Last weekend’s race at ChicagoLand Speedway was rained out on Sunday and had to be run on Monday. When I got up on Sunday morning at home about 50 miles north, it was raining hard. This lead to a very bad feeling about my day at the track. I looked at the radar and it appeared that within an hour it would not be raining at the speedway. I packed the coolers and grabbed my race bag and proceeded to the speedway. When I got near the speedway it was not raining just as I had predicted, unfortunately someone wreaked entering the speedway and I was redirected from the turn 4 parking lot to parking behind the backstretch. This added 35 min to my commute. By the time I got parked it was again raining hard.
Since I was planning to tailgate I made a drink and proceeded to check the radar again to see what might be in store for me. Just as before the radar indicated that the rain would let up and we might see some racing. At least until half way. Since it was raining hard and it was not conducive to tailgating, my wife and I took the bus to the track. Once there we waited under the grandstands out of the rain. Again, just as I predicted the rain let up and we proceeded to the Darius Rucker Concert.
My wife and I enjoyed the concert then went to our seats in the grand stand to watch driver introductions. It began to rain again. As we all know this pattern was repeated throughout the day and into the night. “Mother nature was not on our side today,” said Scott Paddock, ChicagoLand Speedway president.
Racing is inherently governed by the weather. Every race fan knows the weather changes the handling of the cars and the grip of the tires. This is what added to the drama of racing and impacts pit strategy. Whether we like it or not racing is tied to the weather. Unfortunately, yet again a NASCAR race was delayed due to weather. I have been going to NASCAR races for over 10 years and I can say I have only been rain delayed two times. This time though, I was not able to come back on Monday due to circumstances beyond my control. Watching the race DVR’d it was apparent that more fans made it back to the ChicagoLand Speedway for Monday, than ever. Thank You to the fans who found a way to return to the track and those that were able to watch on TV on Monday. I think everyone got an interesting race even though the dreaded words Fuel Millage came into play. Not only that but it sure turned the chase standings around.
