Last weekend I went to Phoenix to race during a Summit series points bracket race. This was a night race starting at about 7pm. The first time run was at 101 degrees and as the evening progressed the temps cooled to something acceptable as I worked my way to the final round at 3am.
An old guy like me wasn't accustomed to this late hour and I ended as runner up.
This coming weekend in Las Vegas we have 2 day races during high heat warnings and though I don't like racing until nearly sunrise I think I would prefer it.
Burning sun or up all night, or, when is it just too hot?

Dan,

If you ask the question(s) it's too hot!

IMO, if there are heat warnings the track should not be having a race. That being said, I had planned to skip the up-coming races to get the car painted. I was hoping to race the July night race, but I don't think the car will be ready.

If I'm going to race in the heat. I would rather do it at night.

2BKING

It's very hard to escape that Vegas sun!

We used to also race at night in the summer. But that was with a previous track manager. Loved those 4th of July deals back then.

Here in Texas it is often too hot to race but we do not have much of a choice. Yes, it is hard to deal with the heat and depends on how you look at it I have been Blessed / Cursed to work inside air conditioned shop most of my life. Nice in bad weather but sure makes it hard when I do have to work or race in the extreme heat. Got a really good air conditioning in my trailer and fan in the work part of the trailer. Try to stay hydrated and in the shade. I also drink a lot of water, cokes and there is some stuff called Liquid IV that is really good and noticeably helps me.

90 is my shnut down poiunt. Here in NC when its hot it is normally humid and I am not good when hot/ Somem wopuld ayn ******* when not hot.All say so when hot out/

Mywife says it is summer suck season. She hears it everytime I hear 85 or more for the day.

Stay in the shade, drink lots of water. I'll even sit in the cab of my truck for a few minutes with the A/C running between rounds, just to give myself a break.

I'm 61. Things have changed quite a bit in our world since I was a kid. I grew up in Virginia in a house with no A/C, and dad didn't get a car with A/C until I was 9 years old. Even then, he didn't like to turn it on - said it wasted gas.

Schools I went to had no A/C until I got to 9th grade and they had opened a new high school. When I played high school football, they wouldn't even let us have water until practice was over, and the water we got came out of a garden hose. This was in August with temps in the 90's and sometimes 100's.

It's no hotter now than it's ever been, regardless of what you hear on the news. We are all much more susceptible now to the heat because we are unaccustomed to it. In 95% of the US, it's just hot in the summer and that won't change. It's hot on the golf course and hot at the lake and hot at your kid's ball game too. You just have to decide if you want to stay active or if your gonna sit inside in the A/C and watch TV in your spare time.

We are accustomed to racing during daytime heat in Las Vegas. It just doesn't make sense to have a race(s) when there's excessive heat warning issued & record high(s) being set!

2BKING

In years past I worked outside every single day, and most days it was hotter in the shop than it was outside (if it's 100 outside, it would be 115-125 inside the building). When I get home, I am outside. April through December usually. Starts getting cold about early dec and holds on til about later april. Anyway, I've always done better during the summer as far as bracket racing. Hot/humid days work best for my program, and I think part of that is because I'd gotten used to the heat and know how to prepare for it, and how to "work" in it.

Now that I've changed jobs and have a job that is inside the a/c and heat, I'm finding out that i am spoiled-and I can't take the heat like I used to. Racing out in the heat just about does me in and my program is "off".

I think that's part of it-getting used to being "out in it"-and making sure you're hydrated and you also have enough nutrition to support the heat. Remember your body will slow down a little when it's hot out. It will slow down a LOT when you start getting into heat exhaustion. Heat stroke will kill you, and oftentimes "we" (folks that are outside a lot) don't really recognize the symptoms of heat stress and exhaustion until it's close to if not already in, heat stroke. I've had it, and it's no joke.

As I've gotten older, 19 days away from 60, and having worked in the AC since 1987 the heat is a struggle for me. I use a Coolshirt brand vest running ice water through it under my fire suit when I'm strapped in. I also put an AC in my trailer.

I have found that the vest and then getting in the trailer for a little bit after a pass makes it bearable for me. I am much less tired than I was before just battling the heat. I don't have to just sit in the trailer but any time I feel a little too warm I just cool down in there for a bit. After that I can run around and talk, watch other races, etc...

Humidity is the killer here in Georgia

When the heat index is above 95 I prefer to stay home

Well summer time is time to have a relatively slow car. Nine runs 12's so I can wear light cotton pants and a T shirt. I have a small RV so I'll run the A/C and it should stay between 85-90 inside to cool off in 110 degree heat.
I'll buy popsicles, body armor, vitamin water and a lot of water. Should be fine..........

I'm 83 I'm done at 93-94*. One heat stroke can ruin your entire day.

Bob

We in Florida, summers always blazing hot and very humid. Each year seems heat bothers me more.

Solution has been wife pitting wet cloths in baggies in freezer, put down my shirt under jacket in staging. Also 1 bottle cold water, drink half then dump other half down shirt. May sound crude but seems to help a lot. Keeping RV cool is another plus.

876 medium humidity and 5 layer suit sitting with sun straight in face at Farmington Friday was hot enough. Crew guy forgot to bring small blower for driver ac too.

I used to install autoglass and worked outside year round. Never had an issue with the heat, until I had an issue at the track.

Driving a black car with black interior and for some reason, I install lexan windows that didn't roll down.

I was sitting in the staging lanes, suited up and car running (dead of summer here, 90+.) When next thing I knew, I was sitting in the shade next to the car with the EMTs around me. I don't remember this but was told I shut the car off and rolled out on to the ground.

I put an indoor/outdoor thermometer in the car after that. It doesn't take long to get to 140 plus in there.

It has roll down windows now.

Haven't raced in 3 years but upper 80's will keep me home.

Been said for years that the majority of racers are the older age group and now we're even older. Heat definitely bothers me a lot more now and especially the humidity.
I have thought about buying a portable fan that runs off of my battery pack for my cordless tools. Zip tie it in the car and it should really move some sir, better than the dash type trucker fan most of us use.

I am installing an inline bilge blower this time around. Gonna pull fresh air from outside the car and blow it on me.

This subject is the exact reason my camaro will keep roll down windows and at least the top of the car will be a lighter color. I painted the roof of my od Vega a bright yellow over the black to two tone the car. That made a big difference in interior temperature.

I bought several items to help cool me down this season.

The first was a lithium battery powered portable fan for inside the car trailer. At full speed it will run for 7 hours before it needs a charge. That allows me to have a fan without running the motor home generator.

The second is a small hand held lithium battery powered fan that goes in the roadster with me. Just something to cool my face.

The last item is a lithium battery powered small AC unit that I'm going to keep next to the bed at night so I don't have to continually run the generator. It will cool at full speed for 5 hours or at 1/2 speed for 9 hours.

I had a new 110 Air Conditioning unit installed in the motor home and it cools the coach like the inside of a refrigerator. The plan is to not run the generator as much as I have in the past but instead rely on lithium battery powered items.

Bob