NASCAR, Charlotte keeping eye on Hurricane Matthew – Nascar

RELATED: Truex discusses weather’s impact on game plan | Weather updates

NASCAR officials said they are closely monitoring the track of Hurricane Matthew ahead of Saturday night’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

No decision has been made that would potentially alter the status of Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the fourth event in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs.

Weather outlooks for Thursday’s on-track activity are encouraging, but rain is currently forecast Friday and early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. The next race in the XFINITY Series Chase — the Drive for the Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC — is scheduled for Friday (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

As of noon ET Thursday, Matthew was a Category 4 hurricane lashing the Bahamas and threatening landfall on Florida’s Eastern coastline. Hurricane warnings stretched from just north of Miami to southern South Carolina.

Charlotte Motor Speedway is located in Concord, North Carolina, roughly 200 miles inland. The latest proposed track for the storm projects a looping course away from North Carolina, which could spare the state from the brunt of its damage.

The looming hurricane leaves teams plotting strategies for Thursday’s on-track action, particularly the first afternoon practice.

“I feel like we’re going to race Saturday night, but you never know with the weather,” Martin Truex Jr. said. “We’re definitely going to do a little race trim (Thursday), which is uncharacteristic for our group.”

Daytona International Speedway, located in the heart of the storm’s potential route, faces a more imminent hurricane threat. The 2.5-mile track closed its track tour and ticketing operations Thursday and Friday in advance of the worsening weather in Daytona Beach, Florida.

The National Weather Service’s Thursday morning forecast for Daytona and its vicinity called Matthew the strongest hurricane to affect Florida’s eastern central region in decades.

“We are working closely with local officials here in Volusia County and throughout the region to monitor Hurricane Matthew and to ensure that our facility is as secured as possible,” track officials said in a statement. “While it is too early to predict the effect and exact path of the storm, our team has prepared extensively for weather systems such as this and our emergency safety procedures are in place.”

Atlanta Motor Speedway is doing its part to help with the relief efforts. The 1.54-mile Georgia track has opened its campgrounds as a free-of-charge refuge for storm evacuees.