Nascar Race Today

NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series visits New York's Finger Lakes region today. (Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig, USA TODAY Sports)

Story Highlights Green-flag time for today's NASCAR race at Watkins Glen is 1:20 p.m. EDT Marcos Ambrose, who has won the last two races at The Glen, is on the pole The race is a 90-lap, 220.5-mile event

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - It's NASCAR race day at Watkins Glen International, and we've got some essential information you need to get ready for today's Cheez-It 355 at The Glen.

START TIME: Two executives from Kellogg will instruct drivers to start their engines at 1:09 Eastern time today, followed by the green flag at 1:20 p.m. So if you want to skip the pre-race show and just tune in for the race, turn on your TV at 1:20.

RACE DISTANCE: The Cheez-It 355 is not 355 miles (thankfully) but 355 kilometers. It's actually a 220.5-mile race, which takes 90 laps around Watkins Glen's 11-turn, 2.45-mile layout.

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Angie Johnson, a tech sergeant from the Army Air National Guard, will sing the anthem today. Johnson is also a recording artist for Sony.

TV/RADIO SCHEDULE: ESPN will broadcast today's race and has a pre-race show beginning at noon ET. The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will call the race on the radio.

WATKINS GLEN: Five favorites to watch STEWART: Fellow drivers say he'll be missed on track DANICA: Stewart is 'hassling the nurses' WEATHER:

Gorgeous. Temperatures are expected to be in the low-to-mid 70s with mostly sunny skies and a slight breeze. It's perfect summer weather in New York's Finger Lakes region.

LAST TIME: Marcos Ambrose held off Brad Keselowski in one of the best last laps in NASCAR history, winning his second straight race at the Glen.

STARTING LINEUP: Ambrose showed he's fast again this year by winning the pole position for today's race. He took advantage of NASCAR's group qualifying format to snag the top spot.

Here's the starting lineup for today's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen:

Marcos Ambrose Clint Bowyer Martin Truex Jr. AJ Allmendinger Kyle Busch Jamie McMurray Paul Menard Brad Keselowski Joey Logano Matt Kenseth Juan Pablo Montoya Michael McDowell Kurt Busch Ryan Newman Brian Vickers Carl Edwards Greg Biffle Jimmie Johnson Kasey Kahne Denny Hamlin David Gilliland Jeff Burton Owen Kelly Ron Fellows Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kevin Harvick Boris Said Jeff Gordon Max Papis Casey Mears David Ragan Aric Almirola Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Victor Gonzalez Jr. Danica Patrick David Reutimann Alex Kennedy Travis Kvapil David Stremme Dave Blaney Landon Cassill Tomy Drissi Brian Keselowski Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck