AVONDALE, Ariz.—Phoenix is in the heart of the Sonoran desert—as in dry.
It hasn’t rained here in more than 70 days.
So why is there so much conversation in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage about the weather?
It’s not just casual conversation. There’s a massive storm over the Pacific, and it’s headed across Southern California on a beeline for Greater Phoenix. Most forecasts have rain falling when the two Cup practice sessions on Saturday are supposed to take place.
With the new knockout qualifying format in effect for the first time in the Cup series this week, the possibility of a practice washout on Saturday put enormous pressure on drivers and race teams to mine as much data as possible from Friday’s 90-minute opening practice session.
“We’ve been talking about it for a week now,” said Stewart-Haas Racing driver Kevin Harvick, “because we’ve seen the forecast, and you just have to go out and try to put as many things together as you can and collect as much data as you can, so you can put your race setup together for Sunday.
“You know that qualifying is important, but you also have to concentrate as much as you can on the race stuff. There are so many things that you have to put into an hour and a half that you have to prioritize.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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