Racetrack bets help?

Had a debate last night about racetrack bets on roulette and got a little stuck. I’m mostly a blackjack player so my roulette knowledge is like halfway there, but the racetrack part always trips me up. I see people throwing down chips on those oval layouts and rattling off weird combos like Neighbors of Zero or Orphelins, but when I look at the payouts and risk I’m not sure if it makes sense compared to just betting straight up on the wheel.

I get the appeal for folks who like covering large wheel sections without putting chips all over the felt, and I know the racetrack design helps with that. But do any of you actually see decent returns doing it, or is it more about fun and mixing things up? Wondering if there’s a smart way to approach these bets from a stats perspective or if it’s just burning through the bankroll faster. I feel like sticking to singles and splits seems tighter for risk, but maybe I’m missing something obvious here.