By Justin Marks.......
JUPITER FL (3-2-10) - When the green flag dropped for the Tire Kingdom 150 this past weekend at Palm Beach International Raceway, many in the ARCA garage kept their eyes firmly placed on the ominous clouds heading from the east.

ARCA boldly stated that if the skies opened up, we would race in the rain.  Doppler radar shined brightly on cell phones from one end of the garage to the other, and Hoosier Tire unloaded a mountain of rain tires.  And sure enough, on lap 20 mother nature rolled out the red carpet for the ARCA Racing Series to step up and join the ranks of the top racing divisions in the world.

I remember very vividly the first time I competed in the rain.  I went to the ROLEX 24 Hours of Daytona in 2001 with The Racer's Group in a Porsche GT3R as a member of a mostly amateur driver lineup from the Pacific Northwest.  It was my first professional race and I was relishing the opportunity to drive alongside current and former F1 drivers, Sports Car racing stars, legends of motorsport, and yes even a bright yellow Corvette GT1 with the name "Dale Earnhardt" on the door.  Little did I know it would be one of the pivotal rain experiences of my career.  A little after midnight, I took over the car as a deluge rolled over the Daytona Beach area.  I drove in an absolute downpour for nearly three hours as Allan McNish and Max Papis battled for the lead of the twice-around-the-clock classic. 

Racing in the rain is something that has been a part of professional motorsports since Peugeot won the first ever race, the Paris-Rouen in July of 1894.  Since then, incredible battles among the greatest drivers of all time have been forged in the rain from the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans to the streets of Monaco, to the island of the Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal.  Racing in the rain is an entirely different world to the dry.  It demands a unique skillset from the sanctioning bodies, the teams, and the drivers.  Set-ups are different, the racing line on the track is different, and the strategies required to win are all different when it's wet.

Some of the best races I've ever been a part of were in the wet.  Most of the drivers I've known have all enjoyed the rain and the unique challenge it poses.  When NASCAR waved the green flag at the Circuit Gilles Villenueve in Montreal in 2008, it marked a significant moment in stock car racing in North America.  Finally, for the first time in NASCAR's nearly 60-year history, a points race was run on rain tires in the wet. 

This past Saturday in southern Florida, the ARCA Racing Series took another monumental step in its continued commitment to professional auto racing and added its name to the list of international sanctioning bodies that race, rain or shine.  Racing in the wet has been a part of the sport since its infancy and will remain forever.  Any championship that's serious about its place in the international racing community will welcome the challenge with open arms.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards did just that on Saturday, and succeeded with flying colors.