Drought shouldn't affect race weekend, AMS says

Water restrictions forced upon metro Atlanta by an extreme drought shouldn't have any impact on the upcoming race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, track president Ed Clark said Tuesday.

"We've asked the teams to not wash their rigs and their haulers when they arrive here like they usually do," Clark said. "That's the only change."

Rain Tuesday in Atlanta did little to offset the effects of a drought that's had its grip on north Georgia since early summer. Last month, state officials enacted a ban against outdoor watering. Decorative fountains have been shut off, restaurants have been asked to serve water only by request, and the mayor of Atlanta has urged residents to take shorter showers.

Officials fear that Lake Lanier, the reservoir that provides most of the area's drinking water, could run dry in three months. Georgia's governor recently declared a state of emergency, and asked a judge to force the Army Corps of Engineers to curb the amount of water released from Lake Lanier each day.

A recent piece in a North Carolina newspaper questioning how the crisis might affect the race weekend caused "utter turmoil for our ticket office," Clark said. The schedule, including Monday's Car of Tomorrow test, remains intact. Clark added that campers or anyone else planning to attend the event should see little difference. "It's the same as it's always been," he said.

The track has used water from wells and private lakes to irrigate areas around the speedway. And there's more rain in the forecast for later this week, although most of the race weekend is expected to be dry.

"It really hasn't affected us significantly at all," Clark said. "It rained [Monday], it's rained [Tuesday], and it's supposed to rain [Wednesday] and Thursday, so there won't be any issues as far as fires or anything like that. So we're in good shape."