Cue Gene Kelly singing a slightly different tune.
It took us 22 weeks, but we finally had our first rain out of the season after a close call at Pocono.
This of course moves the race to Monday on ESPN – a notably smaller audience and reach. In recent years this wouldn’t have been a problem for the Nationwide Series. Rain tires, windshield wipers and brake light have gotten the job done. For the Cup Series though, that option doesn’t exist. This delay has raised the inevitable question of why what’s good enough for the Nationwide Series is not good enough for the Cup Series.
And this morning, as you peruse the NASCAR press, there are a lot of opinions about the use of rain tires in the Cup Series – a move that would have kept the Series in it’s prime TV slot and maintained the audience.
NASCAR Vice President Robin Pemberton said:
“We feel at this level, it really throws a wild card in there… Our guys, we’re a series that doesn’t have experience on rain tires. It’s a lot to put on them. Nowadays the championships are so close and making the Chase is so close, it’s a lot of pressure to put on one race at this stage of the season.“
The fact is, he’s right. The series never has raced on rain tires and it would be nothing short of risky to put them out there under the present circumstances. Should preparations have been made for such a scenario though?
Obviously rain tires on an oval are out of the question. But the Nationwide Series has proven, if not with mixed results, that it can work on a stock car. It’s true that the racing is rough, sloppy and frankly not very good, but it is possible.
For NASCAR though ensuring the quality of the racing has to be a top priority. We’ve seen in the past when things have gone wrong and the damage it can do to the sport and to the venue hosting – I point you to the tire fiasco at Indianapolis in 2008.
Is it better to have a race because we can? Or should we be ensuring the conditions are optimal for the race we want?
I’ll admit, I thought some of Pemberton’s excuses were shaky. But I don’t necessarily think this is a bad policy for NASCAR. The races we’ve run in the rain have been entertaining only for the novelty of the event. I know I’d rather see a delayed good race on Monday than a forced bad race on Sunday.
Tell us what you think! Would you like to see the Cup Series on rain tires? Do you wish we’d raced on Sunday instead of Monday? Let us know.
By the way, check out the race at noon 10 am on ESPN.
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What a race we had today! It had everything you could possibly want. There was beating and banging, flared tempers, dramatic events, wild strategy, three wide racing (at Martinsville!), no wing, double file restarts, a race that didn’t end under caution and Jimmie Johnson wasn’t in victory lane (though this was a negative for some of you). Unfortunately, not many people saw it.
It really is a shame rain forced this race on to TV mid-day Monday. This though is often a symptom of racing at Martinsville this time of year. I can hardly think of a time, either Spring or Fall, that I have been to Martinsville and not had to worry about weather. I always make sure I’ve got my umbrella and raincoat ready to go at a moments notice.
This weekend, and every other wet weekend spent at Martinsville makes me wonder why NASCAR doesn’t consider moving at least one of the dates. It’s apparently something track president Clay Campbell is wondering too. He told The Virginian Pilot’s Dustin Long that he is asking if there is something that can be done about the Spring date. With the impeding inclusion of another Kansas date, the economic toll on the track from things like this has got to be making Campbell nervous.
On top of the cost it brings to Martinsville, it’s unfortunate fans are having to bear some of the financial burden of the rain delay. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but the fans are the reason we do this and their hard earned money is the reason we can continue to do this. As TC pointed out yesterday, for the fans it’s one more day of lodging and food and likely missed work.
I think Martinsville is a great race track, certainly one of my favorites, and the racing it produces is consistently some of the best we see. It’s races like the one we had today that the sport needs more of. We can’t continue to do this every year though. It’s bad for the fans, the track and the sport.
So I implore NASCAR, please consider Clay Campbell’s request and keep in mind all the people who wanted to be at the race today, or wanted to watch the race today and couldn’t. Give Martinsville a better date.
I don’t know what it is about Martinsville, but I feel like it rains every time the NASCAR train stops in town. Some level of racing always happens, but it seems that it’s very rare for the both the Trucks and Cup cars to get the whole weekend in without incident. Now, we are heading back in the morning to try and get the Cup race in (12PM EST), but according to Brian Neudorff (the unofficial Twitter NASCAR weatherman @NASCAR_WXMAN) the forecast for Monday doesn’t look good. And as we stare straight in the face of a possible second postponement, I want you to know that it doesn’t just suck for the fans.
As the crews walk out of the track after a postponed race, it’s hard not to feel really bad for the fans we pass by. They’ve usually been in the stands for hours, usually in the cold and wet, waiting and hoping for something to happen. And now, many won’t be able to return to the track on Monday, because the real world comes calling. For those that do get to stay, it means more money must be spent on food, lodging, parking, and all the other expenses associated with coming to a race. I just want you to know, we feel for you.
For the teams, besides trying to find ways to deal with the boredom while the track is being dried (I actually wrote a post about this a few years ago), rain delays can be detrimental to shop scheduling and car prep. The Cup teams have another big west coast swing coming up, and cars must be prepared for both trips. Even with an off weekend ahead, being at the track on Monday instead of being in the shop means crews are now behind. Any extra off days or small vacations will now probably not happen, as the teams will be scrambling to catch back up.
For the TV folks, the postponement now means ratings will stink. With most people who would normally be watching the race now probably at work on Monday afternoon, the number of folks who tune in will be drastically smaller. This will certainly be bad for those all important advertising dollars.
The rain also means lost revenue for the track itself. The crowd at the track today was no doubt smaller because of the threat of rain, and the stands certainly won’t be full tomorrow. This reduction in the crowd size will result in lower ticket, food, and merchandise sales.
So the next time you are bummed on a Sunday afternoon because the race was washed out, know you aren’t alone. Rain delays suck for everyone. Here’s to hoping the rain holds off tomorrow…