With the entire Midwest under an Excessive Heat Warning Friday, the ARCA Allgiant Air Gold Cup went on as scheduled at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway on Friday. Harold Fair Jr. won the race.
It was the temperature and high heat indices that was the story prior to the race. At qualifying it was 96 degrees and a heat index of 105 according to the National Weather Service. The race was scheduled to start just after 7:30 with a temperature of 95 degrees and an heat index of 103 but it was put on hold about a half hour while several heat induced medical emergencies occurred on pit road and were taken care of by the EMTs.
When the cars took to the frontstretch about 8:15, the temperature had dropped to 90 degrees but the heat index was still 103. Luckily for drivers and the sparse crowd that braved the heat, a light cloud cover appeared in time for the start of the race. At the halfway point the drivers all came down pit road and ARCA officials provided them with water (no work was allowed) by this time the temperature had dropped to 87 degrees and a heat index of 98. At race end it was 84 with a heat index of 93, because of the high oppressive humidity.
Now for the race ...
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