NASCAR heads into its Watkins Glen weekend under fresh scrutiny after introducing new tire-pack barriers to improve safety and enforce track limits. Cup Series Managing Director Brad Moran has expanded on the changes at Watkins Glen saying drivers pushed for clearer boundaries.
One of the two new tire packs at Watkins Glen International is at Turn 1, which inclufes four separate bundles in the runoff area roughly 180 feet apart. A second main bundle is a continuous barrier line at the exit of the Carousel. It starts about 20 feet from the track and narrows to just five feet.
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In a recent appearance on the Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, Moran explained the solution saying:
“After using the tire bundles at certain tracks, COTA, Mexico, the drivers tend to like that way of controlling some of the track limits. And that’s what we’ve done.”
Drivers had been using wide paved runoff areas to gain time and the new setup is meant to stay closer to the racing line and removes that advantage. The Carousel exit produced a major wreck last year when Michael McDowell and Austin Hill were battling in the runoff and McDowell was turned into the guardrail.
“The grooves that were put in last year, we thought would slow them down more. Obviously, if we slow them down that area, they won’t go there. These guys are pros at finding speed, obviously, that’s what they do. And it really didn’t change much,” Moran added.
NASCAR used tire packs at COTA in Turns 6 and 19 this season and also added them in Mexico City last year.
But the return of the bundles at Watkins Glen has been controversial as they could create unpredictable crashes. Cars that hit them can bounce back into traffic, which has happened at the road course before.
NASCAR fans predict Watkins Glen crash risks from tire packs
Multiple NASCAR fans have criticized tire barriers and suggested using gravel, sand or even grass than risky barriers. In 2009, a multi-car crash began after Sam Hornish Jr. was forced off line and slammed into a tire barrier. The impact caused the car to bounce back onto the racing surface, where Jeff Gordon had no time to react and crashed into him at high speed.
Some fans predict similar wrecks this weekend.
“Someone at some point this weekend is gonna have a meeting with the turn 1 runoff tire packs,” a fan wrote.
“Man…feels like we’re gonna see a return to the crazy wrecks like 08/09 had,” another post on X read.
Meanwhile, the NASCAR Cup Series race is set to start at 3 pm ET on Sunday, when the forecast drops rain chances to below 20 percent by the afternoon start time. The ARCA and Truck Series sessions ran in damp weather on Friday and NASCAR approved rain tires to keep cars on track as long as there was no standing water.
Edited by Pranay Bhagi
