Watkins Glen announced a major layout change in January, adding rumble strips in turn 1 and removing strips inside of the Bus Stop chicane on the track’s backstretch. Those changes have since been revealed, and an additional “turtle” or “sausage” kerb inside of the bus stop entry has created a massive divide between NASCAR and IMSA drivers.
As video from NASA racer Taylor Johnson shows, the newly placed kerbs keep drivers from cutting the racing line all the way to the inside wall. Instead, drivers will have to slow more for a harsher angle inside the first corner of the complex. That makes the bus stop more of a chicane and, potentially, more of a passing zone; it also creates a new risk of those turtle kerbs launching a car into the sky.
The benefit is huge for NASCAR drivers like Kyle Larson, who shared mouthpiece data from last year’s Watkins Glen race that shows huge speeds over the previous era of rumble strips and how those forces jostled the heads of drivers. On the other hand, IMSA BMW factory prototype driver Connor de Philippi notes the risk of “broken backs or cars upside down” that come when faster cars hit a sausage or turtle kerb at an awkward angle. In a sports car race at Monza held in 2022, one of those kerbs launched a spinning car upside down into a dangerous and awkward landing on its side.
The obvious solution would be a re-profiled corner with less harsh kerbs for stock cars and no turtle kerbs inside the apex to keep other cars from launching, but the track has chosen this option for now. IMSA runs a six-hour race at the Glen on June 23 before NASCAR races at the track on August 8. Watkins, IMSA, and NASCAR are also all owned by the same parent company.
