Who would have thought that the weather forecast for Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend would be better than the weather forecast for Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend? That is the scenario NASCAR is facing as it starts its West Coast tour.
NASCAR weather forecast for Las Vegas actually has rain in it
NASCAR makes a return to the West Coast and unfortunately they forgot to bring the sunny forecast with them. It doesn’t happen very often but there is rain in the Las Vegas desert this weekend.
Weather is not a problem for NASCAR on Friday or Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We will see sunshine and clouds and warm temperatures in the middle to upper 70s approaching 80 degrees. The weather doesn’t start to get interesting until Saturday night into Sunday morning.
A Pacific storm system slams into the California coast on Saturday and by Saturday night the system will be spreading rain showers into Las Vegas. While there is a chance of some rain, the current data indicates that most of the rain falls Saturday night into Sunday morning. There will just be a lingering chance of a shower or two when the race is scheduled to start around 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. PT). Las Vegas Motor Speedway has lights and forecast data seems to be in agreement diminishing the moisture and bringing in drier air over Las Vegas by the afternoon.
Odds of racing Sunday and going the full distance is around 75 to 85 percent with the possibility of a couple weather related delays.
Along with the threat of rain, there will be very strong winds out of the southwest and west during the morning and into the early afternoon. Sustained winds will be between 15 to 25 mph and some gusts could be between 30 and 35 mph. Temperatures will be about 10 degrees cooler than they were Friday and Saturday.
Please follow me on Twitter @NASCAR_WXMAN and like me on Facebook for the latest weather updates through the rest of the week and into the Daytona 500 weekend.
All times ET.
FRIDAY:
1:30 p.m. -- Sprint Cup Series practice
Forecast: Partly sunny
Winds: Light and variable
Temperature: 72
3:30 p.m. -- Xfinity Series practice
Forecast: Partly sunny
Winds: Light and variable
Temperature: 77
6 p.m. -- Xfinity Series final practice
Forecast: Partly sunny
Winds: Light and variable
Temperature: 79
7:45 p.m. -- Sprint Cup Series qualifying
Forecast: Partly sunny
Winds: Light and variable
Temperature: 76
SATURDAY:
11:30 a.m. -- Sprint Cup Series practice
Forecast: Partly sunny
Winds: ESE 5-10 mph
Temperature: 63
12:45 p.m. -- Xfinity Series qualifying
Forecast: Partly sunny
Winds: ESE 5-10 mph
Temperature: 70
1:30 p.m. -- Sprint Cup Series final practice
Forecast: Partly sunny
Winds: ESE 5-10 mph
Temperature: 72
4 p.m. -- Xfinity Series race
Forecast: Partly sunny
Winds: ESE 5-10 mph
Temperature: 76
SUNDAY:
2:30 p.m. -- Kobalt Tools 400 pre-race
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of a rain shower and windy
Winds: SW 15-25 gust near 30 mph
Temperature: 63
3:30 p.m. -- Kobalt Tools 400
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of a rain shower and windy
Winds: SW 15-25 gust near 30 mph
Temperature: 64
4:30 p.m. -- Kobalt Tools 400
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of a rain shower and windy
Winds: SW 15-25 gust near 30 mph
Temperature: 64
5:30 p.m. -- Kobalt Tools 400
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of a rain shower and windy
Winds: SW 15-25 gust near 30 mph
Temperature: 65
6:30 p.m. -- Kobalt Tools 400
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of a rain shower and windy
Winds: West 10-20 gust near 25 mph
Temperature: 65
7:30 p.m. -- Kobalt Tools 400
Forecast: Mostly cloudy, chance of a rain shower and windy
Winds: West 10-20 gust near 25 mph
Temperature: 63
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