It appears NASCAR will be dealing with another possible rain delay this weekend for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. This will come down to timing because many of the forecast models or data we use have the showers starting at different times. Right now they have rain moving into the Richmond area from as early as 2 p.m. ET to as late as 6 or 7 p.m. Saturday evening.
WILL NASCAR RACE SATURDAY? Because of the timing differences this is still a challenging forecast with some unknowns. From all the seasons I have done NASCAR weather, NASCAR will do all it can to get a race started. They managed to get the Bristol race started even though a large area of steady rain was headed towards the track. Depending on how early the rain arrives Saturday afternoon and evening, NASCAR could get the race started. I am giving the odds of racing Saturday night to be around 30 percent. Even if they get the race started, rain is expected to increase through the evening and into the overnight.
I know I gave similar odds to Bristol last weekend and NASCAR found a way to get a complete race in thanks to large windows of opportunity. This weekend is different because those same windows aren’t there. Once the rain arrives, we could see showers off and on through the evening and into the overnight. If anything we should be seeing steady areas of rain around 8 p.m. on Saturday and continuing to around 2 to 4 a.m. Sunday. I will be honest, unlike last weekend where I felt pretty optimistic they could race, I just don’t have the same feeling this weekend.
SHOULD I GO TO THE RACE SATURDAY? I can’t, nor will I ever tell someone whether they should go to a race or not. All I can ever tell someone is what I would do if it were me. If I paid money for an event and there was the smallest chance a race would start or even get to half way, I’d probably go and have a back up plan in case there is rain. Also I would suggest before you make a decision you look at other weather forecasts not just mine to make your decision. Each week my weather forecast i geared for the fan going to the race and those watching it at home, but I am still a meteorologist and I can be wrong. My recommendation is you look at all the weather information you can from other reliable sources like the National Weather Service or the meteorologists from the local television stations and see what they are saying. Then use that along with this forecast to make your decision.
IF WE DON’T RACE SATURDAY NIGHT WHAT DOES SUNDAY LOOK LIKE? There is a chance of scattered rain showers on Sunday but there are more windows of opportunity as we go through the day. I definitely think that if NASCAR is forced to move Saturday night’s race to Sunday, they should be able race the distance.
Follow me on Twitter @NASCAR_WXMAN and like me on Facebook for the latest weather updates through the weekend.
Conditions in Richmond, VA: Click here for Current Weather Conditions – Look at Doppler Radar | Mobile Friendly Site | Mobile Radar
FRIDAY:
8:15 a.m. ET
Xfinity Final practice – Mostly sunny – temp: 46
11 a.m. ET
Sprint Cup Series practice – Mostly sunny – temp: 55
1 p.m. ET
Sprint Cup Series final practice – Mostly sunny – temp: 60
3:45 p.m. ET
Xfinity series qualifying – Mostly sunny – temp: 64
5:45 p.m. ET
Sprint Cup Series qualifying – Mostly sunny – temp: 60
7:30 p.m. ET
Xfinity race – Mostly clear – temp: 55
SATURDAY
6 p.m. ET
Sprint Cup Series Pre-race – Areas of rain showers – temp: 54
7 p.m. ET
Sprint Cup Series Race – Areas of rain showers – temp: 53
8 p.m. ET
Sprint Cup Series Race – Areas of rain showers – temp: 52
9 p.m. ET
Sprint Cup Series Race – Areas of rain showers – temp: 51
10 p.m. ET
Sprint Cup Series Race – Areas of rain showers – temp: 51
11 p.m. ET
Sprint Cup Series Race – Areas of rain showers – temp: 50
12 a.m. ET
Sprint Cup Series Race – Areas of rain showers – temp: 49
