When it rains, problems pour on NASCAR
What a mess!
Last weekend in California, the rain made a shamble of all three NASCAR series races. To compound the problem, NASCAR made a series of decisions that put the drivers and their equipment in jeopardy.
Rain canceled most of the practice sessions for most of the weekend. Qualifying was canceled and starting lineups were set by owners’ points. NASCAR got the truck race in on Saturday but had to postpone the Nationwide race until Monday. The Cup race scheduled for Sunday was delayed as NASCAR tried to dry the track. Finally, thinking the track was dry enough to race, the cars took to the track for the pace laps. It was evident that water was seeping from cracks in the track and some of the drivers expressed this concern. For whatever reason ‘ sponsors, scheduling, fans, etc. ‘ the race was started.
Just 14 laps into the race, Denny Hamlin became the first casualty. While driving through water and trash on the track, he slammed into the wall bringing out the first caution. Just seven laps later, we saw Casey Mears drive trough the water, lose control, spin, and collect teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the process. Sam Hornish and Reed Sorenson also crashed while trying to avoid the accident. Although the TV cameras clearly showed the water seeping through the track, NASCAR had to wait for these drivers and cars to be put in harm’s way before red-flagging the race. Because of the already mentioned delays, it was now 8 p.m. CST. It was a losing battle in trying to stop the water seepage and getting the track in the safe condition it should have been in the first place, so after five hours, the race was finally postponed until Monday.
The weekend’s fiasco brought to light some problems that have been discussed in previous years. Why was the race even in California the week after Daytona? The second race of the season used to be in Rockingham, N.C., but due to track ownership and a little bit of politics, Rockingham lost its NASCAR race and the California track was put in its place. It helps when the France family are part owners. To make matters even worse, the Las Vegas race is scheduled the following week. Now teams have to travel 3000 miles back to Charlotte and turn right around and travel 3000 miles back to Las Vegas. It makes absolutely no sense. Maybe NASCAR was inspired by the myth that it never rains in Southern California. The California Auto Club Speedway has a grandstand capacity of 92,000 but it is one of the few tracks that you can get a ticket to the race on race day, and not through a scalper. Only 70,000 fans were on hand Sunday and only 25,000 showed back up Monday.
Water seeping through the track is not new. In 1998, the Texas Motor Speedway had similar problems and an incensed Bill France told track owner Burton Smith to fix the problem or risk losing his race date. NASCAR likes precedence, so lets hope NASCAR makes the same request in this instance. Oops ‘ this would be like the France family chastising themselves. It just won’t happen!
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