Former crew chief frustrated by the 'ridiculous' racing at Watkins Glen

It is no secret that NASCAR's current road-course package has not been very good.

Aside from the mile-and-a-half tracks that were once the least competitive and exciting in the series, those races are the rare bright spot for the Next Gen Car since its inception in 2022.

Shane van Gisbergen drove away to an 11.1-second win over Christopher Bell in Sunday's race at Watkins Glen and set multiple records in the process. While the racing was not particularly exciting, that was not what left former crew chief and current analyst Steve Letarte frustrated the most following the weekend.

A recurring issue in each race over the weekend was drivers utilizing the runoff areas around the track and not staying on the traditional racing surface, which ultimately led to some crashes in Saturday's Xfinity race. 

"So, I hate track limits that have to be officiated," Letarte said on "Inside the Race." "Because I like tracks that you should just stay on the track. I didn't think it mattered. Now, I am team get-them-back-on-the-race-track-at-Watkins-Glen. I don't love the Watkins Glen that I see. ... I think Turn 1 is not as great of a corner with no exit respect or responsibility. You just blow the exit. I think the carousel is a much easier corner, being able to just go driver's left.

"I also think Turn 6 is going — let me add, that I think the (Connor) Zilisch, SVG wreck between the last two corners (in the Xfinity Series race) happened because they left the track, and the Austin Hill wreck with Michael McDowell happened off the race track. Now, both could have been avoided, we can talk about who's at fault. What I'm saying is, I've never driven a lap at Watkins Glen. I can analyze what happens between the white lines."