Daytona 500 Open Thread- Monday

Everything substantial I wrote about yesterday.  The latest forecast is that there won’t be any more Thunder Storms until 11 pm so they might be able to squeeze in a few laps, otherwise- Plan C.

Daytona 500’s Start Is Pushed Back Until the Evening as Rain Soaks Track

By Erik Matuszewski and Dex McLuskey, Bloomberg News

Feb 27, 2012 11:02 AM ET

Nascar further delayed the start of its season-opening Daytona 500 race until 7 p.m. local time today as rain continued to fall on the track.

The race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, was originally postponed until noon today after rain wiped out yesterday’s planned start. It’s the first time the race has been postponed by weather in its 54-year history.

NASCAR postpones Daytona 500 for first time ever

CBS News

February 27, 2012 8:50 AM

Daytona president Joie Chitwood said he understood fans were frustrated about the scheduling change that pushed the race back one week later than usual. NASCAR and the track made the decision to move the start of the season to address an awkward early off weekend and to avoid potential conflicts with the Super Bowl.

…

“I’m sure I’m going to have some customers tell me about the date change and the challenges that we have with it,” Chitwood said. “But I think weather is unpredictable. I think based on the NASCAR schedule, the TV schedule on whole, this was the right move for the industry. We’ll continue to work with the last weekend of February.

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Chitwood also said trying to wait out the rain any longer Sunday wasn’t an option, because the Daytona 500 deserves better than being crammed into the late evening hours.

Daytona 500 postponed to Monday

Reuters

Monday 27 February 2012 10.40 EST

Joie Chitwood, president of Daytona International Speedway was reluctant to discuss the chances of the race not taking place until Tuesday.

“It is tough to even talk Tuesday until we get into Monday,” he said. “There is inclement weather in the morning but by noon it looks like the weather is better. We’ll play it out the best we can.

“We want to exhaust every opportunity of getting the track dry and running the race. I would anticipate by 5 p.m., 6 p.m. if there was rain on the track you will see us play out some decisions. I don’t even want to talk about Tuesday right now.”

NASCAR says Daytona 500 will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, further delaying start of season

By Associated Press

Updated: Monday, February 27, 12:29 PM

“We hope to have ‘Lady and gentlemen, start your engines,’ at 7:02 and then warm up and go to green flag,” NASCAR President Mike Helton said. “We believe this is a reasonable expectation.”

Helton made the announcement Monday morning when it became clear that steady rain at Daytona International Speedway made an evening start the best option for NASCAR’s marquee event. Helton also said Tuesday has not been ruled out.

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Greg Busch, executive vice president at GMR Marketing, said ratings for a Monday night race will not better what it would have drawn in its regularly scheduled Sunday afternoon slot. But Busch said the primetime showing will be significantly better than a Monday afternoon race.

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Ed Goren, vice chairman for Fox Sports Media Group, said the network was unsure what to expect Monday night. He praised Fox’s production crew for its coverage during the rain delay Sunday, when Fox drew a 4.5 overnight rating despite no on-track action during nearly four hours of air time.

Yup, all about the eyeballs.