Nationwide Series teams have rain tires in preparation for rain
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – With the radar showing rain about 75 miles west of Watkins Glen International at about the time the Zippo 200 NASCAR Nationwide Series race began, teams had one set of rain tires mounted and ready for use.
The Nationwide Series used rain tires last year at Montreal before visibility issues resulted in the racing being run short of its full distance.
NASCAR will make the choice on whether rain tires are used. It likely would have all the teams change to the rain tires – which use new carbon-fiber technology and are different than the ones used at Montreal last year – under caution. All cars are equipped with a windshield wiper and a defogger.
The Nationwide Series race is 82 laps, 200 miles on the 2.45-mile Watkins Glen road course. Last year, the race took 2 hours, 20 minutes to complete.
