"Blame the Cup drivers": Jeff Burton’s nephew urges fans to stop blaming NASCAR for Watkins Glen rule change

Heading into the Watkins Glen race weekend, NASCAR has made a key rule change for the track setup. This has received a lot of backlash from the fans, amid which Jeff Burton's nephew, Jeb Burton, has come out in support of NASCAR and urged fans to stop blaming the sporting body for the rule change.

While the track layout remains the same for the Watkins Glen race this weekend, the restart zone for this year's race has been changed. It has been moved up to Turn 7, which leads to a straight run up to Turn 1.

Whenever there's a restart, the drivers will no longer be able to make a daring move and overtake the driver in front of them from the inside. That, according to the fans, would take away a significant element of racing at the track.

Coming to NASCAR's rescue, Jeff Burton's nephew, Jeb Burton, blamed the Cup drivers for this rule change.

"Don’t blame NASCAR, blame the Cup drivers that are crying about being raced hard into turn 1. They did what they asked for" Jeb Burton wrote via X.

Jeb Burton

@JebBurtonRacing

Don’t blame NASCAR blame the cup drivers that are crying about being raced hard into turn 1. They did what they asked for.

This rule change comes after Chris Buescher created drama during last year's Watkins Glen race by overtaking Shane Van Gisbergen on the final turn of the race, taking the win with a margin of just under a second. This move came under an overtime restart when Gisbergen slightly lost control of his car.

If a similar situation arises this year, the result may be different due to the repositioning of the restart zone, allowing the the lead car to control the pace of the race comfortably.

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Shane Van Gisbergen reflects on last year's Watkins Glen race

A return to the Watkins Glen race may bring back tough memories for Shane Van Gisbergen, given the outcome of last year's race at the same track. Gisbergen made a rare mistake during the final lap of the race, which resulted in Chris Buescher overtaking him and clinching victory.

Gisbergen reflected on that ahead of this year's race, scheduled for the coming weekend.

"I studied it a lot. You know, that’s painful whenever you make a mistake that’s entirely your fault. I’m quite self-analytical. I was pretty pissed off about that, and even when I think of it now, you know, it’s just, it’s a mistake I made, and it frustrates me," Shane Van Gisbergen said via NASCAR's official website.

Shane Van Gisbergen has three victories this season, with all of them coming at road courses. He currently finds himself ranked 25th in the NASCAR Cup Series, scoring 398 points so far.