It seemed like a good idea. The planning was extensive. The engineering of it was measured to the last bucket.
The wild card, as it can be on a race weekend, was the same as always. After the planning and hauling and making ready, it was the weather that dropped the ball…. Or the water as it is…
Here’s the thing… And it may or may not be a big thing… But dirt on the track at Bristol for a NASCAR Cup race is a gimmick. Granted, it’s a good one. But it is what it is. It’s a twist on a classic race at a historic facility to draw some attention and make a good show.
We’ll see… The drivers couldn’t. Practice went well on the dry surface. Except for the tires wearing really quickly… And the track surface rutting up… And the inconsistency of the racing lines… Traditional dirt races on real dirt tracks are not as long and the track is refreshed at intervals. The Cup race at Bristol doesn’t have these options for a number of reasons.
However, throw in a day of rain and the Camping World Trucks trying to get the qualifying races in and you get two laps of a mess. On the dry side, it was still a bit of a mess… When you look a little closer.
The rain has already pushed the truck race to run after the Cup race on Sunday. (If they run… The weather doesn’t look that great…)
If all had gone without the rain it was still a gimmick that could turn either way. From seeing how the Super Late Models ran the week before the one big drawback is apparent. Put it this way… Reminding fans to wear masks in the stands maybe wasn’t a necessity.
Dirt tracks aren’t surrounded by a stadium several stories tall. The open air of those small dirt tracks lets the dust from lap after lap drift away. The bowl that is Bristol holds all of that in with little means of escape. Cover your beer, and your face…
Now with the rain that hardpack dirt gets tossed up under tires and thrown back on the grills and windshields of every car in the pack. The mud sticks like glue and packs up like brown concrete. Drivers can’t see anything and engines can’t cool. Throw out the radiators and drive blindfolded…
But fans can see and breathe… Every single one of the two laps before the red flag gets thrown.
The practice sessions on the dry track put out so much dust the TV cameras could barely view the other end of the track. Now… Half way through the race the surface would likely be packed and “rubbered” up on the low and high line. The dust would likely ease by then.
We’ll see. It might be Monday… But we’ll see…