Before the competitors of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series could do battle against each other at Atlanta Motor Speedway, they had to battle Mother Nature.
The Sunday forecast looked pretty grim throughout the week, calling for rain all day. Fortunately, the sanctioning body moved the start time up one hour, started the track drying process early, and the rain held off throughout the afternoon and into the evening. The Folds of Honor Quick Trip 500 actually wound up running all 500 miles. NASCAR: 1, Mother Nature: 0.
Sunday probably will not be the last time that weather is a concern in Atlanta. NASCAR moved the track’s lone race weekend to the second slot on the yearly schedule, placing the event in either late Feb. or early March. The idea was to boost Atlanta’s slumping attendance by taking advantage of any leftover excitement from the Daytona 500. However, the weather seems to be a bigger determining factor than any residual good vibes from the Great American Race.
The question of where to hold the second MENCS race of the year has been a problem for quite some time. When Rockingham Speedway held the date, it struggled with its own unpredictable weather, which no doubt contributed to the attendance woes that ultimately got the track removed from the schedule.
Auto Club Speedway did not work out much better. Fans might remember the February race there in 2008 that began on Sunday afternoon, only to be red-flagged for rain. NASCAR spent all day promising to get the race rolling again but fought weepers seeping water onto the track. It was nearly midnight before the announcement that the race would resume on Monday.
If NASCAR wanted to change up the opening weeks of the schedule in 2019, it might want to look to another venue in the Southwest to host the second race of the season.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, traditionally the home of the third race of the year, would likely have more race day-friendly weather than Atlanta. The recently-renamed ISM Raceway in Phoenix hosted the second race from 2011 – 2014 and would be well-suited to do so again.
Let’s say the 2019 Daytona 500 is held on Feb. 24, a week later than this year. Instead of going right to Atlanta, NASCAR could move the West Coast swing up one spot on the schedule, keeping the same calendar weekends as this year. After Las Vegas, ISM and Auto Club, teams could then go to Atlanta for the fifth race of the season on March 24.
Racing at Atlanta in late March obviously would not eliminate the threat of rain, but it would give NASCAR and the fans warmer evening temperatures to work with if the race got delayed. Also, remember that Atlanta had a yearly March race for decades and as recently as 2010. Pushing it back by just a few weeks could help the track draw bigger crowds.
In fact, an early-season schedule realignment could also work to Martinsville Speedway’s benefit. The Virginia short track treated NASCAR fans to a day-into-night race in 2017, allowing the Cup Series to run under the lights at the paperclip for the first time. The trouble is that Martinsville’s current race dates in late March/early April and late October are not conducive to night racing.
Finding a new home for Atlanta’s race could give Martinsville an opportunity to grab a better date of its own. Suppose that Texas Motor Speedway’s spring race, which is no longer a night race, took the March 24 weekend, while Atlanta held its race on March 31. The Cup Series would then go to Bristol Motor Speedway on April 7 and Richmond Raceway on Saturday, April 13 before taking the customary break for Easter on April 21.
The schedule would pick up at Talladega on April 28 and finally go to Martinsville on Saturday, May 4 for the track’s first start-to-finish night race. The schedule would then proceed as normal to Kansas on Mother’s Day weekend, then to the All-Star Race at Charlotte, while holding the Coca-Cola 600 in its usual Memorial Day slot.
Following this schedule would help NASCAR accomplish several goals. The sanctioning body would keep the West Coast swing intact and not have to worry as much about rain during the first few weeks of the year. Atlanta’s attendance would improve with warmer and more predictable weather. Best of all, NASCAR could take full advantage of Martinsville’s new lights.
Obviously, there is still work to be done with NASCAR’s schedule. When the current agreement expires after 2020, the sanctioning body would be wise to add more short track races and road courses to the Cup Series’ slate of venues. In the short term, moving Atlanta’s date back a few weeks would be an easy fix to create a better schedule, especially if it could be paired with an early May Martinsville night race.
Sooner or later, Atlanta will have to be repaved, and the track will not be able to rely on its worn-out surface as a marketing strategy. Increasing the chances of a warm, sunny day, however, would likely get more fans through the gate.
About the author
Bryan began writing for Frontstretch in 2016. He has penned Up to Speed for the past seven years. A lifelong student of auto racing, Bryan is a published author and automotive historian. He is a native of Columbus, Ohio and currently resides in Southern Kentucky.
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lol that’s why they moved the southern 500 to labor day weekend here in atlanta. but weather is always an issue. we should not have a race tll at least end of march or april. we’ve got another week of rain forecasted. weather has always been a crap shoot here in atlanta.
heck in december where i live, i got 10″ of snow! first time i had seen that much snow in the 20 yrs i’ve lived here.
good luck with weather and atlanta race.
The race date is the kiss of death for Atlanta. Gotta wonder what Bruton & Brian are colluding towards…
I’m holding out for ARCA & Pro Cup at the Nashville Fairgrounds in April.
The weather at Atlanta has actually been decent since they got this date in 2015. Yesterday was first real weather issue, but somehow they got the race in. I agree that we should go Daytona-West Coast swing, then Atlanta. However, Atlanta does have a ticket guarantee if it rains out. I’m beginning to go to the camp of repaving Atlanta. The place is old and worn out it’s back to a one-groove track at the bottom. The top has speed, but running it kills the tires in 5 to 10 laps. I saw it all weekend. Someone would run the top, start gaining on the leader then 5 to 10 laps later they would fall off big time.
half of the problem could be solved with a wet track tire. Note that NASCAR, not Goodyear, says it can’t be done.
Brian France was a genius starting the race one hour earlier than originally scheduled. It started to rain 10 minutes after the black & white checkered flag.
Sarcasm?
If Brian’s event had started two hours earlier it probably would have ended at the same time because there would have been all the usual cautions and red flags caused by the usual drivers.
They have gotten .04 of an inch of rain at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the race in the last five years… Not a quarter of an inch…not a half an inch. Not much at all really.
This is article worthy?