Michael McDowell completely ruined my plan of throwing down against the endless calls for NASCAR to run the “Boot” at Watkins Glen International.
Switching to the long-course Boot layout over the shorter version used by NASCAR has been a popular talking point every August. The repeated pitch from drivers and social media to use that portion of the road course came across as something to do just because NASCAR wasn’t. And of all the things to be worried about in this sport, running the Boot was never at the top of the list.
Until Sunday morning.
“I think we should run the Boot,” was McDowell simple response when approached on the subject.
Of course, his quick-fire reply only spiked interest even more, since McDowell is not only an avid road racer, but a driver who has run the Boot in other series.
“The pros to the Boot is it would add more challenge to the racetrack,” McDowell said. “The short course here at Watkins Glen is fairly easy, and guys have done it for so many years that you see a big difference between Watkins Glen and Sonoma as far as what guys are near the front, or in that middle range.
“The good guys are the good guys, and they’re going to adapt and figure it out. But it would create some more passing opportunities. It would create a little bit more of advantage, I think, for the guys who are really good at road racing.”
Hearing that made it an easy sell to someone who is a proponent that the more challenges the sport has, the better. The cars should be hard to drive. The tracks should be tough to master.
Second, the Boot wouldn’t hinder passing. When looking at the layout of the Boot and its tight corners one would think it wouldn’t be optimal for competition, and that was one of the main reasons yours truly was fully-prepared to argue against it.
“Tight corners are what create passing opportunity,” countered McDowell. “Fast sweeping corners never create passing opportunity. The best way to pass is on the brakes, and anytime you can have a straightaway and a 90 degree turn, you’re going to have hard braking, and that’s your opportunity to overtake.
“Sweeping fast corners in our cars don’t lend [themselves] to passing. The passing’s done in Turn 1, and it’s done going into Turn 6, which are long straightaways and 90-degree corners.”
Yes, the bandwagon of those who call for NASCAR to run the Boot at Watkins Glen has officially gained another member. There are no negatives to doing so, not even when it comes to adding to the length of the track which some, including here, would have said translates to longer cautions.
Not surprisingly, McDowell had a counter to that, too. Adding the Boot would mean track workers have more time to clean, but that doesn’t necessarily add up to running more laps under caution. Where clean-up under the current configuration might take three laps, McDowell said that with the Boot, it might take only two.
So NASCAR, it must be asked, why in the world are we not running the Boot? Even when scraping for cons, McDowell came up with nothing.
“In one year in the same car, I ran the Boot and the short track,” he said. “The Rolex Series, we came here three times in one year, and we ran the six hours, and then we ran a sprint race, which was the full track,” McDowell said. “Then we ran on the NASCAR weekend, and we ran the NASCAR configuration, and the NASCAR configuration was just not as challenging, not as much passing opportunity.
“That’s why I think it would be good. Yeah, there’s going to be guys – and I can tell you who – that will tell you, no, let’s not do it. But it’s because it’s hard. That would be like saying let’s not go to Martinsville because it’s hard.”
Well said. Again, this sport should not be easy. It also shouldn’t shy away from changing things up, and running the Boot at Watkins Glen would be a good place to start.