If Formula One can do it why can't NASCAR race in the rain?

An estimated 305,000 fans attended the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne over the weekend. The total includes those who came for the practice sessions, the qualifying on Saturday and the race itself on Sunday. And fans did get a race Sunday; despite damp conditions and a rainy start, they got what they came for. In fact according to many, everyone got more than they paid for when the race turned out to be a thriller.

Meanwhile back stateside first NASCAR then the IndyCar series were both forced to postpone their races due to rain.

Fans at Martinsville huddled under rain gear, under stands, in their cars and other semi-dry spots while officials decided what to do. In the end they went away disappointed. Both leagues will run their respective races Monday, if the weather cooperates. But the events will no doubt play to much smaller crowds both in the stands and on TV.

Back in Melbourne Sunday though it was a far different story; there had been rain off and on all weekend prior to the race; during one of the practice sessions and at the end of qualifying. Fans came prepared and when rain began to fall just prior to the start, they simply put on their rain gear, covered their respective beverage of choice and got ready to watch the race.

In F1 a light to moderate rain shower doesn’t stop an event. It may slow it down, but they race on. Sunday the FIA stewards declared the track ‘wet’ just prior to the start and teams were forced to scramble to put on what’s known as ‘intermediate wets’ tires. The rain tires then quickly became part of the race strategy.
The rain stopped shortly after the start and eventual winner Jenson Button and his McLaren crew exploited this and dove in to change to dry tires. There was talk that this was done a bit prematurely as Button actually slid off the track on his out lap. But soon he found the drying line on the course and was quickly putting down laps so much faster than the rest of the field that everyone had to react and was forced in soon after to change to the’ dry’s’.

Button later inherited the lead when pole sitter Sebastian Vettel lost a left front wheel hub and from there it became a tension filled run as Button tired to conserve his tires, while the field behind him scrambled to catch up.

Most importantly in the end F1 fans both in attendance in Albert Park (where the course is laid out) and TV fans got one hell of a show (on the Australian ONE network the race had the highest rating for the network so far beating out both American style and Australian football). And F1 got a race that will be talked about for a long time to come. And that’s a good thing because the Aussie GP was a much needed shot in the arm for F1; it came on the heels on the opening race in Bahrain two weeks prior, one that many characterized as ‘boring’ due to a lack of passing.

"I think the spectators in the grandstands and in front of their TV screens had fun today,” said third place finisher Felipe Massa. “You could hardly call it boring!”

In America NASCAR fans had ‘fun’ watching whatever their local FOX affiliate decided to show after the endless waiting and banter around 2:30 p.m. eastern. IndyCar fans got too see a repeat of last year’s Indy 500 ‘already in progress’.

So why can’t NASCAR race in the rain? In St. Pete there was no question concerning the weather; severe thunderstorms and wicked lightening made sure of that and while the IRL does race in the rain, the severe weather made it unsafe and heavy downpours put standing water on the track. In Martinsville however, the severe weather was far to the south and came later in the afternoon with only light drizzles falling around the scheduled start time.

There are times when no one should be racing in the rain; when the rain gets too heavy or dangerous for fans like in St. Pete Sunday. Last year in Malaysia F1 called the event to a halt early when the rain became too heavy and awarded half points. Recently in Brazil the IRL had to red flag their race when rains got too heavy to make it safe. They waited it out for a short time and finished the race.

But Sunday in Martinsville there was no real reason that the race couldn’t have at least started and maybe even be completed or make the magic halfway point. That is if NASCAR were prepared to race in the rain.

Adding rain to the mix is another element that can be added to a team’s strategy. Some play it to perfection as Button and McLaren demonstrated Sunday. And fans that were there, soggy as they were, and on TV enjoyed every second of it.

“It was very exciting,” Button said Sunday. “Hopefully we'll have more of the same soon, because this is what we all love.”

Racing in the rain won’t work in every situation but NASCAR should at least begin to explore the option; fans in attendance and on TV deserve it and as F1 demonstrated in Australia Sunday, it can make for one hell of a show.

(NOTE: I'm also the Formula One Examiner, check out my F1 coverage here.)

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