A senior NASCAR official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told SPEEDTV.com Sunday morning that if the 3M Performance 400 at Michigan International Speedway is totally rained out this week, it could become the final race in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup. There is a 100% chance of rain today and an 80% chance of rain tomorrow in Michigan, which means the race could be run on Tuesday. But rain is a possibility then, too. If we absolutely can’t race in Michigan this week, then we’re looking at making it the final race in the Chase, the NASCAR official told SPEEDTV.com. If we do that, we’d move everything back to where New Hampshire would be the cutoff race to make the Chase. Given that such a scenario is something NASCAR views as an absolute last resort, every effort will be made to get the race in this week in Michigan, despite the weather challenges. The current schedule calls for NASCAR’s regular season to end in Richmond Sept. 8 and the 10-race, season-ending Chase for the Nextel Cup to begin Sept. 16. in New Hampshire. The Chase is scheduled to end Nov. 18 in Homestead, Fla.(SPEEDtv.com)(8-19-2007) MORE: If it is rained out again on Monday, NASCAR officials said the race will be run Tuesday. From there on, it gets dicey, as there is a Craftsman Truck Series race scheduled for Wednesday at Bristol Motor Speedway, while the Busch Series teams will practice there on Thursday. NASCAR announced Sunday that if the Michigan race can’t be completed this week, that it will be run on Thanksgiving weekend and become the final race of the season and the 10th and final race in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. That would make the Sept. 16 race at New Hampshire International Speedway the 26th and final race of NASCAR’s regular season, instead of the first race for the Chase. The Chase field is set based on completion of the first 26 events, said NASCAR’s Ramsey Poston. The Chase is comprised of the final 10 races of the season, so if this race were not to be able to be completed this week, it will be moved to that week of Thanksgiving and would then become the final race of the season, Poston said. That would mean that the Sept. 8 race at Loudon, N.H., now scheduled to be the first race in the Chase, would become the last race of NASCAR’s regular season and the first Chase race would be a week later in Dover, Del. It would also result in the traditional season-ending Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway being the ninth race of the Chase, instead of the season finale. NASCAR officials have vowed to do everything possible to get the race in this week.(Ford Racing), what is the weather usually like at MIS for weekend of November 24/25? ave high temp is 43°F, ave low 28°F.(8-20-2007)
