A few years ago I realized the heat was becoming an obstacle to my racing..plus, it was not fun anymore..earning a living in the heat is one thing, racing is my hobby..I stop racing in June, July, August and part of September..being in central Florida summer temps are well over 90* with heat indexes of 105* and up...humidity is in the 90's as well..summer is my off season to work on the Dime..

This weekends race at Bakersfield will be the last of the year till the end of August because of the heat. Also, remember the track employees are out in the sun all day

Well, the heat was the only thing I beat over the weekend. Saturday I was .000 in the last time run which got me a potential bye. Ron the staging guy tells me yes I get the bye. 5 minutes later he asks me which lane I want because somebody showed up really late, a stocker guy named Lucier in a fwd Daytona. I set the guy out almost 5 seconds and didn't want to go red so I'm late and get beat first round.
Sunday my time runs were within .004 so I dial up one for the heat. I didn't notice the 13 mph tail wind that came up and ran .03 under taking too much stripe.
I didn't have any trouble with the heat. Except for the brain fade from being in the sun...........

quote:

Originally posted by fuzzy dice:
A few years ago I realized the heat was becoming an obstacle to my racing..plus, it was not fun anymore..earning a living in the heat is one thing, racing is my hobby..I stop racing in June, July, August and part of September..being in central Florida summer temps are well over 90* with heat indexes of 105* and up...humidity is in the 90's as well..summer is my off season to work on the Dime..

My brother lived in Daytona while going to school. I visited him once in August and couldn't leave his house. There is NO WAY I could race down there. It was borderline when we used to go to Moroso for the 5 day, lol.

You know.....
When it is the middle of winter and us northern guys complain about the cold and not racing......the southern guys tell us to move south. LOL
But seriously, too hot is too hot.

Yeah, but the middle of the winter is when the southern guys have their best racing weather.

When you can't have fun. Period.

I think extreme heat favors the prepared individuals in a slow car with windows that roll down and single layer jackets. I wear a pair of over large single layer pants, and drop them when I get out of the car.
Lot's of fruits and melon chunks, juices and water, pace yourself.

I Googled several articles about heat exhaustion and heat stroke. It doesn't take much, only a few degrees to have your core temperature reach the critical state. As you age that stage is a lot lower than you think.

If you race or work in places where the temperature, or humidity are high I strongly suggest you research the subject, it might save your life.

Bob

We raced down in Lufkin, Texas which is down near Houston one year. (2019?) That day was record high temperatures 108* actual temperature and very high humidity. (I thought it was 117* but one of other guys said 108* and I could not find my record books for that season)
May have been worst day racing in my life. Had new car problems at the track and it was a long haul down there. No Air conditioning in my truck and coming back was roughest road ever. Broke my tool box from the wall and fell on my car shorting battery. Was a real mess and could have been much worse. Lucky it did not burn whole thing to the ground. Previous owner had secured the tool box fairly good but when I did it no way it will ever come loose again with out pulling whole side of trailer in and bottom up.

That whole day was a miserably hot and dangerous day. Drink plenty of fluids, try to stay in inside in air conditioning (I did not have ac then) and stay in the shade. I have a towel that I would keep wet and lay over my shoulders and down the front. Helped a little.

Texas Motorplex was built in 1985 or 86 and they used that Black asphalt in the pits. When I raced there in the 90's the temperature in the pits was often 120* on my gauges due to dark black asphalt. Also no trees there and little shade. It was tough for me then and I was much younger. Our schedule was usually 23 weeks for points and you had to be there if you wanted to make the team and run for points leader.

Now those pits have eroded and are a lighter grey and loose rocks every where. It is much cooler but loose rocks everywhere. In your car, trailer, on starting line. Fresh black asphalt is noticeably hotter than concrete.

I was at a LODRS event in Woodburn, Oregon years ago with the temperature in the low 100's and the humidity well over 90%. It was the first, and the only time that I absolutely couldn't take the heat. I sat on a lawn chair under the shade of the goose neck of the trailer and ran cold water over me from the water tank. I soaked in that water after one of my kids recognized that I was in the early stages of having a heat stroke. I sat out the next round, we loaded the trailer and towed the 1000 + miles trip back home.

I believe that during excessive heat days crashes often happen due to heat exhaustion because the driver was disoriented. There is no way you can be competitive if you are experiencing heat exhaustion, or worse having a heat stroke. It takes days and sometimes months to recover from a heat stroke, in some case they place a toe tag on you and call the Funeral Home.

I bought a "Cool Suit" when I got home, still have it in the motor home.

Bob

I had a heat stroke or what ever it was back around 1983 and knew I blacked out but did not know how bad it was at that time. Got scared when a few months later I learned there was about 2 weeks where I was working and messed up jobs and did not remember a single thing from that few weeks.

I still have trouble dealing with heat.

They hauled me out of Piedmont a few years back after I passed out under the car. They got some fluid in me and I was ok to drive my mess back home. Dehydrated they said. I normally don't drink much, never have, but now when it is hot I drink plenty---83 now so it time to start drinking

It’s 100% on you. If it’s so hot and humid, you are not enjoying the race or you suffer the next day from what was probably heat stroke, it’s time to be honest and not race.

Yeah I think you’d be the first to know. If you’re payin attention!

Been 90's and humid local track ran first time trial at 7:30 last night. They said if heat keeps up they'll move start time back to dark. Low car count so finish time wasn't bad but loading up after 11 and I was soaked with sweat.

I just don't understand how people don't know how hot it is. Unless you spend your entire life in air conditioning. It's common sense. Drink plenty of fluids and you can eat certain fruits. If you know you're going to a multi day race start drinking extra fluids a few days prior. I've seen guys walking around with their firesuit pants on and that just baffles me to no end. Put a bilge blower in your car or a drink bottle holder or even invest in a coolsuit. The prices are very affordable now. Crank up the AC in the trailer or turn on a fan. Yes it's hot in the summer always has and always will be.

Is always hot in summertime. As I have gotten older the heat bothers me more. With that said, having the RV helps, beats sheet across truck with engine running to keep cool.

I may reach a point where I cannot function and do not have fun, then will stay home.

Not at that point yet. Hot as he$$ today and got chased in by a shower.

Today. Freking 95 predicted. Dang fireworks go off by themselves . spontaneous combustion.

Tell wife weather just like her . Freaking not. Dang she still wearing clothes.Yea did not work.LOL

This is what I was racing in last Saturday