After an exhilarating race at Iowa Raceway, fans and drivers are pumped for the next Cup spectacle. NASCAR’s premier tier will now head to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, a 1.058-mile oval in Loudon. However, we are halfway through the season – hitting the monsoons.
So Mother Nature might throw a wrench in drivers’ plans. She has wreaked havoc several times already this year – remember Daytona and Charlotte, which was heartbreaking for Kyle Larson? Now, as worrisome reports come flooding, you may need to haul out your best rain gear.
New Hampshire track to get washed down
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Cloudy days await the historic track in Loudon. Since 1993, the NASCAR Cup Series has conducted 52 races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. And the rain gods have been frequent visitors – this year would mark the third time in four years to pour on the track. And the weather-monitoring stations predict exactly that.
Race Weather recently updated the situation at 2:55 PM EDT on X. As it turns out, drivers need to be concerned about more than just raindrops. “Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued 25 miles NW of @NHMS. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail. Cell is moving slow but starting to build to the South.”
2:55 PM EDT Update – Severe Thunderstorm Warning issued 25 miles NW of @NHMS. Wind gusts up to 60 mph and quarter sized hail. Cell is moving slow but starting to build to the South. Storms could hit the track sometime in the next hour. Stay Safe! #nhwx pic.twitter.com/zpZm7NTS0V
— RaceWeather (@RaceWeather) June 20, 2024
A more recent update confirmed the arrival of showers. “Rain is still in the forecast for this weekend’s #USAToday301 at @NHMS. Showers are predicted for Sunday morning, followed by thunderstorms later in the day. There’s a good chance for some rain tire racing this weekend!”
Rain is still in the forecast for this weekend’s #USAToday301 at @NHMS. Showers are predicted for Sunday morning, followed by thunderstorms later in the day. There’s a good chance for some rain tire racing this weekend!
Head to https://t.co/rS47TBQXZp for the full forecast! pic.twitter.com/VuE0mUFDzl
— RaceWeather (@RaceWeather) June 20, 2024
If it rains, wet-weather tires are in place to be used for damp conditions. But the issue is that the chances of rain increase to nearly 70% later that evening, meaning more rain might come later. So these weather updates may send distress calls across the NASCAR Cup garage – especially the quarters of Hendrick Motorsports. A few weeks back, Kyle Larson failed in his gamble with Mother Nature. After a rain-delayed Indy 500, he could not start the Coca-Cola 600 and saw his Double ambitions go down the drain.
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Yet one veteran driver may fight out the weather troubles like he did last year. And that would fall in place with his going-out-with-glory goals.
The defending winner is a New Hamp Champ
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We have all been speculating about Martin Truex Jr’s next win, right? After the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver announced his retirement, his goal must be to soar to victories for one last time. And this weekend he may finally achieve it – given the whopping 1154 laps he has led at New Hampshire. His teammate Christopher Bell’s jaws dropped when declared that Truex “led more laps here than I’ve even run here in the Cup Series.”
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And he could do that due to his weather-tackling genius. Last year, the Loudon race was delayed due to the nagging rain, and held on Monday. Despite the strategy shuffles at the Crayon 301, Truex led the No. 19 team’s incredible pit strategy. He said last year, “Just really awesome job by everybody. What a race car we had here today. Just proud of the whole team. Pit stops were flawless.,.We had some challenges throughout the race, and the car was a handful at times, but we put our heads down and just kept digging.”
So it would not be too surprising if Martin Truex Jr prevailed over the ominous weather updates and dominated New Hampshire yet again.