| |
Nature Dampens Practice at Ocala
by BJ Cavin
Despite a valiant all day effort on Friday to get the track into the best shape
possible for Saturday's planned open practice at Ocala Speedway, nature
made a mess of things. Ocala Speedway staff looked at the situation on
Saturday morning and opted to make an early decision to postpone the
practice session. That choice was made partly due to the fact that the clay
had already absorbed quite a bit of water during the previous week, and
because radar showed quite a bit more rain was due to hit later in the day.
With racers reportedly traveling over 300 miles to practice, it was decided that
the earlier we could make a choice could be made, the better it would be for
the racers.
The largest part of the decision to postpone was a direct result of Ocala
Speedway owner Michael Peters' wish to present the best possible racing
surface to the racers. Thanks to off and on periods of heavy rain the previous
week, the track had not been groomed as well as originally planned, and
Peters was visibly disappointed that the track would be wet despite the efforts
of everyone. On Friday morning crews began working with a very wet track,
first attempting to get it dried out to a point to where it could be graded and
groomed, then actually doing the grading and grooming. Work continued until
after dark on Friday evening, and overnight the rains arrived. Again it was
Peters' strong desire to give the drivers an excellent track that helped sway
the choice toward a delay as more rain fell after sunrise.
On Saturday morning off and on moderate showers kept the track quite wet,
plus the radar showed far more of the same on the way. With some parts of
the track wetter and softer than others, Michael Peters decided that the best
choice would be to try again later. And since the rain was expected to be a
problem into early Sunday, the idea to run the practice on Sunday was
scrapped as well. It would be far better to start again with a newly regraded
and packed track one week later instead of risking presenting a still
waterlogged surface on Sunday.
The practice session has been rescheduled for Saturday, February 2nd.
The pit gate will open at 1PM and the drivers meeting will be at 4PM. Practice
will begin after the meeting and continue 10PM, so it will afford drivers an extra
hour of practice time. And Michael Peters says that if the demand is there the
practice can be extended another hour past the planned end. The admission
will be $10 per person with kids 11 and under free. Another practice session
is scheduled for Saturday, February 16th. These will be the only open
practice sessions before the grand reopening of Ocala Speedway on Friday,
February 29th.
|
|
|
|
|
