NASCAR and rain have a very turbulent relationship, especially in recent years. If you’re in the midst of a drought, let NASCAR put on a race there — it’ll rain for a week.
Rain has already interfered with three NASCAR Cup Series races this year, along with a couple NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Craftsman Truck series events. Myriad practice and qualifying sessions across all three series have been halted, postponed or canceled due to weather.
Recently, NASCAR has developed a rain tire to run on road courses, and if you neglect races that probably should have been halted altogether (ex.: the 2020 Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL Xfinity race), the tire has served its purpose in letting drivers race on tracks that aren’t dry completely, if at all.
Fortunately, NASCAR furthered those measures by introducing a rain tire to run exclusively on short, flat tracks (Martinsville Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Iowa Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, etc.). While the tire — commonly dubbed a wet-weather tire rather than a rain tire — can run on damp tracks, it can’t operate on sopping wet tracks. Not only that, but anything beyond a light mist shuts down any chance at running the oval wet-weather tire.
We finally got to see the wet-weather tire earlier this year at Richmond Raceway, as Cup teams were instructed to start the race on them before eventually making a mandatory pit stop to put on slicks. However, they weren’t seen prominently again until New Hampshire last weekend.
The Xfinity Series started its race on on wet-weather tires before a mandatory caution flew within 15 laps to change back to slicks for the remainder of the event. The Cup Series ran its final 81 laps on the tires following a lengthy delay.
On lap 220, NASCAR red-flagged the race due to weather in the area. The key phrase is “in the area.” This is where the frustration started for many.
There was no immediate weather aside from a light sprinkle for around 25 minutes following the red flag. Was the track wet? Absolutely. But based on the conditions, it was a perfect time to slap on the wet-weather tires and continue racing until the rain hit or lightning came within eight miles of the track.
Instead, NASCAR decided to park the cars on pit road with a wait-and-see approach. Instead of throwing on the wet-weather tires that were so highly publicized throughout the entire weekend, NASCAR opted to take the approach it normally would on other tracks with looming weather.
Even worse, when NBC began its rain delay coverage, there was no urgency in drivers or teams to run for cover in their haulers or motorhomes. Most teams just hung out around their respective pit boxes. Most drivers gave interviews to TV without any umbrellas or rain jackets like one would normally see in rain delay coverage.
It was a little over a half hour before lightning struck within eight miles of the 1.058-mile oval, officially halting any chances of going back green. As you could imagine, there were several who voiced the opinion that there could have been more racing before the rain hit.
The hesitancy to race instead of waiting on heavy weather raised a very important question: Why have oval wet-weather tires if they aren’t going to be used in conditions for which they were specifically designed?
Of course, this was at a time when there was widespread belief the race would be called and Tyler Reddick declared the winner. Keep in mind this decision would have come a few weeks after NASCAR called the Coca-Cola 600 after 249 laps after making fans wait two hours through a rainstorm and nearly had the track dry before axing the rest of the event.
Had NASCAR called the race at New Hampshire after failing to even utilize the wet-weather tire in conditions specifically designed for its use, there probably would have been even more outrage than there was just for waiting on the storm.
Fortunately, NASCAR waited out the rain and finished the race on the wet-weather tires, making good on its popularity. It wouldn’t be surprising if NASCAR waited out the rain because of the backlash from the Coca-Cola 600, combined with the failure to utilize wet-weather tires before the heavy New Hampshire rains.
It would have just left a poor taste in people’s mouths.
Sure, two drivers (Kyle Busch and Corey LaJoie) crashed under the following yellow before even restarting on the wet-weather tires, but everyone was able to figure it out quickly. These tires work in the right circumstances.
Now that we’ve seen wet-weather tires in action and circumstances that surrounded their usage, more questions arise for which NASCAR needs to find answers. If rain threatens a race midway through, what conditions dictate stopping a race entirely instead of just throwing on wet-weather tires? And if we stop a race for a storm on the way instead of actively enveloping the track, why bring wet-weather tires to ovals to begin with?
One last question: When will NASCAR begin to let the teams dictate when to put slicks back on?
Another issue that arose once the wet-weather tires were put on was that NASCAR dictated any tire changes and didn’t let any team put on slicks for the final 81 laps. When the first post-rain caution flew, some teams came down pit road to put on new wet-weather tires. NASCAR then mandated those teams come back down pit road to put their old sets on, as the sanctioning body would make the pit calls.
After about 40 laps, drivers were begging NASCAR for a new set of tires. Some, like Kyle Larson, even wanted to test the waters with slicks, as the wet-weather tires quickly dried what was left of the wet track.
When a track dries up, rain tires wear even more than they would in the wet. NASCAR finally allowed teams to change tires but never allowed strategy to come into play, even when the track was presumably dry.
Ryan Blaney said the track wasn’t quite as ready for slicks as some believed, but there was still a general disdain for the lack of strategy or ability to put slicks on should teams have chosen.
This handholding that NASCAR was doing will likely go away when it gets more data about the wet-weather tires going forward. Eventually, it will put the call back in the teams’ hands. But the question remains on how long it will be to get to that point.
Wet-weather tires are a step in the right direction. They allow racing to occur faster after a rain shower or allow racing to go on in light mists, something that brings faster oval races to a standstill.
But the questionable moves NASCAR made won’t go away. It’s easy to forgive the first time trying a new thing, but the next time a race is red-flagged for a potential storm coming, there needs to be a serious discussion about trying out the wet-weather tires before officially halting the race.
After all, that could be the difference between making a race official or not.
NASCAR just needs to keep these considerations in mind the next time the wet-weather tires might be called into action.
Anthony Damcott joined Frontstretch in March 2022. Currently, he is an editor and co-authors Fire on Fridays (Fridays); he is also the primary Truck Series reporter/writer and serves as an at-track reporter, among many other duties he takes on for the site. A proud West Virginia Wesleyan College alum from Akron, Ohio, Anthony is now a grad student. He is a theatre actor and fight-choreographer-in-training in his free time.
You can keep up with Anthony by following @AnthonyDamcott on X.
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NA$car has the ability to f#@k up an anvil with a rubber hammer. The “empire” needs a total reset. This story is just one of many in the last 10 or so years.