Fans heading to the NASCAR race weekend in Atlanta for the Atlanta night race may want to add a raincoat to their checklist. Because currently, the weather warnings aren’t looking good for the weekend. 

Per weather reports, there is a possibility of showers and even thunderstorms for Saturday and Sunday evenings. The NOAPS qualifying is scheduled for 11 am on Saturday, July 11, while the Cup series qualifying is scheduled for 4 pm. 

Both NOAPS and Cup races are set to begin at 7 pm ET, on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

According to the forecast by The Weather Channel, there is a 40 per cent chance of rainfall along with predictions of scattered thunderstorms on Saturday. 

At night, during the NOAPS race, there is a prediction of possible thunderstorms, while the chances of rain reduce to 30 per cent. For both day and night predictions, there is an advisory that storms may contain gusty winds. 

For the Cup race on Sunday evening, July 12, there is a much greater chance of rain with around 90 per cent predicted, with thunderstorms to accompany it. 

It will be interesting to see how NASCAR tackles the predictions and how much racing is likely to take place over the course of the weekend in Atlanta. 

Other race weekends affected by rain

The upcoming race in Atlanta won’t be the only one to have been under threat by rain. Ever since the Memorial Day Weekend race, several races have had to deal with rain-related issues. 

In Charlotte, the Cup race ended under caution and early because of rain, reported Hendrick Motorsports on May 24.

The truck race was worse off, having been postponed multiple times before being cut short to a 12 pm finish deadline since the broadcaster had to switch over to Indy 500 coverage. 

According to reports by NASCAR.com, the race began a whole 80 minutes after the initial start time in Nashville the following weekend. Even at Chicagoland last weekend, rain washed out Friday's practice, while on Saturday, the entire action was delayed by 80 minutes. 

The only race that was saved from the rain recently was the one at Pocono. With Prime as their broadcaster and time on their side, NASCAR decided to move the race up by a few hours. 

NASCAR may need to find a way to make pushing up the schedule the norm. Even at Pocono, after a solid, full action packed raceday, the rains came down just when the race was originally estimated to start. 

How much of the Atlanta night race do you think will be affected by rain and thunderstorms? Let us know.

Read more at Daytona Racing Digest.

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit