It’s a busy weekend for the CV Products Trackside Program. We’re at four different racetracks in four different states providing trackside support at 11 different races between now and Sunday evening.
Going into tonight’s NASCAR K&N East race at Watkins Glen — the Bully Hill Vineyard 125 — much of the talk was focused on how the driver of the No. 96 car, Kenzie Ruston, would perform after her second-place finish at Iowa Speedway. Ruston, a member of the NASCAR Next class, has three top-five and six top-10 finishes in 12 races and was sitting in sixth position in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship standings going into tonight’s race. Her finish at Iowa, by the way, was the highest for a female driver in K&N Pro Series history!
Want to know how Kenzie Ruston fared? Check out the write-up below, along with all the other information we’re providing about this weekend’s CV Products Trackside stops.
Bully Hill Vineyards 125
Series: NASCAR K&N East
When: Friday, August 8
Racetrack: Watkins Glen International — Watkins Glen, NY
How this one played out: In its first race at Watkins Glen in four years, the NASCAR K&N East gave race fans a lot to cheer about. And Kenzie Ruston didn’t disappoint. While she didn’t win tonight’s Bully Hill Vineyards 125, she did gather up another top 10 finish by coming in ninth. Second-year driver Scott Heckert was able to get past leader Andrew Ranger and second-place Cole Custer on restart of a green-white-checkered attempt to score his first career victory in the action-packed Bully Hill Vineyards 125 on Friday. After a late race caution was given to the field on Lap 50 for contact between Daniel Suarez and several cars, Ranger led Custer on the final restart at the line. The two battled side by side until Heckert found an opportunity to make his move and get by both drivers just before the white flag. Custer made one last attempt to pass Heckert for the lead, but he lost control and hit the sand barrels at the end of pit road to bring out the final caution of the race. For Heckert, it was his first win in 27 career K&N Pro Series East starts.
Continental Tire Road Race Showcase
Series: Tudor United SportsCar Series
When: Friday, August 8 – Sunday, August 10
Racetrack: Road America — Elkhart Lake, WI
How to watch from home: 5:20pm EST on Saturday on IMSA.com, and 6:30pm EST on Sunday on FOX Sports 1
What you need to know: The Continental Tire Road Race Showcase takes over Road America’s 4-mile circuit for what will undoubtedly be one of the most incredible weekends of sports car racing this season. Fans will get to see the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race on Saturday, with the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship event on Sunday, plus races from the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge, IMSA Prototype Lites and the Mazda MX-5 Cup all weekend.
Zippo 200 at the Glen
Series: NASCAR Nationwide Series
When: Saturday, August 9
Racetrack: Watkins Glen International — Watkins Glen, NY
How to watch from home: ABC at 2pm EST, or Sirius XM Ch. 90
What to watch for: Joe Nemechek will attempt to make his 1,100th NASCAR national series start this weekend. Nemechek is third on the all-time NASCAR national series starts list behind Richard Petty (1,182) and Mark Martin (1,142).
Federated Auto Parts 200
Series: ARCA Racing Series
When: Saturday, August 9
Racetrack: Berlin Raceway — Marne, MI
How to watch from home: ARCARacing.com
What to watch for: Justin Boston is in the hunt for his second career ARCA Racing Series victory. Boston has started all 13 races in the ARCA Series this season and has moved into the fifth spot in the driver championship point standings. He has five top-five finishes and seven top-ten finishes, plus two Menards pole awards.
2014 World Crown 300
Series: Southern Super Series
When: Saturday, August 9
Racetrack: Gresham Motorsports Park — Jefferson, GA
How to watch from home:
What you need to know: The 2014 World Crown 300 get underway on Wednesday, with the opening of Gresham’s campground area. Thursday saw the first on-track action with an optional test for all Super Late Models, Outlaw Late Models and Pro Trucks. A second optional test was held earlier this evening. Pole position qualifying starts at 5:30pm Saturday, with the first race of this year’s World Crown 300 rolling off at 7pm.
Cheez-IT 355 at the Glen
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
When: Sunday, August 10
Racetrack: Watkins Glen International — Watkins Glen, NY
How to watch from home: ESPN at 1pm EST, or Sirius XM Ch. 90
What to watch for: Nelson Piquet Jr., son of former Formula 1 champ Nelson Piquet, will be making his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut this weekend at Watkins Glen driving the No. 77 Ford for car owner Randy Humphrey. Piquet has three NASCAR national series wins in his career, including in a NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2012 at a race at Road America.
What to watch for: Could this weekend be the one where 
What to watch for: Anticipation is brewing for what many people recognize as the dirt racing world’s Super Bowl and World Series all rolled into one. This mega three-day event – where late model racing fans get to enjoy camping, parties, autograph sessions with drivers, and a midway full of food and apparel vendors – also includes the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The series makes its way to Florence Speedway with a tight battle atop the series championship point standings. Two-time and reigning series champion 
The Race to the Chase gets underway for all intents and purposes this weekend at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. While every point is important in a 26-race regular season, none are more important than points the drivers can secure over the course of the 10 races leading up to the Chase itself. This weekend’s Quaker State 400 marks the first of those races in which drivers and their teams can earn points to qualify them for the Chase. Jimmie Johnson and the #48 team remain in first place in the Sprint Cup Series Standings with 573 points. Twenty-five points behind is Carl Edwards and the #99 team, followed by Clint Bowyer (#15) who sits 45 points back, and Kevin Harvick (#29) who trails by 63 points.
This year’s Nationwide Series title is still very much up for grabs. Heading into last week’s road race in Wisconsin, driver Regan Smith was enjoying a comfortable 58-point lead in the series standings over Sam Hornish Jr. This week, as the Nationwide series travels to Kentucky for Friday night’s Feed the Children 300, Smith’s lead has shrunk to just 28 points. Not only did Smith lose ground last weekend but the race’s runner-up — Justin Allgaier — leapfrogged Hornish in the standings to assume second place. Hornish is now third in the Nationwide series points standings, two points behind Allgaier, followed by Austin Dillon and Elliott Sadler.
Thursday night’s UNOH 225, which is sponsored by the University of Northwestern Ohio, marks the 300th consecutive start for the Mooresville, NC-based SS Green Light Racing team, a streak that dates to 2001. NASCAR K & N Pro Series East driver CJ Faison will pilot the SS Green Light #81 on Thursday evening. Practice for the UNOH 225 will be held on Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., with two laps of qualifying at 5:05 p.m. The green flag drops at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Youth will likely lead the way on Sunday at Winchester Speedway in Indiana. That’s because of three of the drivers entered in the Herr’s Chase the Taste 200 are teenagers. Currently second in the points standings, 18-year-old 
This year will mark the 32nd running of the Six Hours of the Glen, making the race at Watkins Glen one of the longest standing endurance sport car races in the world. Located in the Finger Lake Region of New York, the 11-turn, 3.4-mile Watkins Glen International long course is one of the premier road racing facilities in the United States. And when the drivers take to the course this weekend for the 8th race in the 2013 Rolex Sports Car Series, there will be six drivers separated by just three points at the top of the Daytona Prototype standings, and six more drivers separated by a mere 12 points in the Grand Touring standings.
