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Aerial view of Bowman Gray Stadium, North Carolina.
Mother Nature has come to visit North Carolina and she didn’t bring a basket of sunshine and warmth. Currently, the Southern state is being hit with a combination of sleet, freezing rain and snow affecting driving conditions from Saturday to Sunday night.
In one week, the first event of the NASCAR season is scheduled to take place February 1 at Bowman Gray Stadium for the Cookout Clash. Also on the docket is the NASCAR Whelan Modified Series and Sportsman scheduled to race on Saturday.
Below Freezing at Green Flags
According to the forecast as of January 25, temps for the Sunday events at Bowman Gray show 28 degrees for the Last Chance Qualifying race at 6 p.m. ET. From there, the temperatures expectantly drop reaching down to 22 degrees by the 8 p.m. start time for The Clash.
On Saturday, the Modifieds take to the track at 10:15 a.m. for a practice session followed by another for the Sportsman. Then, the Mods qualify with the Sportsman right after with all sessions slated to wrap up by 12:15 p.m.
When cars first take to the track a temperature of 17 degrees is forecast with an increase to 23 degrees when the practice and qualifying sessions wrap up. Race time for the Modifieds is 1:15 for 125 laps or 90 minutes, whichever happens first.
Following that is the Sportsman race slated for 100 laps or 90 minutes at 2:45 p.m. The forecasted temperatures for both green flag times is 25 degrees, which is also the daytime high.
Later in the day, the NCS teams take to the track at 6:15 p.m. for their only practice, followed by four heats to determine The Clash’s starting line-up and who goes to the Last Chance Qualifier on Sunday. Temperatures are set to range from 22 degrees down to 19 during those events.
Sunday Racing with Continued Cold
While there is no precipitation of a wintery mix, sleet or snow like Winston-Salem is currently experiencing, the forecasted temperatures are still below freezing for the following day.
When the NCS hits the track at 6 p.m. for the LCQ, those drivers and teams will be greeted with a 28-degree temperature. The Clash is slated to start at 8 p.m. where the forecasted temp drops to 24 degrees with a feel like of 19.
The LCQ is scheduled for 75 laps and The Clash for 200 green flag laps. That means caution laps won’t count towards the double-century total.
What Tire Pressure to Pick
BGS is a 0.25-mile flat oval located in the football stadium for Winston-Salem State University.
When it comes to grip and traction, teams praise how much better Goodyear tires react when they get warmed up after a few laps. A combination of the cold temps, track conditions and size of the oval could make that difficult for both series.
The open-wheel Modifieds and Sportsman cars are much lighter than their 3,330 lbs. NCS counterparts. With the Modifieds weighing a minimum of 2,600 lbs. and maximum of 2,645 lbs., there will be a heavy degree of difficulty making the transition from the straightaways to the flat turns of BGS.
For the NCS teams, the decision of air pressures will play a huge factor for success between track conditions and the cold temps forecasted. Tire pressures are normally set low so heat can build up in the early laps and provide better grip under warmer conditions.
However, the cold air and track temperatures will prolong that process and cause handling difficulty in the straights to turns transitions. Also, the weight of a Cup car on a flat track like BGS could cause tires to be cut by the rims they are mounted from low pressure settings.
Fans can witness all the action from BGS on FloRacing for the Modifieds and Sportsman, FS1-TV for Saturday action and FOX-TV for The Clash on Sunday. MRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR will have coverage.
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Tim Packman Tim Packman is a journalist for Heavy.com covering NASCAR. He grew up around the short tracks of Western New York watching his dad, stepdad and step brother race. His uncle was the head starter at many area tracks and member of the FOAR Score Hall of Fame.
Tim’s passion for racing took him to the announcer’s tower and writing program stories for multiple tracks in the area, namely Lancaster National Speedway. In 2000, he moved to Mooresville, NC to become an award-winning journalist for NASCAR.com. He took a job with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as the team’s Communications Director and was part of two Daytona 500 wins and two NASCAR Championships.
The announcing experience led to becoming a Pit Reporter and News Director for MRN Radio. A return to the team side at Richard Childress Racing as the Director of Corporate Communications took place, which also included another Championship.
From 2015 to 2018, Tim returned to where his career began in 1994 – Lancaster National Speedway & Dragway – as the Track President. He earned Short Track Promoter of the Year awards in 2016 and 2017.
Upon returning to NC, he joined The Garage Shop as Communications Director and host of it’s Podcast and MAV-TV docuseries “Legacy of Speed” talking about Land Speed Racing at Bonneville, and other places.
Tim has hosted two other Podcasts, namely “Pub Table Racers,” and wrote three books. One was with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison titled, “Bobby Allison, a Racer’s Racer” and two Children’s books, “Funny Dan the Race Car Man” and “Petey the Pace Car.”
He also served in the US Navy. More about Tim Packman
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