While there is still nearly a full week until the Clash at the LA Coliseum, the weather forecast looks a bit iffy. What will NASCAR do if the weather takes a downward turn? Thankfully, NASCAR is prepared to handle a light rain shower on a short track like the LA Coliseum.
NASCAR will bring elements of their wet weather package to the LA Coliseum including rain tires and defoggers, but, they will not bring mud flaps, lights, or wiper blades like are used on road courses. This was a rule change made in the offseason for short track races.
Wet weather tires are similar to tires found on a typical street vehicle. While normal racing tires are smooth with no tread for maximum grip, wet weather tires have treads meant to expel water and give drivers some grip on a wet track. Defoggers function just like the defoggers found on a regular street car.
So, why is NASCAR not bringing the full wet weather package to the Clash? The simple reason is that they do not need to.
The goal of the short-track wet weather package is not to race in the rain and wet conditions as they do on road courses. Rather, the goal is to shorten the delay time if rain does come through. As opposed to waiting maybe an hour or 2 after the rain stops for the track to dry, the cars can get back on the track in damp conditions and put on a race.
The extra equipment not used on short tracks is primarily for racing in truly wet conditions to minimize the effects of spray from the cars. On a merely damp race track, these issues are highly mitigated.
In 2023, NASCAR twice raced in damp conditions on short tracks. The first test came at Martinsville Speedway in the spring, a weekend that is often plagued by weather issues. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race was delayed by rain, but, once the rain stopped, they went onto the track to race in damp conditions.
The Cup Series had their opportunity to test out the new package about a month later at North Wilkesboro during the All-Star Race weekend. Rain came through and delayed the qualifying heat races for the weekend, but, the Cup Series cars took to the damp track and both races ran off without a hitch.
In both instances, NASCAR waited for the rain to stop, and they dried the track enough to make sure any standing water was removed. If it does rain during the Clash, NASCAR will probably employ the same tactic. They won’t just send the cars out there in the middle of a rainstorm, but, they will send the cars out there on a damp race track after either a light rain shower or briefly sweeping off the track after a heavy shower.
However, a long, heavy rainstorm could derail the weekend. NASCAR’s hope is that does not happen.
NASCAR is prepared for the weather to get crazier this weekend. However, the weather could still cripple this event if the weather gets truly ugly.
It was a busy Saturday at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). First, we had the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Then, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series took center stage and they were two vastly different events. Ultimately, it was Sheldon Creed standing tall in victory lane when all was said and done. Here’s what you need to take away from tonight’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at EchoPark Speedway.
Corey Day had a very sloppy, bad race in general, and it started early. First, he caused a wreck that took out Harrison Burton and a couple of others. Then, he took out the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. You can recap that first incident by reading the article below.
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Kvapil and Allgaier weren’t the only JRM cars to have issues tonight. Firstly, Rajah Caruth was out of control throughout the race, fighting a mean-handling car. He was able to brilliantly save it several times, to his credit. But perhaps the biggest incident involving the four JRM Chevys came at Lap 142 when Sammy Smith had a tire go down and spun in front of the pack. This took out several drivers, including Taylor Gray, among others. Read about that here:
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Results Pending.
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As Ross Chastain took the lead and the pack was closing in on 20 laps to go, things a little deeper in the pack started to get a little hairy. We had yet another huge crash late in the running here tonight, this one sparked by Sammy Smith’s flat rear tire. Here’s what happened:
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It has been a tail of two races when it comes to today’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at EchoPark Speedway (formerly the Atlanta Motor Speedway). We got off to a rough start with Corey Day triggering a massive wreck that took out the likes of Harrison Burton, and the Sieg brothers. Then, the field settled in and started to churn laps. Here’s what’s gone down so far.
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