What’s Happening?

After a two-week break, the NASCAR circus is back in action! The NASCAR Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series are heading to Richmond Raceway, one of NASCAR’s longest-standing venues. However, Mother Nature tried its best to throw a wrench during the spring race weekend, so will that happen again?

• NASCAR held its first race at Richmond in 1953, and they have raced at the track every year since 1955, including two races every season since 1959. Originally a 0.542-mile bullring, the track was reconfigured in 1988 into the modern 0.75-mile D-shaped oval we know today. This weekend is the first return trip NASCAR makes to a venue this season, and it starts a string of 10 out of the final 14 races being second visits.
• Richmond Raceway has had its’ fair share of bouts with the weather. However, running in the summertime at Richmond is a fairly new concept (since 2022), and NASCAR hasn’t dealt with a weather delay or postponement for a summer Richmond race yet.
• While this is the Cup Series’ second visit to Richmond this season, the Truck Series is making its’ only visit of the year. This is a big one for the Truck Series, as it’s the final race before the Playoffs begin at Milwaukee.

Weekend Weather Forecast Via National Weather Service

***The Full Forecast will not be available until the week of the race.

Saturday, August 10th: Truck Series Clean Harbors 250 (7:30 PM ET/Local)

• Forecast: Mostly Sunny
• Temperature: High of 86°F, 80°F by the start of the race
• Rain: A high of 24% from 12 a.m. to 1 a.m., dropping to 0% around 2 p.m.
• Wind: 5 mph, dropping to 3 mph by race start

Sunday, August 11th: Cup Series Cook Out 400 (6:00 PM ET/Local)

• Forecast: Mostly Sunny
• Temperature: High of 84°F, 79°F by the start of the race
• Rain: 10% from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., dropping to 5% around 8 p.m.
• Wind: 3 mph, dropping to 2 mph by 7 p.m.

Richmond Weather History

This past spring, Richmond Raceway became the first track to host a Cup Series points race on an oval using wet-weather tires. A rain shower delayed the start of the Easter Sunday show very briefly, but the wet-weather tires took care of the rest of the track drying. This rain helped inspire NASCAR to construct an “Option” tire using wet-weather rubber, which will be used this weekend along with the normal “Prime” tire.

Aside from that, Richmond has been very lucky with the weather. Before this spring, only one race in the last 10 years was impacted by weather. The 2015 Spring Race 3 was postponed from Saturday night to Sunday morning.

This article will be updated as the forecast changes and becomes more clear.