NASCAR is set to return to action this weekend with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, weather permitting, as an arctic blast threatens to complicate the season-opening exhibition.<\/p>\n
The same cold front expected to impact the Tri-Cities region is forecast to move through Winston-Salem, bringing frigid temperatures and the potential for snow or cold rain. The conditions could create significant challenges for teams at the tight quarter-mile track, known for its close-quarters racing and demanding setup.<\/p>\n
Drivers and crews are already bracing for the possibility of racing in some of the coldest conditions the sport has seen in years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t honestly know that I\u2019ve ever driven a race car in that cold of weather,\u201d said Erik Jones, driver of the No. 43 Toyota. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of mechanical challenges and keeping the cars warm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones said teams may need to keep cars running longer than usual just to avoid mechanical issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to run the cars a lot, honestly, just to keep them from freezing \u2014 from the water freezing,\u201d Jones said. \u201cGetting heat in the tires and brakes on such a small track, it\u2019s going to be really tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cold temperatures can make it difficult to build tire grip and maintain proper engine temperatures, increasing the risk of mechanical failures and limiting how aggressively drivers can race.<\/p>\n
NASCAR officials are monitoring the forecast closely as teams prepare for the weekend, with contingency plans in place should weather conditions deteriorate.<\/p>\n
Comment with Bubbles<\/p>\n
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT<\/p>\n
If conditions allow, the Clash will serve as the unofficial start to the NASCAR season, offering teams an early test under some of the most challenging circumstances they are likely to face all year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NASCAR is set to return to action this weekend with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, weather permitting,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":437716,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-437715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}