This weekend is one of the most exciting NASCAR races of the season, the annual stop to Watkins Glen, the 2.45 mile road course in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. However, the very idea of road courses on the NASCAR calendar put some off from watching that weekend. But why?

Unfortunately, there is a sizable contingent of fans who believe that NASCAR should run only on the oval tracks of America. They say it’s not very exciting. They call it boring. There’s not a lot of passing, they say. Too much single-file action and too slow. I’d quote one NASCAR.com writer with his argument, but it made my head hurt. These are not good arguments.

By not watching these races, you are turning yourself off from the two most exciting races on the calendar. There. I said it. The two road races that the NASCAR Cup series run every year are the most exciting races that are run every year. I’ll also say that NASCAR needs to run more than just two races. Thirty-four races on ovals, and just two on roadies? Give me a break. Let’s drop some of those ovals and bring in some more road courses. Montreal, Road America, the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and Lime Rock Park in Connecticut are four examples of road courses that would likely provide an interesting show with the NASCAR Cup cars. All of these circuits could provide a vastly different challenge to the cars and stars of the Cup series (and even the Nationwide and Truck series).

It’s not just go fast and turn left. It’s not just put the car in the top gear and try to outduel the other car, something that is pretty lacking in NASCAR races these days anyway. It’s about braking, shifting, outbraking, outshifting, and outdragging the other driver. It’s about the perfect lap, the perfect lines, and the perfect way around the circuit. It’s much more than what an oval can provide, and it’s much more exciting. In fact, anybody who calls himself or herself a NASCAR fan should probably watch Watkins Glen this weekend. You’ll see things you don’t normally see during a NASCAR race, and you’ll see a lot more passing than you think.

But you could just choose to not watch, and that’s your loss.

Don’t you just wish Riverside still existed?