Daytona 500 Weather Forecast: What Happens if Rain Delays the NASCAR Race?

NASCAR has set up an entire star-studded line-up for its official season opener at Daytona. The fans are hyped. Pitbull could set the stage ablaze with Latin-American hip-hop reggaeton. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson succeeded in matching the energy of the crowd and roared, “Drivers start your engine!” But all of that could result in utter disappointment if what the weather forecast holds for Daytona Beach happens.

Since last week, the “Great American Race” has been in a precarious situation, considering how Saturday and Sunday could get rained out. According to the leading meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Melbourne, there is a 70% chance of rain on Saturday morning which could crank up to 90% in the night.

02/15 | Confidence in a wet 🌧️☔️ weekend forecast is increasing across east central Florida with widespread rain and isolated instances of flooding expected (up to 4" total). Winds are forecast to become breezy from the north Sunday with gusts up to 30mph. #Flwx #Spacecoast pic.twitter.com/Q4pfvsVPfX

— NWS Melbourne (@NWSMelbourne) February 15, 2024

However, there is better news than that. For the main event running at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, the chances of a shower have dropped from 70% to 50%. Still, it wouldn’t be a wise idea to go and watch Sunday’s race without an umbrella because scattered showers are still likely to prevail in Florida throughout the day. So what happens if it rains? Does the Daytona 500 run in the rain?

What will happen if it rains during the Great American Race?

Simply put, NASCAR will bring a halt to the race if it rains. One of the biggest differences between normal road cars and NASCAR stock cars is in the tires; the latter doesn’t have any tread on them. Therefore, if the racetrack is wet and slippery, the cars will not have any grip on the track and that could give rise to utter chaos.

The race will stop for half an hour if lightning strikes within an eight-mile radius, with an additional 30-minute break for every lightning strike within that radius. Even if it drizzles a little, the racing stops. Since the slicks have next to no grip under wet circumstances just a slight change in the track could result in life-threatening accidents.

On that note, one might wonder how NASCAR dries out the track after a rain. The sport has come a long way from using jet dryers to introducing the Air Titans in 2013. These Air Titans are compression systems, which are faster and more efficient. They do the job in half the time compared to the backdated jet dryers. The Titans blow the water off the track and a vacuum or sweeper truck follows it to sweep off the little water that remains on the asphalt.