Rain Vs Race Promoters

Racing is at the mercy of Mother Nature, unlike stick and ball sports. Racing is a sport that needs a dry surface.

Many a race this year has been call due to rain. This poses a problem for the track management. Race track staff work constantly to atract local racers to come to their track because a consistantly high car count attracts fans by word-of-mouth. If the weekend is plagued by heavy rain, the event and all the promotion and preparation for the event is for naught. If too many race nights are rained out, there is a danger that some of the racefans my get in the habit of doing something else Saturday nights, like watch NASCAR Sprint Cup racing on TV.

In some respects the rain hurts the dirt tracks more than the aspahlt tracks. If the rain is brief, the track crew and use jet dryers to dry the track and as long as they have the light to race, can resume the race program. Dirt tracks soak up the rain and can be difficult to dry to a racable surface if the rain is intense.

It is even worse when the rain deluge occurs before half of the race program has been completed. Then the track operator still has to pay for the ambulance, the track crew salary, the workers at the concession stands, the cost of the lighting and the rain-check for the fans and competitors who will get to come back next week's event at no charge and many other incidentals that cost the track operator money. This also means that the revenue from the next race is greatly reduced, even though the operating expenses remain the same for the night's activities.

Race track management and promotion is not for the faint of heart.