"Car of the future" scared of water?

[Tilikum Turbo]

Even back in the day, 935's and various other monster HP cars with no traction control or ABS rounded the banking at Daytona and other venues...in the rain(all on 1970's tire technology). AJ Foyt once teamed up with Bob Wolleck in a 935 at Daytona in a torrential downpour, and booted that car around the track with abandon.

That really was a measure of driving talent to keep that right foot down, maintain speed with all the traction of an egg in a Teflon frying pan.

Fast forward to the 21st Century...and NASCAR still refuses to allows racing when it rains.

I still can get my head around this...are the cars that bad...or someone can't make a decent rain tire...or the drivers don't have the talent of previous generations?

[cashflyer]

I assume it has more to do with fans and media coverage than racing.
NASCAR is about making money, and racing is one of the products they sell.

[VFR750]

One thing to consider is NASCAR does not run the road course and chicane at Daytona. They are flat out with 900-950 hp at terminal velocity. Not sure if a rain tire can avoid hydroplaneing at those speeds

The 935s likely turned down the boost and did not run flat out. My guess is they were so much faster than everyone else, even when they were slow, they were fast.

Put 43 935s on the track in the rain, on the full oval, and that might be a little bit dangerous.

It is an interesting question, but the best answer is they do run the Natiowide cars at Montreal in the rain. Only 700 hp though.