NASCAR Cup Series cars are covered on pit road at Michigan International Speedway during Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400, which will resume on Monday. Mike Dickie / USA TODAY NETWORK

NASCAR, do yourself a favor and start races earlier

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Aug 18, 2024 7:54 PM ET

For a sport that has more access to data and models than any other, it seems a class in reading a weather forecast is in order.

The forecast for Sunday's FireKeepers 400 hardly wavered over the weekend, yet NASCAR, with the knowledge that the weather would be clear for at least an hour before the green flag flew, decided to do nothing.

Calling for the noon start times that once dominated the sport is a futile effort — it is, of course, possible for it to rain in the morning — but with afternoon summer thunderstorms being a staple of life on planet Earth, it seems to be clear to everyone except NASCAR that earlier start times are needed, especially at tracks that don't have lights.

I understand TV is king. Really, I do. But at what point does this just seem insane? Move the start times up at tracks with no lights. Especially with the threat of rain. Please. People have work and school tomorrow and they could have seen an official race today.
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) August 18, 2024

Nobody, not even NASCAR, can control the weather, but with so many weather models and forecasts available today, the sanctioning body must decide to be more proactive when situations call for it.

Weather-affected races have been a part of auto-racing since the very beginning, but NASCAR has enough assets in its arsenal to make decisions on start times earlier. If NASCAR had chosen to move up the start time of Sunday's race, it would've at least made it to halfway, if not longer.

NASCAR may not be able to control the weather, but they can control how they react to it. It's time for the sport's executives to step up their game and step forward into a new era where they make more concise decisions.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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