the cup series needs rain tires!

[Wade91]

if nascar had rain tires for the cup series on road cources like they do for the nationwide series the cup race at watkins glen this year wouldn't havd had to be delayed :s

[muggle not]

As far as I am concerned, they can stick the rain tires where the sun doesn't shine.

[Jonesi]

As far as I am concerned, they can stick the rain tires where the sun doesn't shine.

I think a couple of Cup drivers told them that a few years ago when they found out the rain tires were several years old.

[Wade91]

the last 15 laps of the nationwide were awesome :D i was actually hoping it would rain :p

[e2mtt]

NASCAR in the rain is a joke. These cars are too heavy, too powerful, too hard too see out of, and Nascar's caution system too lengthly, to make racing in the rain even worth trying. Watching a whole race in the rain, 50% under caution & ever single car run into something, would be excruciating.

I wouldn't be surprised if a F1 or Le Mans car has more grip & braking in full wet, then a Nascar Cup stocker does on a dry track.

[call_me_andrew]

NASCAR in the rain is a joke. These cars are too heavy, too powerful, too hard too see out of, and Nascar's caution system too lengthly, to make racing in the rain even worth trying. Watching a whole race in the rain, 50% under caution & ever single car run into something, would be excruciating.

But we know it works! We saw it work at Montreal last year! We've seen it work in the Canadian Tire Series. We've seen it work in the Mexico Corona Series. The only missing piece is the driver.

"Ever single car run into something"?

Have you never watched a stock car race before? Everything gets hit!

[harvick#1]

I wouldn't be surprised if a F1 or Le Mans car has more grip & braking in full wet, then a Nascar Cup stocker does on a dry track.

Carbon brakes work alot better as well then Steel also.

The Nationwide proves that the cars can drive in the rain without a problem and I don't believe it would be a problem in the Cup series as the drivers are alot more exprienced than the NWS drivers.

Hell, a non-road ringer took Ambrose to school to win, so these Road Course ringers don't have that big of an advantage.

[Lee Roy]

I don't think there's any question that they can run in the rain; however, the 64 dollar question: is it worth watching?

I would imagine that there are as many answers to that as there are people watching.

If I've driven all the way to Watkins Glen and have to get back home the next day? Then the answer is "yes". I'd love to see the race run on the day it is supposed to be run on.

If I'm sitting at home, watching a 10 - 15 minute caution after every 2 or 3 green laps? Then the answer is a definite "I'm not so sure".

[Lee Roy]

No one can deny that the Montreal race is a hit.

http://jayski.com/nationwide/nationwide.htm


Montreal TV ratings up: Following two consecutive weeks of rising TV ratings for both the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series on the ESPN networks, ratings rose again for this past weekend's Nationwide Series race at Montreal. The Sprint Cup Series had the weekend off. ESPN2's live telecast of the event from Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal earned a 1.6 final national household coverage rating, up from the 1.5 rating for last year's race that also aired on ESPN2, and the 1.4 rating for the inaugural race in 2007 that aired on ESPN2. The telecast averaged 2,094,211 viewers. During the previous two weeks, ESPN's live coverage of Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series races from Michigan International Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway all earned ratings increases from the previous year's telecasts.(ESPN PR)(9-1-2009)

[Mark in Oshawa]

The only people who don't like racing in the rain are likely the same people who object to road courses in NASCAR anyhow.

NASCAR doesn't need more road courses, I get that it is a mainly oval series. I wouldn't want see that change really. That said, if the teams can get out on time because they ran the Glen or Montreal in the rain, that saves them money (yes I know tearing up cars are expensive, but not everyone was tore up enough to make that hotel stay for a whole team cheaper).

That said, if they run in the rain, better to go single file restarts in the rain. Also note, Montreal had guys tearing up the cars before the rain fell. The feud that Steve Wallace was having didn't start with the rain, he was on full kill long before and caused a lot of the carnage.

If you are going to race in the rain, then do away with the DFR for that purpose, at least in Montreal, where the first corners just make things a bash fest even in the dry. Either that, or restart them on the stretch coming into the pits and let the chicane straighten the field out a little.

Most of the issues we had in the rain are part of racing in Montreal. It is the reason I was a little heistant on NASCAR coming to Canada and running there. It is a great roadcourse, but with NASCAR's rules and the big cars, it is a bit of a wreckfest no matter what. That said, the fans there loved it, the MRN and ESPN people love the event and the fans, and in the end, that is what counts. If the fans like it, the event is well attended, then the teams have to suck it up. The same people carping about wrecked cars dont'complain if they tear up half the field at Martinsville, Bristol, or a big 15 car mess at Dega. Like I said, it is the anti-roadcourse people who cant grasp it.....