Up and down the southeastern coast of the United States from Florida up to North Carolina all eyes are watching and feeling the effects of Hurricane Matthew. Matthew will also have an influence on the NASCAR weather this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
2016 NASCAR Charlotte Motor Speedway weekend weather forecast: All eyes on Matthew
Hurricane Matthew batters the coast of Florida and Georgia on Friday spreading showers into the Carolinas. It is going to be wet this weekend in Charlotte, but will it be dry enough to race Saturday night?
Rain will continue through the day Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway and it will remain wet through the day into Friday night and Saturday morning. Most if not all of the racing activities on the track Friday could be washed out. That would include the NASCAR Xfinity Series race. If they do postpone it -- realistically I don’t see them racing until Sunday for the Xfinity Series. Odds of racing the Xfinity Series Friday night is 0 percent.
As for the Sprint Cup series race Saturday night, Charlotte Motor Speedway way is right on the back edge of the rain shield Saturday afternoon and evening. We could be talking about 50 miles being the difference between racing Saturday night or racing on Sunday. I am expecting most of the rain to end from the west to the east between 6 to 8 p.m. Then the delay would in drying the track. Worst case scenario is if the back edge of the rain is further to the west. Then it would take longer for the rain to move through and this scenario could cause Saturday night’s race postponed to Sunday.
My odds of racing the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Saturday night is around 65 to 75 percent.
I continue to work with meteorologist Aaron Studwell (@RaceWeather on Twitter) on this forecast. This is not an easy forecast and we may be making adjustments all the way up to the start of the race. Please follow me on Twitter @NASCAR_WXMAN and like me on Facebook for the latest weather updates through the weekend.
All times ET.
3:30 p.m. -- Sprint Cup series practice
Forecast: Rain showers
Winds: NE 5-15 mph
Temperature: 69
4:45 p.m. -- Xfinity series qualifying
Forecast: Rain showers
Winds: NE 5-15 mph
Temperature: 67
6:30 p.m. -- Sprint Cup series final practice
Forecast: Rain showers
Winds: NE 5-15 mph
Temperature: 67
8:00 p.m. -- Xfinity Series race
Forecast: Rain showers
Winds: NE 5-15 mph
Temperature: 67
SATURDAY
5 p.m. --Bank of America 500 pre-race
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of a shower, breezy
Winds: North 10-20 mph
Temperature: 69
6 p.m. -- Bank of America 500 Race
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of a shower, breezy
Winds: North 10-20 mph
Temperature: 68
7 p.m. -- Bank of America 500 Race
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of a shower, breezy
Winds: North 10-20 mph
Temperature: 67
8 p.m. -- Bank of America 500 Race
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of a shower, breezy
Winds: North 10-20 mph
Temperature: 66
9 p.m. -- Bank of America 500 Race
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, breezy
Winds: North 10-20 mph
Temperature: 64
10 p.m. -- Bank of America 500 Race
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, breezy
Winds: North 10-20 mph
Temperature: 62
11 p.m. -- Bank of America 500 Race
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, breezy
Winds: North 10-20 mph
Temperature: 62
12 a.m. -- Bank of America 500 Race
Forecast: Mostly cloudy
Winds: North 10-20 mph
Temperature: 60
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