Wright’s Road Course Experience Sets Stage for Success at Watkins Glen
Finger Lakes Feature… Kris Wright and the No. 81 Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Chevrolet Silverado RST will head to Watkins Glen International (WGI) for Friday afternoon’s Bully Hill Vineyards 176 at the Glen. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native is coming off a 31st-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway, where a strategy play did not work out as expected for the No. 81 team, but McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (MHR) took home two top-10 finishes. Wright looks ahead to the second road course race of the season at WGI, where he has two career NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, including a 17th-place finish in 2021. As Wright prepares for his first NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) start at the circuit, the Western New York track has been circled on the calendar with seven career NCTS road course appearances.
Road Course Success… Wright’s professional motorsports career began on road courses. In 2017, Wright earned Rookie of the Year honors in the IMSA Prototype Challenge in the LMP3 class. The 31-year-old followed that with the LMP3 championship in 2018 and later added a runner-up finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the LMP2 class. His experience translated to NASCAR with two top-20 finishes and three more top-25s on road courses. Wright will look to improve on his best road course result of 19th on the streets of St. Petersburg.
Season to Date… Seven races into the 2026 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series season, the No. 81 AHN Chevrolet Silverado RST has three top-20 finishes, including a 19th-place run at St. Petersburg. Wright has done a solid job keeping the truck clean at Daytona and Atlanta and looks to build more complete races moving forward. He is currently 21st in the NCTS championship standings.
Tune In… Coverage from Watkins Glen begins Friday with practice on FOX Sports 2 at 11:00 a.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 12:05 p.m. ET. Live coverage of the Bully Hill Vineyard 176 at the Glen will air on Fox Sports 1 at 4:30 p.m. ET. Stay connected with the No. 81 F.N.B. Corporation team by following @BMR_NASCAR on X, @bmr_nascar on Instagram and Bill McAnally Racing on Facebook.
Kris Wright Quote:
“I’m excited for the opportunity to race at another road course at this point in the season. We had really good speed and were battling for a top-10 position at St. Pete, and I expect more of the same this weekend. Watkins Glen is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule, and I’m looking forward to getting on track Friday with my No. 81 AHN Chevrolet Silverado RST.”