NASCAR, do yourself a favor and start races earlier

For a sport that has more access to data and models than any other, it seems a class in reading a weather forecast is in order.

The forecast for Sunday's FireKeepers 400 hardly wavered over the weekend, yet NASCAR, with the knowledge that the weather would be clear for at least an hour before the green flag flew, decided to do nothing.

Calling for the noon start times that once dominated the sport is a futile effort — it is, of course, possible for it to rain in the morning — but with afternoon summer thunderstorms being a staple of life on planet Earth, it seems to be clear to everyone except NASCAR that earlier start times are needed, especially at tracks that don't have lights.

Nobody, not even NASCAR, can control the weather, but with so many weather models and forecasts available today, the sanctioning body must decide to be more proactive when situations call for it.

Weather-affected races have been a part of auto-racing since the very beginning, but NASCAR has enough assets in its arsenal to make decisions on start times earlier. If NASCAR had chosen to move up the start time of Sunday's race, it would've at least made it to halfway, if not longer.

NASCAR may not be able to control the weather, but they can control how they react to it. It's time for the sport's executives to step up their game and step forward into a new era where they make more concise decisions.