NASCAR Season Kickoff at Daytona Speedweeks Ends with Soggy Climax

Speedweeks at Daytona has been a great prelude to the Super Bowl for the sport. The weather gods were kind, racing was exciting, media had plenty to hype and the main event was postponed.

The air in the balloon began seeping out with the clouds and rain that targeted a good part of northern Florida, and that included Daytona Beach.

Now the fans must rearrange schedules or return to work. The crowd will certainly be diminished, and television ratings will take a hit.

Rain-delayed races just somehow lose a bit of their draw no matter how good they are when they are run on Monday.

Weather still doesn't look too dry with the forecast, so it could be Tuesday which would be worse yet.

NASCAR had so much going for it with all things Danica, the return of the pack, some great racing and wild wrecks that play well on the news and play to the liking of some fans.

We still have the same cast of characters that will be piloting the 43 cars around the high-banked, tri-oval on whatever day the Daytona 500 gets run.

All the storylines are the same, but the diamond in NASCAR's arsenal of races lost some of its sparkle with the gloom and rain that blanketed the track.

It's a tough way to start the season, and there's a financial hit to Daytona International Speedway along with all the logistical problems that come with managing the fans on a weekday in busy Daytona.

Track president, Joie Chitwood III, said, "For us, we have to staff and be prepared that we're going to have a lot of folks show up. The last thing I would want to do is to be understaffed, have lots of folks show up and we can't take care of them."

Chitwood added, "From a financial impact perspective, you don't generate any more revenue on a rainy day, all you're doing is eating up expenses. It's going to cost us more to run this event based on having another day of expenses with no revenue associated with it."

Should rain continue to be a factor, there are 10 jet driers on the property that are shared by International Speedway Corporation.

Fans who did not already have tickets and still wish to attend the race can purchase them for the rain-delayed race. Parking may not be the issue it would have been with a normal race day.

The rain will obviously clean the track off. The surface will be different than it was for the Gatorade Duels, the NASCAR Camping World Truck race and the Nationwide race.

Carl Edwards said, "The only thing is the rain will make the track a little more abrasive to start. I think NASCAR will have a competition caution. We'll get to look at the tires. Hopefully, there won't be any trouble."

As the work week gets underway for many, and others go about their usual routines, we have to wonder how many eyes will be focused on the "Great American Race."

The bad weather is an unfortunate turn of events for NASCAR and its fans.

Speedweeks has provided a great show, but the main event, though it will be run on a dry track at some point, may just be a soggy climax.

Quotes in this article were obtained from an official press release unless otherwise noted.