Yesterday I made a Facebook post about the absolute mudfest happening at Watkins Glen International this weekend for the NASCAR race… and honestly, I still can’t stop laughing a little. Not at the fans — bless those poor muddy souls — but at the sheer optimism behind whoever decided moving a race in Upstate New York from August to May was somehow a good idea. ππ§οΈ
Now listen… I’m not exactly what you’d call a hardcore NASCAR fan. I couldn’t tell you who’s leading the points standings, and unless someone waves a checkered flag in front of me, I’m probably just there for the people watching and snacks.
But even when they announced the schedule change last year, I remember sitting there scratching my head.
May?
In New York?
During Mother’s Day week?
During college graduation season?
In the Finger Lakes… where half of May is basically winter wearing a slightly greener jacket?
Bold strategy. Because anyone who has lived around Keuka or the Glen for more than five minutes knows one simple truth:
May is a gamble.
One day it’s sunshine and birds chirping.
The next day it’s sideways rain, forty-three degrees, and you’re questioning every life decision that led you outdoors.
And apparently Mother Nature took one look at race weekend, sided with the locals and said:
“Oh… you wanted camping? Cute.”
The photos coming out of the campgrounds look less like NASCAR weekend and more like a deleted scene from a survival documentary.
Campers buried to the frame.
Pickup trucks spinning helplessly.
ow trucks towing the trucks that were towing the trucks.
People walking through mud that probably qualifies as a wetland now.
Honestly, at this point I’m not even sure anyone needs pit crews anymore.
They need excavators.
And the rain just keeps coming. π³
Somewhere there’s probably a man in flip flops standing ankle deep in mud holding a breakfast sandwich and wondering where things went wrong.
Still… I’ll give those fans credit.
Because race fans are apparently built differently.
Rain?
Mud?
Flooded campsites?
Soggy hoodies?
No showers?
No problem.
They fired up the grills anyway.
That’s commitment right there.
And honestly, there’s something oddly beautiful about that kind of determination. A little ridiculous maybe… but beautiful.
Because around the Finger Lakes, we all eventually learn the same lesson:
You can plan the event.
You can print the tickets.
You can move the dates.
You can schedule every last detail.
But Mother Nature?
She’s still the headliner.
And apparently NASCAR learned that lesson too.
Because last night it was officially announced that the 2027 NASCAR race at the Glen is moving to September. ππ
Not August.
Not May.
September.
(Though personally, I think they should’ve just boldly stepped up to the microphone and admitted what every local already knew: “You were right… NASCAR 2027 is going back to August.” π)
You know… when Upstate New York finally remembers how to behave.
Honestly, somewhere in a NASCAR boardroom there was probably one exhausted executive staring at campground photos whispering:
“Never again.”
Meanwhile every local around Keuka and Watkins Glen collectively nodded and said:
“Yep. Told ya.”
And as I sit here finishing this blog, I just looked out the window and yes…
it is absolutely pouring rain again.
And unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, there’s even a little of that dreaded “s” word mixed in between the giant raindrops. βοΈπ³
SNOW.
In May.
Which honestly feels like the perfect ending to this entire story.
Because around Keuka and the Glen…
spring doesn’t always arrive gracefully.
Sometimes it hydroplanes in sideways wearing muddy boots.
Now somebody please get those fans:
β hot coffee
πΊ a cold local craft beer
π₯ a bonfire
π a tractor
…and maybe a canoe at this point. π³
Because around Keuka and the Glen…
the ground remembers winter long after the calendar says spring.
Stay Rooted. Stay Keuka.
πΏ
