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Insiders call for NASCAR to move start times 'quickly' with threatening weather

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones08/20/24brianjones_93
Michigan International Speedway (2)
Aug 19, 2024; Brooklyn, Michigan, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott (9) leads the field during the Fire Keepers 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

NASCAR insiders had an interesting debate about the start times of races when there’s a chance weather could delay or push back the event. On The Teardown podcast, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic discussed whether NASCAR should move up start times if rain is on the way.

“I think they need to do that very quickly if it seems like there’s any chance of rain,” Gluck said. NASCAR has a policy of moving a race an hour early if it knows rain is on the way. Bianchi then asked Gluck if NASCAR should make that decision based on the percentage chance of rain.

“It doesn’t matter because I think you have to do everything you can to help the people at the track get the race in,” Gluck replied.

Bianchi then said, “It does matter because if it’s a 30 percent chance or 40 percent chance, there’s still a greater chance that it’s not going to be rain impacted. This led to Gluck sharing his thoughts on NASCAR not going back to 1 p.m. ET start times.

NASCAR insiders share more on start times

“I’m conceding that in the world we live in we’re probably not going to get back to standardized 1 p.m. start times because TV is paying literally billions of dollars and the higher ratings they can get, the more money they can charge for their commercials to try to recoup some of their investment, which is keeping the sport afloat,” Gluck explained. “So they get to say I’d like to end the races closer to prime time if possible. … Look, I’d love to be like ‘This is crap!’ But it’s not my money, so I’m trying to work within the framework that currently exists and be a realist about this.

“My concession is okay if you’re going to do that when you have the opportunity to move a race up and make sure you get as many laps as possible even if that’s not a whole race, I feel just very disappointed for the people that had to leave.”

The FireKeepers Casino 400 was scheduled to start on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET. However, rain delayed the race and with the track having no lights, NASCAR moved the race to Monday at 11 a.m. ET. After the race, Kyle Larson went to social media to say he missed the 1 p.m. ET start times when he was a rookie in the Cup Series.