finish this week. He is a well rounded driver, much like my first two picks and I think the more road course experience he gets the better his finishes will be.

Looking at the lineup there is one driver who wants and needs to win more than anyone else, Dale Earnhardt Jr. He is my dark horse pick this week because he’s not one that I would pick for a road course race. I am going to pick him, not because I think he drives a road course better than anyone else on the track but because his crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said that Dale is more ‘up on the wheel’ than he has seen him a long time. In other words he wants to win and will drive hard to get it.

Off the Beaten Path

Qualifying was rained out so this week drivers will be starting according to owner’s points. Clint Boyer was probably the most excited about this prospect since he never qualifies well at road courses. He is tenth in points but will start eleventh because the 01 car is tenth in ‘owner’s points’.

Boris Said was very vocal in his feelings about NASCAR’s qualifying rules. He no doubt would have made it in on time and is always a viable threat on road courses. He argued that NASCAR should allow qualifying tomorrow at least for the thirteen cars that were outside the top thirty-five. His disappointment at not getting to qualifying was followed up by a statement that more or less said NASCAR did not care about the small teams. There was also mention that not getting to race here would ‘finish’ his team.

This is the second time that he has been booted out of a race thanks to bad weather. The last time he had been on the pole and only a few cars were left to qualify when the rain came, thus nullifying the previous runs and falling back to owner’s points.

Does NASCAR need to reevaluate the way it doe qualifying? I think Boris has a valid point, however the chances NASCAR will change things are extremely slim. Change comes slow to NASCAR, if it comes at all.

Starting Positions

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