Storm wreaks havoc at 2 tracks
Charlotte Xfinity race now Sunday; Daytona damaged.
Day t ona I nt e r nat i onal Speedway officials said the famed track has “moderate damage” from Hurricane Matthew.
Officials said lights, speakers, signage, fences, gates, awnings and palm trees were damaged from the powerful storm, which made its way up Florida’s coastline Friday. They said there was no flooding at the facility, adding that pictures circulating on social media are from a 2009 storm that caused damage to the speedway.
The ticket office and the Richard Petty Driving Experience will be closed today and Sunday during cleanup. The track’s next event is the Fall Cycle Scene, a racing and demonstration show that begins Thursday and runs through the weekend.
In the meantime, the track is serving as a staging area for Florida Power & Light crews dispatched to repair outages in the area from the storm.
Meanwhile, offic ials at Charlotte Motor Speedway postponed all on-track activity Friday because of heavy rain from the hurricane.
Friday night’s Drive for the Cure 300 was moved to 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, and today ’s Bank of Americ a 500 remains on schedule for 7 p.m.
The National Weather Service called for the heavy rains from Hurricane Matthew to be moving out by the 7:05 p.m. EDT start of the Bank of America 500.
Heavy rains from the hurricane are expected through this afternoon but should begin tapering off quickly after that.
What nature can’t do to get tonight’s race started on time, the speedway is equipped to handle. The track has 12 jet dryers — double the number required by NASCAR — and 12 Air Titans to dry the track in 90 minutes, speedway spokesman Scott Cooper said.
An additional 10 dump truck loads of gravel and two additional dump truck loads of sand are on hand to shore up any spots on the property affected by rain, he added.
Formula One: Mercedes technical chief Paddy Lowe brushed off suggestions that sabotage was behind Lewis Hamilton’s engine failure at last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.
Hamilton was leading on lap 41 of 56 at the Sepang International Circuit when his engine blew, handing the race lead and ultimately the victory to Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo.
The frustrated Hamilton was furious after the Malaysian race, and hinted at perhaps something more than bad luck.
With five races left in the season, it will be difficult for Hamilton to make up the deficit to Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg, who holds a 1. Martin Truex Jr. 2. Kevin Harvick 3. Kyle Busch 4. Matt Kenseth 5. Joey Logano 6. Chase Elliott 7. Brad Keselowski 8. Kurt Busch 9. Denny Hamlin 10. Carl Edwards 11. Jimmie Johnson 12. Austin Dillon at Charlotte Motor Speedway, NBC
23-point lead in the championship race.
Speaking after Friday ’s practice session at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka, Japan, Lowe said any suggestions of sabotage were out of the question.
Rosberg set the quickest lap in both sessions, with his best at 1 minute, 32.250 seconds; just seven hundredths of a second better than Hamilton.
Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen was third, encouragingly only three tenths of a second off Rosberg’s time. He was followed by Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, then Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel, who won four faces in Suzuka between 2009 and 2013.
Force India pair Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth and seventh fastest, with three tenths of a second separating the duo. Ricciardo was 12th. Rain is forecast for today’s qualifying.