Driver X: Weather

Driver X is a veteran short track driver who has victories in multiple divisions and has been around racing since childhood. On a semi-regular basis, Driver X will bring an anonymous viewpoint from inside the paddock to RaceDayCT. The views and opinions expressed by Racer X are not necessarily the views and opinions of RaceDayCT staff.

Please pardon my absence. Every racer knows it goes … working like hell to get the car ready for opening day while also trying to enjoy life without racing during the off season.

Anyway, we have a few competition laps under our belt so I have a moment to return to writing to all of you.

I know I have been absent for all of the big news lately (Icebreaker? Speedbowl Saga that seems to never end?). Today we will be discussing the weather.

I am beating a beyond dead horse. It seems like a lot of people in the racing community are really fired up about this one since Stafford cancelled their Spring Sizzler show last weekend. Racers, teams and even fans made sure to let the track know that it was in fact sunny and 65 degrees on Saturday afternoon. I swear to God, I wasn’t even at the track but I sure knew what the weather was like with a minute by minute breakdown from everyone who was still there.

People also made sure to communicate their extreme disappointment to the track via the track’s social media and even track employees personal social media. And it is my understanding that some teams travel very far, but this is part of the sport. Everyone knows how to check the weather. By showing up to the track and paying to get into the paddock, you are gambling just as much as the track is.

Do you guys really think that a track likes cancelling events? Earlier this week I saw that Stafford completely cancelled the traditional two-day Sizzler show and revised the schedule to host an Opening Day race this Saturday and host the Sizzler under the lights next Friday night. In my entire lifetime I don’t think this occurred but please let me know otherwise.

Stafford hosts two weekend shows per year and having attended both of these events, they are arguably the largest events the track hosts. Losing one of those events is a huge loss to the track. Please for the love of God just support your local short track and work with them. Again, I understand some teams come from far away and cancelling the entire show in the middle of Saturday is very frustrating. On the other hand, they could have cancelled the entire show altogether.

Another thing to consider is that many drivers at Connecticut short tracks are competing in NASCAR’s national points system.

For those who don’t know, you go up against drivers from all over the country and it is broken down into Divisions 1-5. Drivers from Connecticut perform well every year and this is something us racers pay attention to on top of everything else, believe it or not. A driver doing well also reflects on their home track very well (hint: Connecticut short tracks). However, points are not scaled depending on how many races you started in versus the next guy. If Connecticut short tracks have a lot of rain outs this year, racers either have the choice to travel to other tracks that may be farther away or conflict with their usual weekend racing commitments to gather points and keep up.

While this is just scraping the surface at all of the factors, and I know that I did only consider the situation in favor of the track (I could possibly consider from the side of the racer another time), I have one last food for thought. I personally would rather sit at the track in a rain delay for two hours than be mowing my lawn on a Friday afternoon, but that’s just me.