DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Great American Race returns to Daytona International Speedway this weekend & First Coast News Meteorologist Ross Mummah spoke with former NASCAR Xfinity driver, Jesse Little, on how the weather impacts a driver & their team’s strategy on race weekend!
“We’ll see track temperatures that reach 150-160° and so what that does is exponentially raises the temperatures of the tires, so that can affect the handling…that can affect the driver’s feel or comfortably”, says Little.
Track temperatures are one of the biggest factors for race teams and how they must make adjustments throughout a race. The hotter the asphalt, generally the slicker the track becomes. Stock car tires are bald, so a slicker track will lead to a driver having less grip as they attempt passing maneuvers around the track.
In contrast, cooler weather or more overcast skies can keep track temperatures down, allowing for a driver’s tires to reach their maximum grip levels. On these cooler occasions, race crews will sometimes add a small 2” by 2” square piece of tape to the left side of their grill. In doing this, the car’s engine will run hotter and adds downforce and less drag to the front of the car – speeding it up! Run it too hot though and their engine could burn up.
Drivers will also endure intense heat while inside the cockpit.
“If it’s 90° outside, you can expect 130-135° temperatures where the driver is sitting”, says Little, forcing drivers to hydrate for days leading up to a race. On a typical race day, drivers can lose anywhere between 10-15 pounds of water weight just from sweating!
Wind speed & direction can also prove to be a major decider in a race.
“A 10 or 15 mph change of wind direction can go from making you think you have a really secure & comfortable race car to you’re almost wrecking and out of control…”, says Little. A strong headwind or tailwind can dictate which lane a driver wants to take when going into a turn.
And of course, rain & thunderstorms are not very desirable for a racing weekend! Unfortunately for race fans, Daytona Beach has rain in the forecast for Saturday & for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
First Coast News is On Your Side with latest weather updates all weekend long!
