NASCAR Will Introduce a Wet Weather Package for Short Ovals

NASCAR has been looking at solutions to mitigate rain delays at races. According to multiple sources in the NASCAR paddock, the series is planning to debut a wet weather package with rain tires for some short ovals next year. Like the package used on road courses, it will include a windshield wiper, flaps behind the wheels, rain lights on the back of the car, and Goodyear rain tires, of course.

Wet weather tires have been discussed and tested prior to the debut of the NASCAR Next Gen car. and now, our sources say NASCAR is forging ahead with implementing this plan for certain short ovals in 2023. One development in the package that will be seen in 2023 is an updated rain light. It will still flash in wet weather conditions, but will now go solid when the driver gets on the brakes, a huge help when visibility is low and drivers can't tell when the car in front starts braking. There will be two rectangular lights mounted inside the rear window and two lights mounted below between the rear bumper and diffuser.

The short oval tracks that are likely to see the availability of the wet weather package include places like Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway, along with the possibility of others like New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This is more of a wet surface solution than a true rain-racing solution, but it could significantly reduce race delays when there is rain. The best way to look at this solution is that it could replace the last thirty or forty minutes of jet drying, instead allowing the cars to go racing on damp pavement.