Tropical storm Debby is impacting regions in the Southeast and is expected to cause trouble to NASCAR’s schedule for the weekend. Stock car racing returns to action at Richmond on Saturday. The venue is safe as things stand but the hurricane is expected to be at its worst over the next three days, at the end of which NASCAR will arrive at the Richmond Raceway.
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Weather.com reports that the area might receive up to six inches of rainfall as the storm moves past it. The Craftsman Truck Series and the Cup Series are scheduled to begin on-track activities on Saturday. Things will proceed as planned unless there are changes in the prediction that the rainfall should succumb by Friday night. A 30% chance of precipitation still exists on Saturday but it only decreases gradually.
Thoughts with those impacted by Debby and those preparing for the storm. Latest forecast predicts 2-4 inches of rain for Richmond area and for it to be out of the area by Friday night. Original NASCAR schedule is still in place with on-track activity beginning Saturday. pic.twitter.com/JoR5rFMERP
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) August 6, 2024
The Cup Series race which is scheduled to go down on Sunday will most likely be a sunny affair. Richmond is not one of the places that is heavily impacted by the storm but there’s no telling when the clouds could decide to make it so. Considering that speed returns after a two-week Olympic break, fans will be hoping to end their restlessness and will not want the weather to play spoilsport.
Who does the victory flag favor in Richmond?
NASCAR’s affiliation with the Richmond Raceway goes deep down to 1953. A total of 135 Cup Series events have played out at the venue since and made for a glorious piece of history. Not very surprisingly, Richard “King” Petty is the most successful driver on the track having conquered it 12 times. He is the only one to have more than 10 victories on it with Bobby Allison being the second most successful with seven victories.
Amongst the drivers who are still active, Kyle Busch is the one with the most number of wins. He has edged ahead of the competition six times and grabbed winning honors. The Richard Childress Racing driver is currently in a bad phase of his career so it is unlikely that the count will increase on Sunday. The next closest driver is Joe Gibbs Racing superstar Denny Hamlin.
Hamlin has scored five victories in Richmond and has a good chance of winning again. His most recent success came just earlier this year when he beat his teammate Martin Truex Jr. in the final lap to a controversial win. He is also battling the likes of Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott to be the regular-season champion. So, unless Hurricane Debby has a change of heart, fans are in for a nail-biting showdown.
