NASCAR accused of hypocrisy over Dover decision

NASCAR has long abandoned early afternoon Cup Series races on Sundays. So naturally, how Sunday’s race at Dover transpired left many disgruntled.

Long gone are the days when NASCAR Cup Series races would begin at 12:00 p.m. ET or 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoons, and long gone are the days when the only time you’d find a 3:00 p.m. ET or a 4:00 p.m. ET start time was if the race was being run on the west coast.

Nowadays, Sunday afternoon Cup Series races generally start at 3:00 p.m. ET or 3:30 p.m. ET, with the occasional 2:00 p.m. ET or 2:30 p.m. ET start thrown into the mix.

The general argument against earlier start times has been the fact that races which start later in the afternoon tend to draw more viewers and earn better ratings for the sport’s television partners, but the lack of early start times still doesn’t sit too well with a significant percentage of the fanbase.

And it is almost always a subject brought up when a race schedule is altered due to rain.

Such was the case on Sunday afternoon at Dover Motor Speedway. The DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne got underway shortly after 3:00 p.m. ET, as scheduled.

But after just 78 of 400 laps around the four-turn, 1.0-mile (1.609-kilometer) high-banked “Monster Mile” oval in Dover, Delaware, it was red-flagged due to rain.

After a lengthy delay, NASCAR decided to postpone the remaining 322 laps until Monday afternoon.

Had the race been scheduled for earlier in the day, rain would not have been a major issue, and even if it had come into play, enough of the event would have been run to deem it official, thus avoiding the need to return on Monday.

But what got even more fans talking was the fact that NASCAR announced that the race would be resumed at, of all times, 12:00 p.m. ET on Monday afternoon.

You get the idea.

Another issue at hand is the fact that Dover Motor Speedway, like a few other tracks, doesn’t have lights. So even if the rain had let up, there would have been no guarantee of finishing the race, and it could have been pushed back to Monday anyway.

Fortunately, the weather forecast is a lot more promising for Monday, so a late start time could actually work without the threat of darkness.

But instead, they opted for noon.

NASCAR hasn’t always run postponed races at noon, either. It’s not like noon is the absolute must go-to time for a Monday, or any postponed, event.

In NASCAR’s defense, when a rain delay/postponement happens, they need to work with networks to find a time at which the remainder of the event can still be shown. And in some respects, it’s almost like damage control, because weekday races generally aren’t going to outdraw weekend races no matter what time of day they’re held.

But really, 12:00 p.m. ET, when an overwhelming majority of fans are at work?

It would probably a bit more understandable if NASCAR wasn’t totally against earlier start times on Sundays, but considering the fact that 12:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. ET start times are effectively considered taboo nowadays, the whole situation has rightfully left many fans puzzled.

Still, if you are able to watch, make sure to tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 12:00 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the final 322 laps of the DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne from Dover Motor Speedway. Start your free trial of FuboTV if you haven’t yet done so!