Here is a rundown of what got me thinking...
Spain is world champions. IndyCar could not beat the rain, and for the first time in over eight years, a race will take place on a Monday. This is the first race to take place in it entirety on a Monday since Pocono in 2016. I guess you could say IndyCar was due. We will talk more about the Nashville weekend later. What is a racing incident in Formula One? Are there racing incidents in Formula One? A headset cost a Formula Two team points. There was an accident in Italy. NASCAR raced at North Wilkesboro with some points on the line. Ironically, what I wrote was long before any rain delay in Nashville.
An Ode to Early Starts
This stems from a few weeks ago when NASCAR moved the Cup race from Pocono up two hours due to pending thunderstorms. Instead of starting a little after 3:00 p.m. local, the race began around 1:00 p.m. local, and it was over before the storms could cause any issues. The proactive decision to move the race up to ensure it would be completed before any storms interrupted the proceedings was celebrated. However, the early afternoon start was going to be welcomed even if there had been no threat of rain.
Over the last 15 or 20 years, all races are broadcasted to ensure the largest audience will watch. In the United States, that ideal broadcast window is the middle of the afternoon. It is good for the East Coast, it is better for the West Coast, it is a happy medium for the continental United States that has four time zones. There is an imperfection in looking for what is ideal.
That sounds like an oxymoron, but it is true. It is great for the viewers at home. For those attending in person, it is not the greatest time. It really depends on the racetrack and where it is in location to civilization.
Most racetracks are close to nothing. It is going to be 90 minutes to two hours to get where you wish to be at minimum. When a race is not ending until 6:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m., you are lucky if you are back before sunset. It is the end of your day. It has likely been your entire day.
An early start is lovely. You may have to leave a little early, but you are at the track in the middle of the morning, and by the time the race is over you can return and have a proper dinner and unwind from the day out. That is an underrated aspect to an early start. It is nice to get home or return to a hotel and have some time afterward for yourself. The last thing you want is to get back from a race and feel like you are already behind for tomorrow.
Some areas work better for early starts. It was one of the driving points for Road America's return to the IndyCar schedule. It didn't make sense for Road America to host a race in the middle of the afternoon because people from the Chicago-area had a two-hour drive and would not show up if it started too late. If a track has no lights, it should probably start earlier rather than later and take advantage of daylight, as that is all it has to compete. Pocono shouldn't start at 4:00 p.m. ET if there is only a four-hour window for the race to get in. An hour storm and the race is a wash unless you are fine with racing against daylight and coming short of the full distance.
There are also events that should just be early.
This goes for the Indianapolis 500. It is too great of a race to wait for. Could viewership be better if it started at 3:00 p.m. ET? Probably, but the "500" is one of the few races people wait all year for. Why make them wait any longer? It is like opening presents on Christmas morning. Just do it as soon as you possibly can, and around 12:45 p.m. is the right time. Even that might be a little too long of a wait. Do I hear 12:15 p.m.?
Being a motorsports fan should not take up every aspect of your life. It should fit into the routine of a weekend, especially if you are attending a race. You should be able to enjoy the race and have your time. Some of the most fun is digesting a race afterward whether that is eating a meal out on the drive back or at home and possibly heating up some leftovers (Always have leftover ready if you are attending a race).
It was well over a decade ago now, but there was no better way to cap off a day at the races than being home and watching Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain. That doesn't exist anymore, and nothing has really filled that place. It is just nice when you can have a peaceful end to the day out.
When it comes to NASCAR, we aren't going to see many early starts anytime soon, even if Pocono went well. It should still be considered for the tracks with no lights. It is absurd that isn't already considered. There aren't many tracks and races that have this condition. Pocono, Michigan, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, two Talladega races, I guess the road course races but those events can take place in the rain so those are less of an issue. Loudon is in the mix and Dover if it returns with a proper points race.
I am sure there can be six or seven races a season that start around 1:00 p.m. There are already eight night races, five of which are on Sundays and only two of those are holidays. We just had the Atlanta race that did not end until nearly 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Is a 1:00 p.m. start that bad in comparison? It is a hell of a lot better than having a race go beyond midnight.
This isn't an issue for IndyCar. It will race whenever it fits into a schedule. 12:30 p.m. before a Cup race? Absolutely it will take it. The early start is more the rule and the later start is the exception. Nashville the weekend was a special circumstance. Th only night race is Gateway. When there is a west coast race, of course it starts later, but still early based on the local start time.
For all the concern about viewership, Formula One found a foothold in the United States despite 9:00 a.m. starts. If it is worth viewing, people will show and watch. That has been the issue neither NASCAR nor IndyCar has really been able to get its head around for the last decade. There is an audience both have missed. Plenty of people are willing to watch if you give them a reason, and they will be there whenever you put a race on, even in the middle of the morning.
This hesitancy toward early starts is more a NASCAR issue, and it probably shouldn't be. There are room for 1:00 p.m. starts the same way there is room for three consecutive prime time Sunday races in July. It doesn't have to be everywhere, but it should be at a few places, and those tracks would not mind something that is a little more flexible. You can have your special events that are late, but you can also have your special events that are early.
Perhaps this past Pocono race will see a slight change and we get two or three early starts because why wait to hold a race? There is something nice about them. The greatest of which is you get to go home earlier than with a later start. Isn't that enough of an incentive for all involved? The fans go for fun. The teams, the crews, the drivers, the officials, that time is work. Who doesn't wish to get home earlier from work? If you sell it that way, we are going to see a half-dozen races in a blink. Even though they have private jets, there is a big difference between getting home at 5:00 p.m. vs. getting home at 7:00 p.m.
Winners From the Weekend
You know about Spain, but did you know...
Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the Belgian Grand Prix, his sixth victory of the season.
Joshua Dürksen (sprint) and Rafael Câmara (feature) split the Formula Two races from Spa-Francorchamps. Jin Nakamura (sprint) and Ernesto Rivera (feature) split the Formula Three races.
Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup race from North Wilkesboro. Chandler Smith won the Truck race, his second victory of the season.
Matteo Nannini won the Indy Lights race from Nashville, his second victory of the season, but his first on the road.
Kakunoshin Ohta and Igor Fraga split the three Super Formula races from Fuji. Fraga won the make-up race for the rained out Autoplois round.
The #32 Team WRT BMW of Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts swept the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup races from Misano.
Sami Pajari won Rally Estonia, his first career World Rally Championship victory, and Pajari never conceded the overall lead in the rally.
Coming Up This Weekend
The Brickyard 400.
Formula One has one final race before its summer break, and it will be in Budapest.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters has a round at Oschersleben.
Formula E has a doubleheader in Tokyo.
