“They shut the city down” - Kenny Wallace makes opinion clear on F1’s late-night start in Las Vegas

Former NASCAR driver and reporter Kenny Wallace has recently shared his views about F1’s decision to conduct the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix late at night. The event started at 10 pm local time on Saturday (November 24), making it midnight or later for many viewers in the US. It was the same for last year’s race as well.

Kenny Wallace, who is known for his candid takes and love for motorsports, took his X (formerly Twitter) account to reflect on the logistical and atmospheric reasons behind F1’s late-night start in Las Vegas.

The 61-year-old Missouri native understands that late-night timing allows the Las Vegas streets to transform into a race track, essentially shutting down the city and setting up barriers for a short period to conduct the race.

In his characteristic animated style, Wallace said:

“I think the reason they run that Vegas race so late at night is because they shut a lot of the streets down. You know, that's a short race. When you look at that Formula One race, that's a really short race. And I think that's another reason people are liking Formula One now. I'm hearing the reason they run that race so late is because they shut the city down pretty much late at night.”

Last year, Las Vegas Grand Prix CEO Renee Wilm explained the decision of late race timing of the F1 Las Vegas race is to maximize international viewership for the event.

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Kenny Wallace reflects on Max Verstappen’s recent dominance in F1

Kenny Wallace shared his views on F1’s dominance cycles, with Max Verstappen, who claimed his fourth consecutive F1 championship at Las Vegas last weekend, and Lewis Hamilton’s previous era of dominance winning seven world titles with Mercedes.

Speaking about Verstappen’s 2024 F1 title, Wallace said:

“How about Max Verstappen? He wins his fourth straight Formula One championship. What is the deal with Formula One? It seems to me that drivers like Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes, and then, you look at Max Verstappen, it seems like they have superior equipment, and then they rattle off these unbelievable, like six-year stints. Lewis Hamilton was unbeatable and won everything. Now here's Max Verstappen; he's unbeatable, and he wins everything.”

After a NASCAR career that spanned over 25 years, Kenny Wallace retired from sport in 2015 and currently competes in dirt track racing.