NASCAR and wet/cold surfaces have historically been a challenging combination. Even with the introduction of a wet weather package for the Next-Gen Cup cars, racing on a high-banked oval in such conditions has frequently resulted in wrecks.
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Meanwhile, recently NASCAR dropped its Cup Series schedule for the 2024 season. But it was the placement for one of the early races that seemed to be a bit odd. Speaking about this abnormality in the schedule, former NASCAR driver and Hall of Famer, Dale Jarrett, explained how he found this to be rather shocking.
Dale Jarrett does not agree with a certain aspect of the 2024 schedule
While speaking on the Motorsports on NBC Podcast, Jarrett argued he was surprised regarding the dates for the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He mentioned, “I’m just wondering who at Atlanta made the schedule makers mad that they would be racing there in February. I can remember getting snowed out there when we used to race in March.”
He added, “So I just, as a driver, a cold track, a fast race track, and radial tires that has never been a good combination. So we’ll see how this goes plus I just feel for the fans. The drivers are going to be in a warm condition regardless of what the temperature is. It’s going to feel pretty decent inside the race car.”
Jarrett further explained how over the past couple of years the race at Atlanta had gained momentum among the fans. He then cited how Dale Earnhardt Jr. had previously mentioned this becoming one such race that you often hype fans to go witness, mostly owing to the excitement factor.
But since NASCAR decided to go ahead and race at the venue in February, despite the typically frigid temperatures and frequent snowfall during that time of year, Jarrett asks, “Who’s gonna go there and watch in February? We’ll have to wait and see.”
Back when a blizzard took over a NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Staying away from Atlanta Motor Speedway near the cold seasons is often a great idea, especially considering what happened here nearly three decades ago. Back in the 1993 season of the Cup Series, instead of hosting the Motorcraft 500, it ended up hosting an all-out blizzard. Interestingly, this was in March of 93′. Yet NASCAR is boldly planning to return to the same venue as early as February for the 2024 season.
The teams and the cars had already finished their practice and qualifying sessions during the Motorcraft 500 of 1993. However, it was right after when the full force of the blizzard hit the track. Wind gusts would go as high as 50 mph, the entire track was under a thick blanket of snow and the cars remained wrapped and frozen over in the garages.
Looking back at what happened in the March of 1993, heading to race on the track in February could end up being risky. Although, we might not be greeted by the sight of a blizzard, the combination of cold tires, and a cold and semi-wet tarmac in the Atlanta cold might not have been the greatest of ideas to come out of the 2024 Cup Series schedule.
