You may have noticed that there have been what seems to be an abnormal number of rain delays impacting the three National Series of NASCAR this season. But is it really abnormal? Or does it just seem that way? Over the last six weeks, rain has significantly impacted five weekends. We’re going to compare the way rain has impacted the sport over the last couple of years to the last few decades.
First, we’re going to look at which tracks have been the most impacted by rain since 1980. The top 5 are as follows:
Image credit: r/NASCAR
We’ll start by looking at races impacted by rain from 1980-1990. This includes races that were postponed, rescheduled, or shortened. During the decade, 14 races were impacted by rain, with the most coming in 1982 and 1987, with three races each season.
During the 1990s, things took a turn upward. The decade saw 23 races impacted by rain, with the most coming in ’92, ’97, and ’98, which each saw four rain-impacted events.
Another drastic uptick in rain-impacted races occurred during the first decade of the 21st century. In the 2000s, 34 races were postponed, shortened, or rescheduled. The year 2000 saw a whopping 6 races impacted alone, the most in a single season in 20 years
The 2010s saw a slight decrease from the previous decade, with only 29 races affected by rain during the decade. 2016 saw the most, with five, followed by ’15, ’18, and ’19, with four. But what about more recently? More specifically, 2020 to now? Let’s take a look.
Now we get into the more recent seasons, and this is where you will start to see a massive uptick in rain-impacted races, and you’ll probably start to realize that we have seen more rain-impacted races in the last 4 years than any other time in the NASCAR history. Between the years of 2020 and 2022, 12 total races were impacted, but then you take a look at 2023, and your jaw will likely hit the floor. Last season alone, a staggering 27 races were impacted in some capacity by rain. This was the most in a single season in NASCAR history.
2024 has also seen its fair share of rain, with the season starting with NASCAR moving a race up a day for the first time in history due to a deluge in L.A. for the Clash. That has led to more wet Sundays at the track. In fact, it happened immediately: the Great American Race fell victim to rain the following weekend, being pushed to Monday for the first time since 2012.
The 2024 season has continued to see a streak of bad luck, specifically this summer. The Coca-Cola 600, another of NASCAR’s Crown Jewels, was shortened significantly. That led into the most recent stretch of races, specifically when NBC took over the broadcasts. Starting with Iowa, a stretch of four races in a row was hindered by rain, including the Chicago Street Race, which for a second year in a row was shortened in distance due to heavy downpours, despite the scheduled race distance being shortened for that very reason due to what happened last year.
To summarize, no, your eyes are not deceiving you! NASCAR has most definitely seen more rain delays and impacted races in recent years than in the decades prior. We don’t know how the rest of 2024 will play out, but surely it won’t be as bad as 2023 was, right?
Let us know your thoughts! Do you think something needs to change to help avoid this recent plague of rain delays? Can anything be done? If so, what should it be? Share your thoughts with us on our socials at The Daily Downforce, and stick with us for the latest news in NASCAR all year long!
