Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR. Pictured: Rain falls at Martinsville Speedway.
OK, I’ll take full responsibility for this.
Two weeks ago I wrote about NASCAR’s fortunate start to season when it comes to weather immediately before the Bristol dirt race got postponed due to rain.
Well, here we go again …
Martinsville Speedway is no stranger to rain. In fact, Friday night’s XFINITY Series Cook Out 250 completed just 91 of 250 laps before being postponed until Sunday at noon ET due to rain, and there’s more precipitation in the forecast for Saturday night’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500.
Let’s take a detailed look at the NASCAR at Martinsville weather forecast and the chances tonight’s race will also be delayed or even postponed due to rain.
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NASCAR at Martinsville Weather Forecast
According to the National Weather Service, the latest Martinsville weather forecast is calling for a 90% chance of rain tonight, with precipitation likely from 5 p.m. ET Saturday through the rest of the night.
The rain is also expected to be quite heavy, with a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch possibly falling tonight.
Martinsville Speedway does have lights, but an 8 p.m. ET scheduled green flag doesn’t leave much wiggle room for NASCAR to survive a rain delay, dry the track, then get the race started or restarted.
What NASCAR does have working for it is the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 is a Saturday race, which leaves Sunday, or even Sunday night, as an option should the event ultimately get postponed.
Sunday’s Martinsville forecast is much better with a 30% chance of rain during the day, which drops to 0% on Sunday night.
But remember, should tonight’s race get postponed, NASCAR still has to work around the rescheduled XFINITY Series race at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, which could make for an action-packed day at the track.
Based on the latest NASCAR at Martinsville odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, Martin Truex Jr. is the betting favorite at +500, with Chase Elliott (+600), Brad Keselowski (+600), Denny Hamlin (+700) and Joey Logano (+700) rounding out the list of most likely winners.