The NASCAR Cup Series season continues on Sunday with a race at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. Given that the season-opening Daytona 500 paused for nearly six hours due to rainfall, there are obvious questions about any potential weather issues on Sunday. Here is the forecast for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253, which fans can watch on FuboTV with a free trial.
According to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass, the forecast calls for temperatures in the 60s during the 70-lap race. There is a 15% chance of rain, a much lower percentage than last Sunday. Weather.com lists only a 4-5% chance of rain at 3 p.m. ET, the scheduled start time of the race. If the rain falls, there likely will not be any delays in the NASCAR schedule. Though lightning will still bring out the red flag.
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There are very different rules for road course races and those that occur on traditional oval tracks. According to NASCAR’s rule book, the various teams can have rain tires at the ready in the event of wet conditions. They can start the race with slicks or the rain tires and make changes during the 70 laps.
If there is a designated “wet-weather start,” the drivers must have rain tires on their stock cars to account for the moisture covering all spots on the track. NASCAR also requires the installation of a working windshield wiper and the activation of a rear flashing light.
A “damp-weather start,” on the other hand, means that there are only a few scattered areas with moisture. Others are completely dry. The race teams can elect to mount the rain tires at the start of the race, and they may install the windshield wiper. Though they must activate the flashing light on the rear of the stock car.
NASCAR drivers made history in October during a race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (part road course, part oval). They had to put rain tires on the stock cars in order to make the race safer for everyone involved. By doing so, the teams officially marked the first time that the Cup Series incorporated rain tires during an event, playoffs, or regular season.
The Cup Series race takes place at 3 p.m. ET and the green flag will wave around 3:20 p.m. ET. Fox will provide coverage while Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon, and Clint Bowyer call the action from the booth. MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the audio call for those unable to watch. The O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 will consist of 70 laps around the 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course for a total of 253 miles.
