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NASCAR: Why doesn’t Las Vegas Motor Speedway have a night race?

By Dustin Smith

LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 16: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet, drives during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series SouthPoint 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 16, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 16: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Lowe's for Pros Chevrolet, drives during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series SouthPoint 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 16, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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With extreme temperatures in the desert of Las Vegas, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competed in round one of the 2018 playoffs this past weekend.

One area the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series doesn’t seem to slack in is driver safety. However, this past Sunday, the series competed in the first race of the 2018 playoffs in extreme heat. This had me asking the question: Why does Las Vegas Motor Speedway not have host Cup Series races at night?

Sure, the racing itself last Sunday was great and jam-packed with action. However, the stands looked pretty empty even though the race was the first race of this year’s playoffs. This could be due to a few factors. I, for one, point my finger at the fact that many probably didn’t want to sit on a hot metal bleacher in dry, 100-degree desert heat.

At the end of the day, the idea of having a night race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway just makes all the sense in the world to me. If you’re not quite convinced that this is a great idea, consider the three points I make in favor of this move below.

Why Las Vegas should host a night race

Sin City is the city of lights

When you picture Las Vegas at night, what do you see? Lights. Lights everywhere! So why not have a night race under the lights at Las Vegas? Las Vegas Motor Speedway could throw up some neon lights all over the entrances and really make a spectacle out of the facility. Fans could book a hotel on the strip and limo ride in style to the Las Vegas night race.

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A better environment for both fans and drivers

Rather than have fans sit in 100-degree heat and drivers drive cars that heat up to 150+ degrees, why not run the race at night when the sun goes down and temperatures are much cooler?

It’s a win-win when you sit down and consider the facts. Fans would not have to worry about baking in the sun. Drivers wouldn’t boil inside their race cars.  At some point, NASCAR needs to consider the extreme heat when it comes to driver safety.

It would avoid the loss of viewers

I have said it a few times and believe it to be true that the NASCAR season is too long and needs to end sooner. The playoffs are a battle with viewers every year mainly because they start the same time the NFL kicks off their season.

By racing under the lights on a Saturday night, NASCAR won’t lose out on fans choosing to watch football instead of NASCAR. True, the real fans choose the racing over football, but it’s the casual fan who can help drive up numbers and attract more viewers.

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What do you think of the idea of having the Las Vegas Motor Speedway races being held at night? Would it solve some of the attendance issues? Would you be more likely to go to the track knowing the race would be at night and not in the middle of the day when the temperature is the highest?

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