Moving NASCAR’s Watkins Glen International race to early May may go down as one of the sport’s biggest scheduling mistakes in recent memory.
Fans, campers and even many in the garage have spent months voicing frustration over the decision, which was largely tied to former NASCAR executive Jusan Hamilton and senior vice president of competition Elton Sawyer. While NASCAR wanted to shake up the calendar and spread road course events throughout the season, moving Watkins Glen out of its traditional late-summer slot ignored what made the event special in the first place.
Watkins Glen is not just another race weekend. It is one of NASCAR’s sacred camping weekends, held in a region that only gets so many truly warm-weather months every year. Fans plan vacations around it. Families camp there for days. The late August atmosphere became part of the identity of the event itself.
Now? Fans are dealing with cold temperatures, rain forecasts and muddy campgrounds in early May. It simply is not the same experience.
The move also created another awkward feeling: it feels like NASCAR was just at the Glen. The traditional summer date gave the event space to breathe and made its return feel special every season.
To NASCAR’s credit, leadership appears to understand the backlash. New NASCAR president and chairman Steve O’Donnell is reportedly working internally to move the event back toward August or September in future schedules. Mistakes happen, and many fans appreciate that the sanctioning body seems willing to listen this time around.
Ironically, many believe another road course should have been moved instead. Circuit of the Americas or Sonoma Raceway would have made far more sense for a spring shakeup than Watkins Glen, a place deeply tied to summer racing culture.
Sonoma needs a spring date for the beautiful, lush green surrounding the course and its rolling hills. Alas, for now, we must make do with what we have.
The good news is the on-track product should still deliver. Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch are both running all three national touring series races this weekend, giving fans an incredible lineup of road racing talent.
Still, for many longtime fans and media members, something about a chilly, rainy May weekend at Watkins Glen just feels wrong. The racing will likely be fantastic. But the magic of a packed summer weekend in upstate New York is hard to replace.
Let’s make sure we fix this one.
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