--- Kevin Smith <ksmith40@earthlink.net> wrote:
> On the other hand, NASCAR should lose the "baseball rules" and race
> in
> the rain. Their rain policy is probably the weakest thing about
> NASCAR. Goodyear doesn't make treaded racing tires?
I have no desire to compare F1 and NASCAR, but I will address this
point, coming from a person whose very business is watching stock car
races and reporting on its participants (in this case, mostly Busch
North Series, which is an AA-level minor league series which runs steel
full-bodied stockers similar to NASCAR's Busch Series, but is limited
to the northeast United States. I run a site that covers this series at
http://www.bnsracing.com).
Rain tires work well on light cars that do not sustain high speeds. But
NASCAR's stockers weigh in at 3500 lbs and are expected to enter turns
at, for example, Atlanta Motor Speedway, approaching or exceeding 190
MPH. Yah there's banking, but they depend on their tires for most of
the grip as the cars are not fitted with aerodynamic aids like formula
cars' wings.
At the slower ovals (the half-mile Martinsville Speedway, for example)
the tires might work, and five years back or so a car was sent out
during a rain delay to test hand-grooved Goodyear slicks (similar tests
have been held at Watkins Glen) and it didn't seem to be that bad. But
tracks like Martinsville are few and far between, with the majority of
tracks being high-speed, high-banked 1.5- or 2.0-milers.
As a racing fan, I don't think I'd like to be in the grandstands at New
Hampshire International in the rain trying to watch a race. Those are
miserable conditions to be outdoors in (and I've sat through both rain
delays at stock car tracks as well as rainy races on the hillside at
Lime Rock Park). And the quality of the racing would suffer as drivers
would be reduced to tip-toeing around the track rather than putting on
the show they and their cars are known for. It would be novel, but once
the novelty wore off it would be disappointing as the show would go on
at half-speed, probably with more cautions than typical and nobody
would feel they got their money's worth.
Waiting out the rain at a stock car race is a necessary evil, kinda
like having to take a car with a roof and leaving the MG in the garage
when you have to go out in a downpour (how bout that for bringing this
back on topic?).
--
Claff
71 MGB
02 Saturn L300
02 Hyundai Sonata
92 Mazda MX3GS
http://www.claff.net/claff/cars
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