'Should we just race the jet dryers?' 6 alternative ways NASCAR could finish the Texas race
So, NASCAR fans, when you sat down to watch the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, you probably assumed the checkered flag would come out at some point that day. Instead, Mother Nature — who’s clearly not a NASCAR fan based on this season’s weather impediments — turned this race into the 72 Hours of Mist and Drizzles.
After just 52 of 334 total laps with Clint Bowyer in the lead, the race was officially red flagged because of weather — generally, NASCAR can’t race on a wet track — and it hasn’t resumed since.
First, the race was pushed to Monday morning. But after the NASCAR world spent the whole day intently watching the forecast and mist levels for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, it was then pushed back to Tuesday midday. And again, after hours of anticipation, by Tuesday night, NASCAR made the official call to push the race back again, this time to Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET (NBCSN).
“I had In-N-Out for dinner and pizza for lunch, so the diet is out the window,” Alex Bowman joked Tuesday afternoon during a Zoom press conference. “I’m out of food, out of clothes, out of everything. I don’t know. It’s hard to feel like we’re going to race anytime soon, just with how wet it is.”
Now, the weather forecast for Wednesday is rainy in the morning, but there’s hope things will clear up by race time. We’re cautiously optimistic after three straight days of monitoring the weather and seeing the air titans and jet dryers eliminate moisture on the surface, only to hear reports of mist and/or rain quickly reversing any on-track progress made.
It’s been a ridiculous ride for the NASCAR world with hopes for resumption rising before they’re ultimately crushed by Mother Nature. And at this point, the idea of an actual car race feels like a pipe dream that may never be realized.
So we have some ideas. Here are six weather-proof racing alternatives NASCAR could implement to determine the outcome of the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500.