The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season finally got unofficially underway on Wednesday night at Bowman Gray Stadium, after the Cook Out Clash had originally been scheduled to be a two-day event across Saturday and Sunday. A total of three snow-related delays pushed it all the way back to the middle of the week.
Amid the frustration of some of the delays, some NASCAR fans have called for the Clash to return to Daytona International Speedway, where it was held each year from 1979 up until 2020 (2021 if you include the Daytona road course race).
While Daytona Beach, Florida isn't exactly a winter wonderland, it is still known for precipitation of another kind: rain.
The one good thing about the weather forecast for the Daytona 500, slightly more than a week ahead of time, is the fact that it is guaranteed to change about 100 times between now and the actual scheduled green flag time on Sunday, February 15.
But that can also be a bad thing.
According to The Weather Channel, the forecast for next Sunday was mostly sunny when we checked it out on Friday morning. By Friday evening, the chance of precipitation had risen to 44%, with showers expected throughout the afternoon.
Sure, the 2025 season didn't see a single postponement across all three national series. The Daytona 500, however, was still delayed due to rain, after only the first few laps were run.
And of course, the 2024 Daytona 500 was postponed until Monday, so NASCAR technically hasn't run a Daytona 500 that was not affected by weather since 2023.
Looking back to 2020, four of the past six Daytona 500s have been impacted by weather. The 2020 race started on Sunday, was stopped due to rain, and did not resume until Monday. The 2021 race was started on Sunday, paused due to rain, and resumed on Sunday night, but it did not conclude until early Monday morning.
Quite frankly, it's amazing that only five other Daytona 500s (1965, 1966, 2003, 2009, and 2012) have been significantly impacted by wet weather, given the location of the track.
Whether (no pun intended) the current forecast ends up meaning anything remains to be seen. Even a forecast posted the day before the race can't necessarily be counted on when it comes to Florida. Still, it's not promising, after sunny skies were predicted just hours before the latest update.
Fox's live Daytona 500 coverage from Daytona International Speedway is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 15. Start a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss any of the action!