RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — With dark clouds forming and occasional downpours happening throughout Sunday, will the Toyota Owners 400 race at the Richmond Raceway be rained out?
According to StormTracker8 meteorologist Tyler Hall, the forecast during the Toyota Owners 400 race starting at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 31, will see showers and storms until around midnight, with temperatures falling into the 50s under mostly cloudy skies.
Fans should plan to bring a poncho or other rain-resistant clothing in preparation for potential rain at the race tonight as umbrellas are not permitted at the track.
According to NASCAR Xfinity Series crew chief Tyler Allen, if rain drizzles in the middle of a race, NASCAR will throw the caution flag and declare wet weather, making teams put on special rain tires to continue racing.
Allen said the hardest decision will be when the track starts to dry up, and making the call to transition back to slick tires.
It takes between 45 minutes to 75 minutes to dry the racetrack when it rains. The Richmond Raceway is known to be a slick track for drivers, with sometimes high levels of tire wear.
According to Richmond Raceway, NASCAR and Richmond Raceway officials will exhaust all efforts to ensure scheduled events will take place on the originally scheduled day. However, in the event inclement weather causes a race to be postponed to a later date, the Weather Protection Program will offer fans the opportunity to exchange their unused Grandstand tickets.
The Weather Protection Program will apply to regular Grandstand tickets for all NASCAR races at any participating venue that is postponed and rescheduled to a different date due to inclement weather.
However, the Weather Protection Program will not apply to races that were shortened due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances where the event is counted as official by the appropriate sanctioning body, according to Richmond Raceway.
To learn more information about the Weather Protection Program, visit Richmond Raceway’s website.
