*Turn 2 Blog is a regular feature on InsideCircleTrack.com. Here, site operators Michael Moats and Richard Allen take turns offering their thoughts on the NASCAR and pavement short track racing topics of the day.
Richard: It was another weekend and another weather interrupted race for NASCAR as the “Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500” originally scheduled for this past Saturday night at the Martinsville Speedway was halted after just 42 laps when the rain came. This occurred one day after the “Cook Out 250” NASCAR Xfinity Series race was also hampered by precipitation.
And more, the much anticipated “Food City Dirt Race” and the “Pinty’s Truck Race on Dirt” of two weeks ago were pushed to Monday after heavy rain struck the Bristol Motor Speedway on the scheduled weekend.
As has been said many times, no one can do anything about the weather. However, NASCAR is apparently considering somewhat of a rainy day remedy as a recent test was undertaken with NASCAR Cup Series cars equipped with rain tires were driven by Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher at the Martinsville Speedway. The sanctioning body used the test as part of an evaluation process regarding the possible use of rain tires on short oval tracks.
This is an issue I have gone back and forth on over the years. Rain tires have been an option on road courses for some time now and have been employed on a few occasions by the top-three divisions. However, NASCAR has, up to now, refrained from their use on ovals. No doubt, the television networks would be in favor of such a move for the purpose of having something to show instead of boring rain-fill material. And more, rain creates a difficult situation for fans who have paid for tickets but can’t come back to the track for a Monday make-up.
That said, purists such as myself are not really in favor of watching big, heavy stock cars slip and slide on wet surfaces. In my mind, a race is not meant to be a tip-toeing contest.
Still, I can see both sides of the issue. Running races on their scheduled date would benefit many people and entities. At the same time, some of the elements of true racing might have to be sacrificed.
What are your thoughts on oval track racing in the rain?
Should NASCAR race in the rain?(Photo: Getty Images)
Michael: I’m not a big fan of racing in the rain on ovals. It seems like it would not be a good product on the higher banked tracks. I know the drivers couldn’t be as aggressive on a wet track than a dry track. Maybe the spins and the cars sliding wouldn’t be as bad as I fear.
I see other issues coming into play. What about moisture getting inside the car and affecting the electronics? Seems like NASCAR needs to be studying this as well as the issues that came up in the Bristol Dirt Race.
Another issue I see is how this affects the fans. Most fans aren’t going to sit in the rain to watch a race. I know if the race is postponed and fans cannot return, they have lost their ticket money. If fans chose not to watch in the rain, it would be the same issue. Would fans wait longer to buy tickets to make sure they will get to attend? There are so many unknowns on this issue.
Richard: As I said, I am not generally in favor of racing in the rain but I can see the other side of the argument.
Going back to Martinsville for a moment, another issue came up during that race. As my sons and I watched on Sunday afternoon, one of them mentioned that it seemed to have been going on for a long time. And keep in mind that 42 laps had already been run on Saturday night before the rain interruption.
A look at the official time of the race shows that the “Blue Emu 500” ran for just under four hours. That amount of time was aided by the fact that there were 15 yellow flags during the show which resulted in 102 laps being run behind the pace car. While I am a purist in terms of not particularly wanting to watch race cars slip and slide in the rain, I am not necessarily so in regard to race distances.
I have maintained for some time now that many NASCAR Cup Series races are too long. Originally, races were made to be 500 laps or 500 miles because durability of the cars would come into play. That’s hardly the case nowadays as the cars have evolved into virtually bulletproof machines. I’m not sure durability would be much of a factor even if the races were half again as long as they currently are.
It seems as if they race for long periods of time just to end up with the same conclusion they would have had an hour earlier.
For years I have said that the only races that need to have the number 500 or more in their title are the Daytona 500, the Southern 500, and the Coca-Cola 600. Beyond that, I don’t see any reason to go past 400 laps or 400 miles. What are your thoughts on race distances?
Michael: I totally agree. I remember those 500-mile races at Dover that would take around 5 hours. The attention span of the average person does not allow them to hold an interest in an event lasting much longer than 3 hours, or at least that’s what we’re programmed to do. There is a reason why NFL games are just 3 hours.
I don’t want NASCAR races to be like IndyCar races where most are only 2-hour races. Those are too short. Something around 3 hours seems to be about right. For the big three races, it would make them even more special if those were the only ones that remained at their current lengths.
Martin Truex, Jr. became the season’s first repeat winner(Photo: Getty Images)
Richard: Lastly, the 2021 season finally had a repeat winner this weekend at Martinsville when Martin Truex, Jr. added that checkered flag to the one he earned earlier this year in Phoenix. That ended the streak of having a different winner in each race at seven.
But even with there being so many different winners already this year some top stars have yet to visit victory lane. Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and defending champion Chase Elliott are among those who remain winless so far this season.
That leads to two questions. First, will this weekend’s race at the Richmond Raceway produce a new winner or will there be another repeat victor? And, who will be the next of those drivers who haven’t yet won to earn a trophy?
I am going to predict that Richmond will produce a repeat winner as I look for Kyle Larson to score his second triumph of the season. However, I do think a different winner will come at Talladega and I believe that will be Denny Hamlin.
Michael: Truex runs really well at Richmond. I would think he would be the favorite to win there. If not him, I can see Hamlin getting the win there to be the next driver to break through with his first win. If there is going to be a new repeat winner, I’d have to put Joey Logano on the top of my list. He’s capable of winning at any of the upcoming tracks if there is no new repeat winner at Richmond.
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