Pala Casino 400 weather updates: Rain, snow could impact Fontana NASCAR race
NASCAR Cup Series races don’t often have to deal with snowstorm warnings. Neither does San Bernardino County, California. Both could be affected at the weekend.
The Pala Casino 400 at Auto Club Speedway is scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET, but the area is expected to be impacted by dangerous wintry conditions in the days leading up to the race. Blizzard and winter storm warnings for the area north of Fontana, as well as flood warnings in Fontana, have been issued by the San Diego office of the National Weather Service.
NASCAR races are often marred by rain; Precipitation reduces traction on the racing surface. Snow is not often a problem. One of the most recent cases was at Martinsville Speedway in March 2018, when the STP 500 was pushed back to Monday due to snow in Virginia.
Here’s what you need to know about the weather in Fontana, California this weekend.
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Pala Casino 400 weather updates
Saturday February 25th
Heavy rainfall at Fontana has canceled both practice and qualifying sessions for the Xfinity Series and Cup Series races at Auto Club Speedway. The lineups for both races were determined by the NASCAR formula, which included the owner’s points position (35 percent), the owner’s finishing race position (25 percent), the driver’s finishing race position (25 percent), and the fastest lap time position (15 percent) considered.
After Saturday’s Xfinity Series race was postponed for several hours due to rain, the Production Alliance Group 300 was moved from its original Saturday night start time to Sunday night after the Cup Series race. The Xfinity Series race will now begin on Sunday at approximately 8:00pm ET.
The National Weather Service continued to have flood surveillance in Fontana until 10:00 p.m. PT Saturday (1:00 a.m. ET Sunday) and a winter weather warning for the area until 4:00 p.m. PT (7:00 p.m. ET). The forecast for Sunday is only a low probability of rain (20 percent at night) and partial sun during the day with highs of 48 degrees.
Friday February 24th
The National Weather Service issued a snowstorm warning and winter storm warning for the mountainous area of San Bernardino County north of Fontana on Thursday, adding that it was “very difficult to impossible” to travel in these conditions. The snowstorm warning is in effect until 4:00 p.m. PT (7:00 p.m. ET) Saturday.
San Diego forecasters noted that it was the first time in the bureau’s history that a snowstorm warning had been issued for the county.
According to the forecast map, Fontana will be just south of the blizzard warning on Saturday, but still under flood and wind warnings, according to the Weather Service.
And there will be no snowstorms only in the north of Fontana. Los Angeles County, which lies west of Fontana, is also under a snowstorm warning, with the weather service saying there could be up to 5 inches of snow and winds up to 55 miles per hour.
Sunday’s forecast is for partly sunny skies and temperatures in the high 40’s.
This post will be updated with weather reports just before the start of the race.