Auto Club 400: NASCAR Fans Keep Close Eye on Weather as More Rain Enters Forecast

The Auto Club 400 takes place in Fontana, California on Saturday, marking the only Southern California date of the 2020 NASCAR season. The race is expected to be fiercely competitive as the 38 drivers search for an advantage in the race toward the Cup Series Championship. The fans, however, are more concerned about potential weather issues.

According to the National Weather Service, there is a 50 percent chance of rain on Sunday. If the skies do open up, it would be the third consecutive race that has dealt with a delay due to adverse weather. This led many fans to ask about the Auto Club 400 being rescheduled or moved up.

"Fontana gonna rain out?? #Nascar," one user asked on Twitter. Others pleaded with the racing organization to move the Auto Club 400 up about an hour in order to avoid any potential delays.

"NASCAR is in town? Rain will surely follow. If today is interrupted that's 3 for 3 with some kind of weather delay race weekend," another user commented on Twitter. The past three weekends have been marked by weather delays, to the point that the Daytona 500 was postponed. The qualifying laps of the Pennzoil 400 were canceled due to the heavy rain in Las Vegas.

There were many concerns among racing fans about a potential delay caused by the rain. Specifically, could the race continue if the rain fell and then lightened up later in the day? According to NASCAR reporter Bob Pockrass, there could be an issue based on the cooler temperatures (54 degrees) and a track surface that is difficult to dry.

Whether or not the rain actually falls was irrelevant to some NASCAR fans. Instead, they were just having some fun joking about the weather in recent weeks. As many fans wrote on Twitter, "if you need to end a drought, just bring NASCAR to town."

With Sunday's big race drawing near, the rain hasn't caused any issues at the Auto Club 400, but there are still concerns among racing fans. They don't want to see another NASCAR event delayed due to the inclement weather, especially in an area of the country known for a lack of rain.

The NASCAR Cup Series Auto Club 400 will be televised on FOX starting at 2:50 p.m. ET. The green flag starting the race is set to be waved at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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