question about racing in the rain

[LongDogRacing]

Ok, so, I was out there at CMP on Saturday.  It rained.  I only had DOTs.  (and race rain tires were not in the budget)

Here's the question:

I came in last place anyway, but wanted the points--  Could I have just completed one lap and still received points for 12th place? 

At the time, I wasn't sure, so I just went ahead and completed all of the laps.  Needless to say, I tiptoed around the track, as I was not very confident at all in the wet.  I kinda felt like I was wasting everyone's time on the victory lap because it took me several minutes to get back around to the pit!

Thanks in advance!
--Justin

[Jeff]

Yes, you can do 1 lap and go in and get points (unless something changed).  However, coming in last or doing the 1 lap is really useless as your performance index gets hit BIG TIME which hurts worse than just sitting in and not going out.

My suggestion, embrace the rain.  Learn to love it..  It's fun!  I'd take on a rain race anyday...

[Garywc]

one lap as long as there isnt a red flag and a restart i belive for sprint races

and i agree with Jeff learn to play in the rain rain races can be alot of fun some times

[LongDogRacing]

how does the performance index come into play?  --justin

[LongDogRacing]

one lap as long as there isnt a red flag and a restart i belive for sprint races

and i agree with Jeff learn to play in the rain rain races can be alot of fun some times

thanks for the reassurance about racing in the rain.  i'll be sure to join you guys out there next time... WITH rain tires on!

[Ridgeway]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure PI only impacts overall point standings, not class championships.  Your PI is used in a calculation along with actual points earned to determine your overall-point standing.

If I'm not mistaken on the above point, when compared to not starting the race at all, pulling in after one scored lap would help you in terms of class points, but would hurt you in the overall "selective combined points" rankings.

And I'd agree that racing in the rain can be really fun.  The races that I've won have either been in the rain, or on a damp crummy track.  We had a lot of rain in my first year (05) and I ran street Michelin's, so I got pretty good at adjusting for the conditions.  Once I made the investment in rain tires, the time I spent sliding around in 05 really paid off.  It's pretty amazing how capable full-rains can be in a downpour!

It's also really fun to bash the NASCAR weenies for parking their cars as soon as a few drops fall!   

[limy_1]

I don't know if I would say racing in the rain is fun but it does come with the sport.
I have only raced on DOTs so I can not compare to slicks or full rains.
What I can say is you learn throttle and brake control making you entry and drive
out smoother thus going faster. This transfers to the dry track really well too.

[Cowboy 6]

It's also really fun to bash the NASCAR weenies for parking their cars as soon as a few drops fall! 

He he he !!   +1

[r1owner]

Rain tires rock!

[George_Linhart]

Rain can be your friend!  Learn to love it.

[Court Jester]

Best bet for the rain is to keep an eye on the weather at a track near you. if you see that it's going to rain all weekend that a trackday is scheduled, go on out and pay at the gate. so many people sit out track days when it rains that they'll let you sign up the day of the event and have some fun and learn quite a bit. i did that and finished better in all of my rain races than i did any or the dry ones.

and if rain tires aren't in your budget, check around for a set of used ones. used one rain tires are still better than dot tires. 

[r1owner]

+1 on the above statement.  Just get you some used rains.... racing on DOT's in the rain is just plain not fun. 

I could not believe the amount of brakes you could use in the wet with those tires on.