It’s not secret that the weather conditions ahead of the Super Bowl Weekend of NASCAR have done no favors. The 2023 season bore witness to how the deluge derailed the race weekends, including the inaugural street race in Chicago. It seems that last year’s woes have been carried forward in the 2024 Cup Series opener.
The weather forecast has already threatened an impending weekend-long storm, which may lead to the postponement of the Daytona 500, the race that every NACSAR fan waits for. Moreover, bad weather already forced the Xfinity Series to be rescheduled for Monday while the practice session of the Cup Series was scrapped from the list. With the dark clouds looming over the birthplace of NASCAR, the racing community can only hope for a miracle or the reinforcement of Bill France Weather, a belief that has long existed in the history of NASCAR.
Will the Daytona 500 be rescheduled due to the rain?
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While the new fans of NASCAR might find it hard to believe, the legend of Bill France Weather seems to have found a basis in the racing community. The legend of Bill France Weather is lore that has long existed in the paddocks of NASCAR. Now a Twitter post by Nascarman that displayed a small cutout, read, “NASCAR’s so-called Super Bowl never has been rained out, the result, legend says of a deal that NASCAR founder worked out with a higher power.”
“The forecast for last Sunday’s 40th edition was not promising when France Jr woke up. ‘I talked to him [Big Bill] about 4:30 that morning and told him to get working on it and he did,’ Bill France Jr said. To everybody’s astonishment, ‘It didn’t rain, until long after Dale Earnhardt ended his 0-for-19 Daytona 500 drought.'”
According to the National Weather Service, there is a probability of 90% of rainfall on Saturday evening and a probability of 70% on the day of the Great American Race. While Formula 1, for instance, is equipped to race in wet conditions, for NASCAR it is hardly an option, due to the tire structures that lack treads on them. With that being said, it is apparent that either the race would be cut short or would be postponed like the Xfinity Series.
New fans of NASCAR would never believe "Bill France Weather." It was almost supernatural that whenever the Daytona 500 was held, no matter what the weather predicted, there would be no rain. People thought Bill France made a deal with God to keep rain away from NASCAR races. pic.twitter.com/CNzQy1yI40
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) February 17, 2024
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Whether this deal with God and Bill France Jr. comes to fruition will be evident on Sunday and prohibit it from rescheduling.
Why can’t the Daytona 500 be hosted in the rain?
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Owing to the geographical location of the Daytona International Speedway, the track is no stranger to weather inclement. There have been numerous instances where the Daytona 500 race was delayed or postponed. In 2020, the Daytona 500 was postponed due to rain and had to completed on the following Monday. Later, in 2021, the race was again stopped for over 5 hours thanks to rain. But before this, one can go all the back to 2012 where heavy rains forced the race to be postponed from 26th to 27th February.
Owing to this, the question that crops up at this juncture is why can’t NASCAR race in rain, although wet tires are used. Well, there are multiple reasons. However, the primary ones being the absence of treads in tires, and as a result, the tires lose their grip on the wet oval tracks.
The other being the absence of windshield wipers and defoggers, which reduces the visibility of the cars and the spray from behind the vehicles, which can lead to on-track fatalities.
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With still hours left before the commencing of the race, it is to be seen whether the rain threats subside or will meet the same fate as the Xfinity Series.