8 hr at NOLA

I'm not sure if this has been brought up, but why are we racing an 8hr endurance race as the first race of the season? Also, why is this race at a track that is about 8 hours east (give or take) and where sunset of race day will be at 6p.m.?
If the endurance race starts at 10:30a.m., and on time, it will end at 6:30p.m. That is half an hour AFTER the sun goes down.
BTW, the next day is the Daylight Saving Time Change. So, at the most, we'll get about 7 hours of racing. This leaves me asking, why are we paying for an 8hr when we probably won't be racing an 8hr? Will we get a refund or will it be scheduled as a 7hr and we pay for a 7hr?
This is not a rhetorical question. Feedback would be appreciated.

Shawn,

To answer your question, NOLA is the best venue for an 8Hr race. I understand your concerns. We'll be starting a little earlier than normal on Saturday and running a tight schedule. I'm confident we will get it all in.