Sunday’s Geico 500 at Talladega facing significant weather threat
A few days out from the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and the weather report does not look great folks. This could be a rainy NASCAR weekend on par with this season’s Daytona 500.
The forecast looks threatening not just for Sunday but also the Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series race on Saturday. While I’m hoping for a clear weekend of racing, I’m going to just mentally prepare myself to be ready for racing on Monday.
Now, weather is a tricky thing. A lot can happen in 24, 48, or 72 hours. Right now, things just do not look great. Here’s the update from RaceWeather on X/Twitter.
Of course, there is a problem with no lights at Talladega. So, if it comes up to it, the rain can’t be waited out into the late hours of Sunday night.
Rain chances according to the Weather Channel are up to 97% for Sunday during the day. That goes down through the night, but no lights, no racing. On Saturday, the day is mostly clear with chances later in the day of more than 75%.
It feels like NASCAR started off strong and Talladega could help get the energy back up for the season as a whole.
Now, it looks like another disappointing weekend with a ton of bad weather. Ratings will take a hit on a Monday race, the hype won’t be as strong, and the stands won’t be as full. So, let’s hope for a front to push that bad weather out of the area and give us the race weekend that we all deserve.
Don’t expect the race to be moved up like the Busch Light Clash. There are stark differences between the exhibition race and a points-paying race with the crowd size of Dega. However, I wouldn’t be shocked if NASCAR wanted to race ARCA on Friday, like they did at Daytona.
Otherwise, a 24-hour notice can be given to move the start time for any of the races up or back by one hour, which is typical policy.
Favorites for Geico 500 at Talladega
Superspeedway races are hard to predict. That’s why the odds for individual winners is never as good for bettors as it is for these races at Talladega and Daytona. In fact, it’s almost impossible for Las Vegas to pick a clear favorite.
FanDuel has Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Brad Keselowski all at +1000 odds. I’d say those are probably the favorites given what we’ve seen in recent history and this season.
The Fords are going to be strong. We saw their speed at Daytona and Atlanta. While that group hasn’t had the finishes or any wins, that they would like to see, this week gives the Dark Horses a chance to break through.
So, it looks like the Geico 500 won’t happen until Monday, for now. Keep an eye on the weather and let’s hope that there is a change in the forecast leading up to the green flag.