How weather could affect NASCAR race weekend at EchoPark Speedway

Mother Nature could have a large say in what NASCAR's upcoming race weekend at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga., looks like.

After the exhibition Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray was pushed back by three days due to snow, the weekend of the Daytona 500 was free of any major weather issues. The start time of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 15 was eventually moved up by one hour due to impending rain.

NASCAR might not get as lucky with the weather this weekend as it did at Daytona, however.

Weather outlook for EchoPark Speedway

The best news for NASCAR is that Sunday's forecast calls for clear, sunny skies. That means the Cup Series' Autotrader 400 should go off without a hitch. 

The same can't be said for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, both of which are scheduled to qualify on Friday and race Saturday.

Truck Series qualifying is set for 3 p.m. ET (FS1) with O'Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifying set for 5 p.m. ET. Friday's forecast calls for a 96 percent chance of rain, per AccuWeather.

Saturday's forecast isn't much better, with a 91 percent chance of rain. The Truck Series Fr8 Racing 208 is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET (FS1, NRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), while the O'Reilly Series Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET (the CW, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Cup Series qualifying is also scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. ET (Prime Video, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The starting lineups for each race would be set by the NASCAR rulebook if qualifying can't occur.

Sunday's Autotrader 400 should run as scheduled, but if both the Truck Series and O'Reilly Series races were to be postponed, NASCAR could be forced to run both races on Monday or run one on Sunday and one on Monday. 

Only time will tell, and only Mother Nature will decide how the race weekend ultimately plays out.