NASCAR at Watkins Glen: Just utilize “The Boot” already

Is it possible?

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While many NASCAR races have taken place at Watkins Glen International over the last several decades and not one of them has been held on the version of the track that includes “The Boot”, it is more possible than many people might think that this will change in the near future.

Last August, Watkins Glen International track president Michael Printup discussed the potential addition of “The Boot” to the track for its NASCAR races.  Here is what Printup had to say about the matter, according to RacingNews.co.

"“Yeah, I stuck my neck out last year and went to Steve [O’Donnell] and went to the whole team. They [NASCAR] did simulations, they did pit stop schedules, they did tire wear, they did gas. I mean NASCAR came to the plate for me. We wanted to really study it. What was the difference? We’re afraid of less race laps in front of everybody. You take a 90 lap race, now it’s only going to be 75 or 78. “To get to the chase. I’m going to keep looking at it. I want to understand the engineering, I have to understand that. I gotta talk to the sponsors obviously as I move forward. We did a survey last year, just coincidentally. I wanted to understand the data before I went to O’Donnell and Joey. Joey was good with it. We need to explore it. “There’s not a lot of infrastructure down there. There’s very little bathrooms, showers, concessions. We can fix that temporarily. We’re a road course, we know how to do it. We’re gunna keep working on it. I’m in the next 2-3 years, is my outside hope, that we will be running the boot. I don’t have a lot of resistance. “I think the fans want something different. We don’t need a roval. We need a true blue road course. We need to really encapsulate what Watkins Glen has to offer. The boot is the ultimate road course.”"

Shane Walters, the RacingNews.co author who wrote the story that included these quotes from Printup, reported that the results of the fan survey that Printup discussed were that 92% of NASCAR fans would like to see “The Boot” utilized in NASCAR races at Watkins Glen.

Those fans included in that 92% may very well end up being satisfied in the near future.

Do you believe that NASCAR should utilize “The Boot” when the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series travel to Watkins Glen International for their annual races. If so, why, and if not, why not? Do you believe that NASCAR will ever utilize it? If so, when?