Del Worsham has seen it before, but if he never sees the phenomenon known as “weepers” again it will be too soon. Though only a drop or two of very light rain fell throughout the day at Summit Motorsports Park, professional qualifying was halted during the early part of the first Pro Stock session, when ground water began to seep up through the track. The rest of the Pro Stock contingent, along with all the Funny Cars, eventually returned to their pit areas, only to be called to the lanes once again less than an hour later. The cars and teams were again turned around, and put on hold in their pits, while the NHRA Safety Safari valiantly worked to solve the problem, which was created by a week of heavy rain prior to the race. Finally, around 9:30, it was obvious the track was not going to be safe for the rest of the night, and the plug was pulled.
“Sad to say it’s not the first time we’ve had this happen to us,” Worsham said. “A number of years ago, in Topeka, they had a week of solid rain before we got there, but on Friday there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The sun and the heat seems to cause the water to rise, and any tiny crack in the track becomes an outlet for all the water pressure as it pushes upward. That was the weekend we learned the word ‘weepers’ because that’s what those cracks are called. We all call that the day we were rained out without a cloud in the sky, and today rivals it.
“It’s just very frustrating for us, to come out here and get ready, then wait, and wait, and wait, but never get to run. As bad as it is for us, I know it’s a hundred times worse for the fans, because a lot of them wait all year to see us race. It just wasn’t safe, though, so there was really nothing we could do about it. I just hope we get to run tomorrow. They tried everything today, including digging drainage ditches and drilling holes, but it was still bubbling up after the sun went down. We have our fingers crossed, and hope we get to get something done on Saturday.”
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