Rain is in NASCAR forecast at Kansas Speedway

Rain is in the forecast throughout the weekend, which threatens to disrupt a pair of NASCAR races at Kansas Speedway.

Scattered thunderstorms are expected Friday night during the Camping World Truck Series’ Toyota Tundra 250, and more are expected Saturday night, when the Sprint Cup Series’ SpongeBob SquarePants 400 is scheduled.

“The forecast shows basically pop-up showers every several hours,” Kansas Speedway president Pat Warren said. “With the Air Titan (track-drying) technology, if the weather is favorable … the track will dry really fast. At night, it’s always a little more challenging. Wind always helps, but right now I think we’re going to be able to get the races in. If not, we would run them on the next raceable day.”

That means it’s possible the Truck Series will race Saturday morning before the Sprint Cup race or that the Sprint Cup race might be pushed to Sunday, which is Mother’s Day.

“But we’re going to do everything we can to get it in Saturday night,” Warren said. “We aren’t going to go until 4 in the morning, but, if the weather conditions are reasonable, we’ve got lights, we can go late and we will.”

He also stressed that fans should have a plan in the event of severe weather.

“We’re like any facility of our size, we don’t have a storm shelter big enough for 75,000 people,” Warren said. “Everybody has to have personal responsibility and have their own plan.”

Warren said the Red Cross recommends that fans return to their car, fasten the seat belt and turn the ignition on, which would ensure airbag functionality in the case of a catastrophe.

This story was originally published May 7, 2015 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Rain is in NASCAR forecast at Kansas Speedway."