Since 1982, Daytona International Speedway has hosted the season opener for the NASCAR Cup Series, dubbed The Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing. Despite the fanfare and importance of the season opening spectacle, Mother Nature seems to frequently get in the way and overshadow the event.
The current weather forecast for racing on Saturday (Feb. 17) and Sunday looks grim. If the Daytona 500 is affected by weather, it would be the third time since 2012 that it was forced to run on Monday. In 2023, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race ended prematurely due to inclement weather, along with other notable early ends for the Cup Series in 2003 and 2009.
As such, is it time for NASCAR to move the season-opening race weekend elsewhere to hopefully race uninterrupted by weather as well as ensure the Daytona race is run without interruption? Steve Leffew and Mark Kristl argue this question, as we kickoff our first 2-Headed Monster of 2024.
NASCAR Cannot Control Mother Nature But It Can Control Tradition
I know the forecast for Saturday and Sunday continues to worsen. I’ve been at races, both as a fan and media member, when it rained. Yes, I agree, it sucks.
Here’s the rub though: we cannot control Mother Nature.
While moving the Daytona 500 to a later date, be it the second race rather than the first, after the West Coast swing, etc., might make the race weekend clear of precipitation, it is not a guarantee.
On Monday night, racing at nearby New Smyrna Speedway ended prematurely due to rain. On Tuesday night, all racing was completed as it was dry. If there is one thing Florida weather has proven to NASCAR at Daytona, it’s that it is unpredictable.
For the sake of argument, let’s say NASCAR does move the season-opening race weekend to another venue, be it Homestead-Miami Speedway, Auto Club Speedway once its reconfiguration is complete, or somewhere else. Are those racetracks guaranteed to be dry? No. The Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum had to be moved up a day due to unprecedented historic rainfall. Leave it to NASCAR to hold a race in downtown Los Angeles, only to have it up-ended by a monsoon.
Homestead is still in Florida; it rains there too – a lot.
What then has NASCAR accomplished? It’d be another season-opening race weekend with inclement weather, not at Daytona when quite possibly it could be dry at Daytona. We’d be having the same conversation all over again.
Simultaneously, if NASCAR moved the…
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