MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Weather plays a big role in how drivers prepare to race. <\/p>\n
Rain can cause delays or postponements depending on the amount of rain the track receives, but temperatures can also play a big role in how drivers like Shane Van Gisbergen and Ryan Blaney approach race day. <\/p>\n
HOW DOES HEAT AFFECT RACING?<\/p>\n
Hot temperatures can cause the asphalt to release oil. Making the track slick and reducing tire grip. So, the hotter the air temperatures, the slicker the track is. <\/p>\n
What makes Darlington Speedway difficult is the time of the race and the design of the track itself. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing is that track changes throughout the day, suns overhead at noon, you\u2019re probably a hot slick track. It will start that way for Sunday as well at 6 o\u2019clock, the sun is still out, but as the sun goes down, the track changes the dynamics,\u201d said Josh Harris, the president of Darlington Raceway. <\/p>\n
For NASCAR driver Ryan Blaney said drivers have to be ready for anything while racing around the track.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to be ready for that change. When it cools off a lot, that\u2019s a thing we also have to think about. It\u2019s a fun race, I love Darlington,\u201d Blaney said. <\/p>\n
The changing track conditions and different turns in Darlington really challenge the drivers, and also challenge the teams because crew chiefs need to make sure they are making the right calls to keep up with the changing track conditions.<\/p>\n
HOW DOES THE HEAT AFFECT THE DRIVERS<\/p>\n
\u201cThese summer months, they get kind of tough. When it\u2019s upper 90s outside, it\u2019s an easy bake oven in there,\u201d Blaney said. <\/p>\n
The heat can be challenging to deal with for drivers, but luckily, they drive with cool suits and helmet fans to keep them cool. <\/p>\n
But sometimes that cool suit can fail, which is exactly what happened to Shane Van Gisbergen earlier this year in his race in Chicago. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat was one of the hottest races I\u2019ve ever done. The suit turns into a blanket, and it just heats up, and that was a struggle,\u201d said Van Gisbergen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is another part of racing. You\u2019re not only thinking of how to make as much lap time as I can and how to get my car faster, it\u2019s also how do you prepare your body, how can you physically outlast everybody else,\u201d said Blaney.<\/p>\n
NASCAR truck series race starts Saturday, Aug. 30 at noon, followed by the Cup Series race at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31. <\/p>\n
Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with WMBF. For more free content like this, download our apps.<\/a> Have feedback that can help us improve? Click here.<\/a><\/p>\n Copyright 2025 WMBF. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – Weather plays a big role in how drivers prepare to race. Rain can…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[425,99],"class_list":["post-124863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}