While on the phone with a driver’s public relations representative this week, I asked if he’d had fun staying extra days at Pocono and Watkins Glen for rain-delayed races in consecutive weeks.
“I’m hoping we go till Tuesday at Michigan!” he said in jest.
That’s a dangerous joke to make. It happened in 2007, when ESPN aired the Michigan NASCAR race live on a Tuesday.
The life of someone who works or competes in NASCAR is fun but grueling. Show up at the track — or at least in the track’s town — on Thursday. Practice Friday, maybe a truck race. Qualifying Saturday, maybe a Nationwide race. Then the big show on Sunday.
For Saturday races, the week gets compressed or moved up a day.
Tuesday and Wednesday are days off that racers get to spend at home. You know, kind of like a weekend.
Rain delays throw everything out of whack, and NASCAR has dealt with a lot of rain-related issues this season. The Daytona 500 was rain-shortened. So was the Coca-Cola 600, and it ran a day late.
New Hampshire’s race was rain-shortened, giving NASCAR three races postponed until the next day and three cut short because of rain.
“It’s tough on the crew guys,” Bobby Labonte said. “They don’t get a day off and have less time with their family back home. It’s been like this the last two weekends. I’m sure they are looking forward to some sun this Sunday.”
Back-to-back rain-delayed races have happened before. In the fall of 1992, Martinsville and North Wilkesboro ran on consecutive days.
But since NASCAR started keeping track in the mid-1990s, rain never has forced three consecutive postponements.
That’s a record nobody wants.
More Top Picks Signs Of An Eye Tracking Problem In Kids