NASCAR Cup Series embarrassed by Xfinity and Truck Series at Watkins Glen

NASCAR officials are once again likely to face a barrage of criticism after the Cup Series cars were embarrassed at Watkins Glen this weekend.

Cup Series qualifying took place on Saturday in upstate New York, with Team Penske star Ryan Blaney coming away with pole ahead of Shane van Gisbergen and Chase Briscoe.

Blaney's lap time, however, was slower than the fastest time set in both the Xfinity and Truck Series at Watkins Glen this weekend.

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series Race Today: Watkins Glen start time, TV channel, live stream and lineup

Cup Series cars slower than Xfinity and Truck Series

In the Xfinity Series, for example, Connor Zilisch set a lap time of 70.88 seconds around Watkins Glen International, hitting a top speed of 124.43 miles per hour (mph) in his No. 88 Chevrolet.

Blaney, in his next-gen Cup car, was 1.08 seconds slower than Zilisch's time, and the Team Penske driver's top speed throughout his lap was only 122.56mph, also down on Zilisch.

In fact, Blaney's lap time would only have been good enough for 13th position in Xfinity Series qualifying, such is the stark difference in speed around Watkins Glen.

It unfortunately doesn't get any better when you look at the Truck Series times, either.

Corey Heim took Truck Series pole in the No. 11 Toyota on Friday with a time of 70.95 seconds, which, whilst slower than Zilisch's Xfinity pole, is still 1.01 seconds faster than Blaney's Cup Series time.

Heim also hit a top speed of 124.31mph in his truck, which again, was significantly up on Blaney.

Similarly to Xfinity, Blaney's Cup lap time would only have been good enough for 12th spot in Truck Series qualifying.

READ MORE: NASCAR star protests his innocence at Watkins Glen after HUGE penalty

Not the first time

This isn't the first time that the Cup Series has found itself in a similar scenario, with former champion Kevin Harvick having gone in on the current next-gen car after the Cup drivers were slower than ARCA last time out at Iowa.

“The ARCA cars ran faster than the Cup cars. I can just tell you this, the Cup cars need to go WAY faster - especially at the short tracks," Harvick said on his Happy Hour podcast.

“I don’t think that there was anything more evident than this weekend. The ARCA car outqualified the Cup car and it was extremely difficult to pass. The slower you go, the harder it’s going to be to pass, the faster the mid-corner speed is.

“I know there’s talk about that much horsepower. We need that much horsepower. I think when you look at the short tracks and road courses, having too much power, I’d err to that side because there’s just no reason that the Cup cars should be the slowest thing there on the weekend. They should not be slower than ARCA.

“I think it just takes away from being a Cup driver, and in the end, the cars are so damn slow they don’t race good.”

READ MORE: NASCAR star OUT of Cup Series race at Watkins Glen after freak injury

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