Charlotte Motor Speedway has postponed all Friday on-track activity due to rains from Hurricane Matthew.
Friday night's Drive for the Cure 300 will run at 11 a.m. EDT Sunday, while Saturday's Bank of America 500 remains on schedule for 7 p.m.
Saturday's schedule remains the same. Gates will open at 10 a.m. on Sunday, while the Fan Zone opens at 9 a.m.
Ticket holders for Friday's race will be admitted for Sunday. Details can be found at 704-455-FANS (3267).
As of Friday morning, the National Weather Service called for the heavy rains from Hurricane Matthew predicted to hit Charlotte on Friday night to be moving out by the 7:05 p.m. start of the Bank of America 500.
Rain, which is already falling Friday morning across the Charlotte area, is expected to intensify throughout the day, leaving little time for the Concord track to dry out.
The forecast calls for a 90 percent chance of rain and fog Friday night, with up to an inch of precipitation possible.
Heavy rains from Hurricane Matthew are expected through Saturday afternoon but should begin tapering off quickly after that.
The current Saturday night forecast calls for a 30 percent of light rain as skies gradually clear, with less than a tenth of an inch expected. Winds, though, could be a factor, with gusts as high as 30 mph Saturday night as the front moves through.
What nature can't do to get the Saturday night race started on time, the speedway is equipped to handle. The track has 12 jet dryers _ double the number required by NASCAR _ and 12 Air Titans to dry the track in 90 minutes, speedway spokesman Scott Cooper said.
An additional 10 dump truck loads of gravel and two additional dump truck loads of sand are on hand to shore up any spots on the property affected by rain, he said.
The speedway, meanwhile, has plenty of dry camping spaces with restroom/bathhouse access available to Hurricane Matthew evacuees, Cooper said.
Residents of Savannah, Ga., were under a mandatory evacuation, so Justin Singletary's dad suggested Justin, 34, and girlfriend Kasey Gay, 28, head to Charlotte Motor Speedway in their 33-foot motor coach. " 'You guys go have fun,' " Justin Singletary said his dad told him.
"They're treating us great around here," Justin said by phone from the speedway on Friday afternoon. They were given a spot in the infield and were treated to a tour of the speedway. "It's making us more and more NASCAR fans," said Justin, whose dad is the big race fan in the family, having rooted for Dale Earnhardt and now Dale Earnhardt Jr.
At $125 for a week's stay, spaces "are much more affordable than several nights of stay at a hotel," speedway spokesman Scott Cooper said. "Plus, there's a lot of free entertainment with our Fan Zone through the weekend to take an evacuee's mind off what may be happening with the storm on the coast."
