3 takeaways from NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at Watkins Glen

William Byron won the latest NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, his fifth victory of the 2023 season, on Sunday, August 20.

Byron, who led 63 out of 90 laps, took the lead after Michael McDowell received a pit road penalty and aside from pit strategy, never looked back en route to victory.

Here are three takeaways from the NASCAR Cup Series Go Bowling at Watkins Glen.

#3 Daniel Suarez's lousy day

After AJ Allmendinger's missed opportunity last weekend at the Indy Road Course, today was a pivotal day for Daniel Suarez, who was the only driver to have a chance to point his way into the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Suarez was not fast in practice or qualifying but was still confident in his car's ability. However, he spun out early in Stage 1 and did not recover while Bubba Wallace was able to accumulate stage points.

This leaves Suarez in the big boat of drivers who will have to win at Daytona International Speedway next Saturday to make his way into the playoffs.

#2 A replay of Indy Road Course

If you watched today's race at Watkins Glen and last weekend's race at Indy with your eyes closed, you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Last week's race only had one caution in the first handful of laps and none after. Today's race saw no cautions through the first two stages until Chase Elliott ran out of fuel during Stage 3.

The lack of stage cautions and bunching up the field has allowed for races to flow naturally and for drivers to have to work to gain track positions and calls for perfection. If Michael McDowell did not receive his pit road penalty, he may have dominated once again prior to his car expiring.

#1 Heading into Daytona

With one race left in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, there will be several storylines to watch heading into Daytona.

For the regular season championship, Denny Hamlin took a huge chunk out of Martin Truex Jr.'s points lead. If Truex runs into trouble at Daytona, it isn't far-fetched that Hamlin can surpass him for the championship.

The big story will be the playoff bubble. Bubba Wallace will enter Daytona with a comfortable cushion over 17th place in points. However, an early wreck or a new winner can change all of that.

One of NASCAR's better decisions was to make Daytona the cutoff race to the playoffs where everyone has one last hail mary attempt to make their way into the playoffs.