The latest Cup Series race in Michigan was yet another event this year that had to be rescheduled owing to bad weather. Rain lashed out at the two-mile track on Sunday and delayed the start. When the cars eventually did get rolling and were 51 laps in, the red flag was waved and the race was pushed to Monday. This has once again raised the question of why NASCAR isn’t changing the start times to accommodate bad weather.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. answered on a recent episode of Dale Jr. Download that it isn’t doing so simply because it can’t. He noted that it is the TV broadcaster who has the say in deciding when the race starts. He detailed, “The start times are predicted by and chosen by networks and they influence that mostly. They know what the hell they’re doing. They want to put this race where they feel like it’ll get the best number. That’s as simple as it is.”
This wasn’t always the case in the sport. Back when TV deals were but a minor portion of the revenue generated, NASCAR could place its races at will. But the economic dynamics are far different now and the broadcasters shell out huge lumps of money every season. Dale Jr. added, “The networks pay enough money to have the right and authority over NASCAR when to put the race on.”
This balance will only continue to get out of NASCAR’s hands in the future. Pushing a race back and forth by even 20 minutes is a big battle particularly if there is another important event going on at the same time. The networks are just looking to put the races at the time that will benefit their advertisers the most and avoid clashing with other major events in the likes of the NFL and NBA.
Dale Jr. wants a TV viewership battle with the NFL
From the Daytona 500 to the Chicago Street race and now the Michigan race, many events in 2024 have been rescheduled due to rain. These races could have run smoothly had they been scheduled at a different time in the first place. Going forward, Dale Jr. believes that the continued reluctance to go up against other major events on TV will be detrimental to the sport.
He said, “I also think, why not go up against the NFL? I mean it ain’t about us against them. It’s just like… Why are we avoiding the big guy?” He further explains that the sport will never be able to gain new viewership unless it goes to battle. He hates the idea of NASCAR giving up the best time slot for the NFL and wants it to go up against the biggest fish there is.
