Live updates: Rain, severe weather descends at North Wilkesboro before NASCAR race
Sunday’s race marks the first NASCAR Cup Series points-paying race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996. Looking for the latest news? We got you covered. The Charlotte Observer has multiple journalists at the vaunted N.C. racetrack to keep you up-to-date.
Read more Live updates: Rain, severe weather descends at North Wilkesboro before NASCAR race
Check out our updates below. Refresh this page for more.
6:20 p.m.: North Wilkesboro Speedway has officially released the lightning hold and the gates are open. That’s the good news. There’s bad news, though. The racetrack also informed fans in a statement that tonight’s “pre-race concert and track pass access has been canceled,” adding that “track drying will begin as soon as possible.”
That track-drying process has begun. Oh, and the blistering sun — it’s 80 degrees with the sunset not planned until 8:39 p.m. — is helping to dry the area, too.
5:52 p.m.: The rain has cleared, but we might not be out of the bad weather yet. Radar shows there’s another pocket of showers coming in the next hour. According to AccuWeather, there’s a 58% of precipitation at 7 p.m., then 25% at 8 p.m., then 20% through the rest of the evening.
5:30 p.m.: Not breaking any news here: It’s raining. Hard. The venue is actually under an official Severe Weather Warning because lightning is in the area. Fans are asked to seek shelter. The good news? The heavy rain and thunderstorm are expected to pass through relatively quickly, radars show. Take a look below.
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Keep in mind: Even if the rain ends, the track will still need to dry. Green flag is still slated for just past 7 p.m.
5:15 PM EDT @NWBSpeedway – Frequent & close lightning, along with rain & strong winds should continue for another 15-20 minutes. pic.twitter.com/1VgTDA3htJ
Cup qualifying was washed out on Saturday, and thus the starting grid was set by the rule book. Here’s the starting lineup below.
Some penalty housekeeping: Austin Hill and Connor Zilisch each failed prerace inspection twice and thus will not be able to make pit selections Sunday. Ross Chastain failed inspection three times and thus will be required to serve a drive-through penalty at the start of the race in addition to losing pit selection and a team member for the race.
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This story was originally published July 19, 2026 at 5:30 PM.
