August in Virginia can be relatively steamy. This weekend in Richmond will be no exception.
Friday’s forecast is for very humid weather. The skies will be sunny with a high around 89°. There is a good chance of thunderstorms, but the sources vary substantially on what that chance is. There are sources that list it as low as 20% and as high as 70%. Regardless of what happens, it’ll be a little cooler than 89° by race time.
Saturday’s forecast is similar to Friday’s. It will be very warm and humid with sunny skies and a high around 90°. There is still a chance of thunderstorms, but it’s lower than it will be Friday.
In regards to weather history at Richmond, it’s all over the place. This is only the third time that the Cup Series has ever raced at Richmond in August. Typically, races have been held in September.
To a certain extent, race fans can take some solace in that a Richmond race has not been rain-delayed since 2015. Back then, the Toyota Owners 400 was scheduled to run on Saturday night, but got pushed to Sunday afternoon due to rain.
The most recent summer race at Richmond affected by precipitation was the 2012 Federated Auto Parts 400. That race started two hours late due to rain. A second red flag for 52 minutes meant that the race finished three hours behind schedule.
Prior to that, you’d have to look back to 2008, when the race was moved to Sunday afternoon due to Tropical Storm Hanna. However, that occurred with a full day’s notice.
Last year’s second visit to Richmond was on this weekend. The weather ended up being very similar to what’s predicted for this weekend. If you’re going, drink fluids. You’ll need them.
Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.
Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.