It may be the first full weekend of spring but Mother Nature has a different idea for Martinsville Speedway with NASCAR in town. Snow is in the forecast Saturday night into Sunday morning, and we’re talking about significant accumulation.
How will snow impact Martinsville Speedway’s race weekend
Saturday into Sunday morning will be very interesting as 2 to 4 inches of snow is possible. Will the snow melt in time or will it be too much for NASCAR to race on Sunday.
This has been and continues to be a very challenging forecast for the race weekend at Martinsville Speedway. What we know is rain arrives Saturday afternoon with the rain mixing and changing over to snow overnight. Snow amounts could be between 2 to 4 inches of snow with significantly higher amounts the further west and northwest you go from the track. A span of 20 to 30 miles from the track could bring little to snow and on the other side over 10 inches of snow. The focus this weekend won’t be so much on the amount off snow, but the safety of fans, and will the snow melt fast enough or be removed to go racing Sunday afternoon.
Morning at Martinsville Speedway is looking mostly dry with a small chance of a morning shower. Odds of getting Monster Energy Cup Practices and Camping World Truck Series Qualifying complete is between 35 to 45 percent. As we head into 2 p.m. for the Alpha Energy Solutions 250 Truck series race the odds of racing start to drop below 20 percent as the precipitation moves over the track. It is looking like 0 to 5 percent likelihood we get any of the Monster Energy Cup Series qualifying started or complete Saturday evening.
Then it snows overnight Saturday into Sunday morning. There is a winter weather advisory in effect that includes Martinsville Speedway until noon on Sunday. The snow totals that meteorologist Aaron Studwell (@RaceWeather on Twitter and Raceweather.net) and I are going with are similar snow amounts to those of the local National Weather Service office. We think there could be 2 to 4 inches of snow on the ground at the track by Sunday morning.
While we anticipate snow on the ground Sunday morning, the snow will melt and precipitation to move out by no later than noon Sunday if not sooner. Race is scheduled for 2 p.m. EDT and all the precipitation should be gone and depending on how much snow fell the night before, a lot of it could be melted close to the start of the race. Current odds of racing the STP 500 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series race is 60 percent with possible delays.
My main concerns this weekend are the safety of fans getting to the track on Sunday. Some of the main highways will initially be snow covered but improve as the day wears on Sunday. Also from all I am hearing parking at the track will be a big mess and maybe in some cases impossible due to the location and snow on the ground.
Of course snow removal and drying won’t be limited to just the track surface but removing snow from the stands and potential water from snow piles. This would be the delay I think we could see getting Sunday’s race started on time. If we get more than 4 inches and we start to see 6 to 8 inches of snow, this may be too much from a clean up and safety concern and then I could see NASCAR postponing the race. But that is just a theory of mine in case we get worst case scenario Saturday night into Sunday.
If you’re going to the race, please be careful, be patient and also dress warm. Temperatures will be cold both Saturday and Sunday with temperatures mostly in the 30s but reaching near or low 40s both days.
Please follow me on Twitter @NASCAR_WXMAN and like me on Facebook for the latest NASCAR weather updates.
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