TODAY’S CUP RACE

At Watkins Glen, 3 p.m., NBC

Marcos Ambrose in a fender-bending duel at the end.

Allmendinger beat the best in Ambrose, who was dominant in NASCAR’s top two series at The Glen, and that victory made JTG Daugherty Racing eligible for the post- season.

Time to duplicate that feat because a win is the only way the No. 47 will qualify for the playoffs.

“I’ve come here and put a lot of pressure on myself,” Allmendinger said. “We all know what the ultimate goal is when we show up here. I think over the past couple of years it’s gotten a little more difficult.

“If there’s a chance to win, we’ll take the chance. If not, we’ll do the best that we can ... and get everything I can out of the weekend. If I do that, then I can be satisfied.”

Only five races remain in the Cup regular season, and this year the playoffs will include the road course at Charlotte. Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Kyle Larson, and Brad Keselowski were entered in Saturday’s Zippo 200 in the Xfinity Series. All are securely in the top 16 in points, the cutoff for the postseason, but none has won a Cup race this year, so some extra seat time on the 2.45-mile, high-speed layout can’t hurt.

As NASCAR struggles with lagging attendance at its tracks across the country, Watkins Glen International continues to hold its own. The historic natural terrain road course in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York was voted the best NASCAR track for the third straight time in a poll conducted by USA Today and released Friday. Track president Michael Printup said all but 300 of the 38,000 grandstand seats were sold, and the track has added decks at two of the turns that sold out quickly.

“You can feel that atmosphere,” Allmendinger said.