Ogle Holds Off Nelson in Watkins Glen Thriller

Watkins Glen, NY — The OBRL YesterYear Racing Cup Series 2026 returned from its summer break for Race 22 at Watkins Glen International, featuring a 45-lap event with no cautions. The race utilized the high-speed “cup layout” featuring the bus stop chicane, challenging drivers to manage 900-horsepower Gen 4 cars on the newer, smoother track configuration.

Tom Ogle started from the pole position with Eric Essary joining him on the front row. Behind them, Ben Sheppard and Matt Watkins occupied the second row, followed by Dwayne McArthur and Roger Hurley. Two drivers, Cortney Nelson and Sean Foltz, were forced to start from the end of the line, with Nelson also facing a green-flag pass-through penalty that significantly hindered his start. As the green flag waved, Ogle successfully held the lead into the downhill braking zone of Turn 1. The field managed a remarkably clean start, quickly settling into a nose-to-tail rhythm through the S’s.

The non-caution format meant that any mistake was costly. Early in the race, Robert Guarisco and Patrick Martindale both spun while attempting to get the power down off a corner. A more severe incident occurred when Greg McDaniel got loose and, while trying to rejoin the track, was clobbered by Kenny Allen, ending the race for both drivers.

In the battle for the podium, Matt Watkins made an aggressive move on Ben Sheppard to take over third place. Sheppard subsequently lost another position to Dwayne McArthur within two turns. Later, Sheppard’s strong run ended prematurely when he hit the wall on the front stretch, causing significant right-side damage.

As the race neared the midpoint, the strategy game began. Dwayne McArthur was the first of the leaders to pit on Lap 16, attempting an “undercut” to gain track position. Essary and Watkins followed shortly after, while Ogle stayed out for several additional laps.

When Ogle finally pitted and returned to the track, he found himself in a fierce side-by-side battle with Eric Essary through the high-speed S’s. Ogle managed to hold the position as Essary backed off to preserve his tires. Meanwhile, Essary’s race later took a hit when he suffered front-end damage that dropped him down the order.

The story of the race was Cortney Nelson, who, despite his early 40-second penalty, began carving through the field with superior pace. By Lap 15, he had already reached the top 10. Nelson utilized extreme aggression, often being two seconds per lap faster than the leaders.

By Lap 27, Nelson had moved into second place as other drivers cycled through their stops. Although he briefly considered a “fuel-only” pit stop to save time, he ultimately decided to take four fresh tires to maintain his speed for the final sprint.

With 10 laps remaining, Tom Ogle maintained a steady lead, but the “Jaws” theme began to play as Nelson continued to close the gap. Matt Watkins, who had been running a strong race in the top three, suffered a heartbreaking spin after clipping a curb in the final turns, falling to sixth place.

This move promoted Nelson to second, but he simply ran out of time to catch the leader. Tom Ogle delivered a “perfect” performance, hitting every mark and managing his tires to take the checkered flag.

Tom Ogle took the victory, with Cortney Nelson finishing second, only 1.3 seconds behind after overcoming his early penalty. Dwayne McArthur finished third, followed by Roger Hurley in fourth and Eric Essary in fifth.

Ogle credited his win to mental concentration and tire management, noting that the Gen 4 cars were easy to “smoke the back tires” on if a driver lost focus. Despite the win, Ogle praised Nelson’s performance, stating that Nelson likely would have “killed us” had he not started with a penalty. The series now moves to the D-shaped oval of Michigan International Speedway for the next round.