WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — One of the most popular decisions NASCAR has ever made was revealed last week.
In fact, the decision was so popular that NASCAR couldn’t wait until the races at Watkins Glen International were over to announce the change.
Before the first race car took to the 2.45-mile road course this past weekend, NASCAR revealed that next year’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Glen would take place in September, as part of the Chase.
The NASCAR community applauded the move. So did the merchants, winemakers, hoteliers and restaurateurs in and around the city of Watkins Glen. This year’s May dates at the Glen preceded the unofficial start of the Finger Lakes tourist season, which doesn’t get into full swing until after Memorial Day.
That’s not to say fortune didn’t smile on this season’s NASCAR tripleheader. Though temperatures were brisk and rain was in the forecast, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Cup Series all ran on dry pavement.
Shane van Gisbergen’s charge through the field to victory in Sunday’s Cup race was so remarkable that even the sun had to come out and watch. All things considered, taken solely from a racing standpoint, this was one of the best weekends of the season so far.
The move back to September, however, has been met with almost universal acclaim. The Finger Lakes district is notable for its wine production, and September is the start of harvest for early varietals, and the aroma of ripened grapes hangs in the air like strong perfume.
The weather in September typically is more favorable, too—with temperatures averaging more than 10 degrees warmer than in early May. And now that the fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway has reverted to the 1.5-mile oval from the Roval, the Chase will have a road course.
With impetus from chief operating officer Ben Kennedy, NASCAR in recent years has been eager to test the envelope when it comes to scheduling—the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Bristol Dirt Track—and just as willing to make changes when innovations start to lose their luster.
With the move from May to September at Watkins Glen, NASCAR is playing to a throng of voices rejoicing at the change.
There is at least one person to whom the change will make no difference. Last year, in a race held on Aug. 10, van Gisbergen dominated, leading the final 17 laps and beating Christopher Bell to the finish line by 11.116 seconds.
On Sunday, van Gisbergen had 25 laps to erase Ty Gibbs’ lead of nearly 30 seconds and did so in 18 circuits, winning by 7.288 seconds over runner-up Michael McDowell. The New Zealander is likely to be just as effective next September.
What should give his competitors pause is just how well-hidden van Gisbergen kept the full capability of his Trackhouse Racing car until it was needed.
“I didn’t really push to my maximum until stage three,” van Gisbergen acknowledged after the race. “That’s sort of where our true pace was shown.”
The remaining question is the exact placement on the calendar for next year’s Watkins Glen race. The traditional Labor Day weekend race, the Southern 500, belongs to Darlington Raceway and would be contested on Sept. 5 in 2027.
The traditional date for the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Festival, where vintage cars parade around the original 6.6-mile street course, is the Friday after Labor Day. It’s a huge event that consumes the entire town. For NASCAR to race that same weekend would be problematic, to say the least.
Sept.19 would be a workable date, but if Watkins Glen is added to the Chase, another track has to leave the postseason. Could the Bristol Night Race return to the late August date it occupied for decades? Or would World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, a recent addition to the postseason, return to its former summer date?
Those are decisions yet to be revealed, but whatever has to happen to facilitate Watkins Glen’s September date will be worth the tradeoff.
