NASCAR: Five Predictions for Kansas
By Dustin Smith
Kansas Prediction #4 – Rain Saturday evening will be the cause of an early wreck Sunday.
All things considered, NASCAR and rain go together as well as Donald Trump and the media. One big item to consider this weekend is how “green” the track will be when the green flag flies on Sunday.
Of course, on Saturday, Kansas Speedway has a 100% chance of evening rain around 8:00 PM or 9:00 PM. Why is this important? The Cup and Xfinity Series both practice on Friday. The Xfinity Series will race on Saturday and both groups will qualify Friday or Saturday. This means plenty of rubber will be laid down on the track by 6:00 PM Saturday. However, the 100% chance of rain on Saturday means all of the rubber left will be washed away.
This means teams practicing different grooves to find the quickest line might be in trouble when they try to use that line on Sunday. Playoff drivers will be looking to gain the most spots off of the initial start of the race. One little slip in the first few laps is more than likely to happen before the designated “competition caution” NASCAR will put in place.
An example of what drivers will go through
A perfect example of this scenario would be to compare it to an everyday routine at work. You do the same thing day after day and get it to where you’re near perfect and efficient at what you do. Then, out of nowhere, technology changes and you’re not sure if the old way will still be the best.
This is what happens to drivers when rain washes away rubber on tracks. Drivers find the best ways to get around the track the fastest and then rain comes. This causes the quick way of getting around the track to be non-existent and for the cars to be very loose. Expect the Saturday night rain to cause a wreck before lap 20 at Kansas on Sunday. The grip will disappear overnight and make for an interesting start.