It was a crazy finish to the Finger Lakes 355 as oil was spewed all over the track leading to a wild finish where Marcos Ambrose was able to claim his second straight victory at Watkins Glen International.
Five different drivers led at least one lap of the 90 lap race.
In the end it came down to a drag race and whatever driver could avoid the oil the best and hold on to the finish. Brad Keselowski slipped and Ambrose was able to claim his second straight Watkins Glen International win.
Here’s a look at how the every driver in the Finger Lakes 355 finished:
- Marcos Ambrose– Second career win, second win at Watkins Glen, he avoided the oil on track and came home for the victory.
- Brad Keselowski– Almost had the win if his tires wouldn’t have had lost grip on the oil. He was able to take control of the race when Kyle Busch wasn’t in the lead.
- Jimmie Johnson– Stayed in the top-10 all day and much of that was in the top-five. He never led a lap, but he took over the points lead.
- Clint Bowyer– Bowyer was a car that everyone was keeping an eye on. He had brake challenges in the race, but stayed in the top-10 all day.
- Sam Hornish Jr.– Hornish was a top-15 car for most of the day, but found himself in the top-10 late and he stayed free of the oil to get his first top-five since 2009.
- Greg Biffle– Had left side damage early, but pit strategy found him in the top-five late. He slid around in the oil fell back to sixth after.
- Kyle Busch– Led most of the laps and had a tough time dealing with the oil on the track late. Led the field to the white flag, but got sideways and fell back on the final lap.
- Matt Kenseth- Kenseth looked like he would settle for a top-15 run, but pit strategy late led him into the top-five. Slipping around in the oil saw him fall back to eighth.
- Regan Smith– He was holding on to a top-10 run all day and the native from Cato, New York was able to secure back-to-back top-10 runs.
- Martin Truex Jr.– After running out of fuel on the second to last caution it looked like Truex’s day was done, but he recovered for a top-10 finish.
- Ryan Newman– After starting in the top-10 Newman stayed there for most of the day, but the oil on the track late caused him to slip outside the top-10.
- Paul Menard– Menard had a strong run all day in the top-10, flirting with a top-five, but handling went away late. The best finishing RCR car.
- Kasey Kahne– At one point, Kahne had smoke fill his helmet from a faulty AC unit. He was able to recover, but pit strategy kept him out of the top-10.
- Carl Edwards– Edwards started 18th, but wasn’t able to back up his win from Saturday. Edwards was in the top-10, but pit strategy saw him fall back late.
- Kevin Harvick– A former winner at this track, Harvick didn’t have the weekend he was looking for. He qualified 19th and only had a brief stint in the top-10.
- Casey Mears– After a tough few weeks a top-20 run for Mears and his No. 13 car at Watkins Glen may give the team a boost for the rest of the season.
- Scott Speed- One of the best runs for the No. 95 all year, Speed was competitive all day and almost cracked the top-15.
- Aric Almirola– Almirola had a quiet day the entire time running in the top-20. His teammate got the win, but Almirola was able to have a solid top-20 day.
- Tony Stewart– Stewart was clearly a car to beat early on, but after the rain came through, Stewart spun coming off turn seven and backed it into the fence.
- David Gilliland– A quiet day in the mid-20’s was turned into a top-20 run late, when Gilliland was able to capitalize on other’s bad luck late in the day.
- Jeff Gordon– Had a top-10 run going until turn-seven when he spun on the final lap falling back to his 21st place finish.
- David Ragan– He made up ten spots from his qualifying effort. After finishing the race last year with a badly damaged Ford and being partially on his side, a finish staying on track and right-side up might feel like a win.
- Landon Cassill-Not the best qualifying effort for Cassill, but he was able to make up for it in the race and come home with a high-20s finish.
- Travis Kvapil– After starting 42nd, Kvapil’s team made great moves on the track and his team brought home the car in the 24th spot.
- Boris Said– An early spin left Said in the back of the pace and he wasn’t able to climb out of the mid-20’s for most of the day.
- Stephen Leicht– His best run in a while in a cup car, Leicht stayed ahead of the competition and made strong improvements from his 39th starting position
- Bobby Labonte– Labonte started 26th and stayed around that position most of the day until his engine went sour late in the day.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.– Was running in the top ten with a handful of laps to go when he spun and had to pit, which dropped him back in the pack.
- Joe Nemechek– Nemechek had a strong day going, but faded late in the race and was slow on track for the final couple laps.
- Jeff Burton– Fuel pump problems plagued the team for much of the day.
- Kurt Busch– Busch lost a wheel early on and went for a spin. His team got him back out on the track, but his day was done.
- Joey Logano– He lost a shock mount early in the race, but his team was able to get Logano back out on the track and he logged laps for much of the second half of the race.
- Juan Pablo Montoya– Montoya started on the pole, but only led one lap. His day ended early when his left front broke.
- Denny Hamlin– Hamlin’s day ended after his car blew and engine and he had to get out of it when the engine started on fire after having issues.
- Jason Leffler– Twice Leffler went off track and slowed, but the second time brought out the caution and ended his day with engine problems.
- Dave Blaney– Blaney almost made it to halfway but then something broke in his car and he pulled into the garage with smoke coming from his Tommy Baldwin owned car.
- Michael McDowell– McDowell had some problems earlier in the race and after 30 laps his day eneded when he pulled down pit road for the final time.
- Josh Wise– After 25 laps around the track, Wise brought his car into the garage where it stayed for the rest of the day.
- Jamie McMurray– McMurray lost a tire in the esses and smacked the ARMCO barrier, damaging his car beyond repair.
- J.J. Yeley– Driving for Tommy Baldwin, Yeley lasted 15 laps on the day before he pulled behind the wall
- Chris Cook– Cook only completed five circuits before pulling into the garage for the day.
- Patrick Long- It was a rough Friday for Long as he lost an engine. Sunday wasn’t much better as he lasted two laps before pulling into the garage for the day.
- Brian Vickers -Vickers’ day didn’t even last a lap. His engine expired at the end of lap one and he pulled into the garage.
