North Wilkesboro Speedway - North Wilkesboro, NC
NASCAR Race Weather
Friday, May 17
Mostly Cloudy w/ PM T-Storms
Low: N/A
High: 78°F
Calm
Saturday, May 18
Partly Sunny w/ AM Showers then PM T-Storms
Low: 62°F
High 78°F
Calm
Sunday, May 19
Mostly Cloudy w/ Isolated Showers
Low: 59°F
High: 70°F
Varying 5 mph
34°FForecast Discussion & Updates
Fri May 17 – Mostly Cloudy with Scattered Showers & T-Storms 4 PM to 12 AM. High around 78°F. Low around 57°F. Calm.
Sat May 18 – Mostly Cloudy with Showers 12 AM to 4 AM then T-Storms 2 PM to 12 AM. High around 78°F. Low around 62°F. Calm.
NASCAR Trucks Series – Wright Brand 250 – 1:30 PM
Sun May 19 – Mostly Cloudy with Isolated Showers. High around 70°F. Low around 59°F. Varying 5 mph.
NASCAR Cup Series – All-Star Open – 5:30 PM
Summary: On Thursday, an upper-level trough will move out of the region, allowing for an upper-level ridge to move over the area. On Friday, another upper-level trough will approach the region, leading to substantial upper-level divergence into the afternoon hours. The associated surface low-pressure system along with a low-pressure system located off the Atlantic Coast could lead to convergent wind boundaries in the region, leading to a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. On Saturday, the upper-level trough will remain in place over the midwest, leading to continued upper-level divergence in the region throughout the day. The associated low-pressure will start to move further east, with a warm front located around the NC/Virginia border. This warm front, the Appalachian mountains, and convergent wind boundaries from the low-pressure still off the Atlantic coast will lead to widespread showers & thunderstorms throughout the day. As of this update, the SPC has a marginal severe risk just to the East of the region. This is due to moderate 0-6km shear values moving into the area in the afternoon. Isolated strong thunderstorms are possible Saturday Afternoon & Evening, with a strong gust of wind or small hail not able to be ruled out of the forecast. The low-pressure system will move over the region on Sunday morning and slowly move toward the coast, but lifting associated with the center of the system should initiate showers throughout the day. Higher than average precipitable water in the atmosphere could lead to localized areas of higher than normal rainfall, leading to longer track drying procedures. The WPC quantitative precipitation forecast has rainfall amounts of greater than ¼ of an inch on Friday & Sunday, with Saturday forecasted to see possible values of over ½ in. We will continue to update the forecast throughout the week.
All times in EDT
Updated: May 17, 2024 2:45 PM EDT
Chief Meteorologist Aaron Studwell, Ph.D.
Staff Meteorologists Connor Baldwin, Aaron Gosch, Chase Haralson, & Elizabeth Ohlemacher
IndyCar forecasts provided by @IndyCar_Wx
North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short oval racetrack located on U.S. Route 421, about 5 mi (8.0 km) east of the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, or 80 miles north of Charlotte. It measures 0.625 mi (1.006 km) and features a unique uphill backstretch and downhill frontstretch. It has previously held races in NASCAR’s top three series, including 93 Winston Cup Series races. The track, a NASCAR original, operated from 1949, NASCAR’s inception, until the track’s original closure in 1996. The speedway briefly reopened in 2010 and hosted several stock car series races, including the now-defunct ASA Late Model Series, USARacing Pro Cup Series, and PASS super late models, before closing again in the spring of 2011. It was re-opened in August 2022 for grassroots racing and will host the 2023 NASCAR All-Star Race and a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, with further renovations planned after the events.
