Why doesn’t NASCAR race or qualify in the rain on road tracks?  I will tell you why!

They are entertainers, not real racecar drivers.  Driving in the rain would scare most of them to death. 

Which is why, just after the Indy tire problem when NASCAR was asked about racing in the rain at Watkins Glen International in a few weeks, NASCAR and its drivers said they would not run in the rain and would have the fans come back the next day instead of racing like the Nationwide series just did in Montreal.

Don't worry, they won't be racing in the rain.  They have no intention of doing so, bringing the rain tires to the track is just a horse and pony show that NASCAR likes to put on to draw attention.  The first time a Bushwhacker complains they'll red flag it.  As they always do.  Funny cars that are more dangerous and have no roofs with fast cars race in the rain.  That is why any open wheel drivers or any other racing that races in the rain are real racecar drivers.  NASCAR is just entertainment and fantasy racing, where drivers get paid big bucks, to whine and cry, about racing.

Competition caution, no racing in the rain, what entertainment for the fans.

Fellows wins shortened Montreal race in first points event run on rain tires

"It's very dangerous," Fellows said minutes before the race was called.

Grooved tires also were used in 1999 during a Craftsman Truck Series practice on the road course at Watkins Glen.  In 1997, rain tires were used in practice and qualifying for an exhibition race in Japan.

After averaging about 90 mph on the regular slick tires before the rain arrived, the leaders' average speed dropped to about 75 mph on the grooved tires.

http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/nationwide/news/story?id=3516561

While watching the Brickyard 400, I was embarrassed for the fans at Indy for the race.  If you don’t follow NASCAR you may not know what I am referring to. The rear right center of the tires wore to the cords causing a few blowouts.

An unbelievable nine competition cautions where thrown by the NASCAR Officials, to allow the teams to come in the pits and change the tires.  This has been done in the past at many other tracks and not just this year.

Many people blame the COT (Car of Tomorrow or now called Car of Today) that the tires the Goodyear has used for years would fail and shred to the cords, thus placing lives at stake if one would blowup and the wrong time.  So NASCAR stepped in and allowed the yellows to replace the tires.

NASCAR didn't have an open test at Indy this year with this tire and car type.  The diamond-grinding process at Indy makes the pavement abrasive.  Indy is not new to this type of problem, in 2005, F1 had the same type of problem and the teams decided good or bad not to run.  In F1, multiple tire manufactures supply tires, but in NASCAR, as in the IRL, there is only one.  NASCAR uses Goodyear and IRL uses Firestone. 

I was always hoping NASCAR would open up the tires to multiple manufacturers to have Hoosier and Cooper tire competing with Goodyear to help the racing.  The problem is that a tire war will make the cost of owning a racecar in NASCAR go up. 

To me, Goodyear didn’t do the homework or was not allowed to test the tires.  They need to work on this because the problem was not just at Indy this year, but at other tracks as well.  It may have been the worst at Indy though.

Fewer spectators came to Indy this year and to put on the show as they did this year, next year may even be down more.

I hope for the safety of all, I pray Goodyear and NASCAR get a fix for this.

IMS owner Tony George said in interview to the local newspaper that people should stop blaming the track.  George did not attend the event.  He is vacationing in British Columbia.

"The track won't change next year," George told the Indianapolis Star Monday.  "So if [NASCAR] wants to come back, they better figure it out because I don't think the fans want to come back and see that.

"Figuring it out will only come with getting the car and tire combination right, and that requires actually spending the time and effort to do something about it."

Sunday, April 5, Streets of St. Petersburg, 1.8-mile street course

Sunday, April 19 Streets of Long Beach, 1.968-mile street course

Sunday, April 26, Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile oval

Sunday, May 24, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 2.5-mile oval

Sunday, May 31, The Milwaukee Mile, 1.0-mile oval

Saturday, June 6 *, Texas Motor Speedway, 1.5-mile oval

Sunday, June 21, Iowa Speedway, .875-mile oval

Saturday, June 27 *, Richmond International Raceway, .75-mile oval

Sunday, July 5, Watkins Glen International, 3.4-mile road course

Sunday, July 12, Streets of Toronto, 1.721-mile street course

Sunday, July 26, Edmonton City Centre Airport, 1.973-mile airport course

Saturday, Aug. 1 *, Kentucky Speedway, 1.5-mile oval

Sunday, Aug. 9, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, 2.258-mile road course

Sunday, Aug. 23, Infineon Raceway, 2.245-mile road course

Saturday, Aug. 29*, Chicagoland Speedway, 1.5-mile oval

Sunday, Sept. 6, The Raceway at Belle Isle Park, 2.906-mile street course

Saturday, Sept. 19, Twin Ring Motegi, 1.5-mile oval

Sunday, Oct. 11, Homestead-Miami Speedway, 1.5-mile oval

* - night race

Schedule subject to change.

I don’t know if many of you watch Indycar racing.  As I have posted on it before, I do.  For the people that do, rumors are starting to run pace laps.

Source

Rumor #1 is that Tony Kanaan of AGR is having issues with Marco and Michael Andretti and with his contract up may leave the team at the end of the season.  Rumor 2 and 3 play into it.

Rumor #2 is At Team Penske Ryan Briscoe was/is in the hot seat at Penske Racing.  Tony Kanaan could be going there.  Helio Castroneves is a country man and friend of  Tony Kanaan and would be a good fit.

Rumor #3 is at Target/Ganassi with Ganassi's IndyCar team could open up if Wheldon fulfills his stated desire to race in NASCAR.  Now Wheldon would be highly pushing for him since they were teammates before.

It is very early in the season for the silly season to begin, but Tony Kanaan’s displeasure with the team on TV has revved this up.  I think Tony has valid points and it is hard to work with the boss’s son.  My guess he will need up at Target/Ganassi next year.