The Daytona 500 may again have to contend with weather and rain on race day.

The NASCAR Cup Series season opener is set for green flag just after 2:30 p.m. Eastern/1:30 p.m. Central on Feb. 15 at Daytona International Speedway.

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Speedweeks has been unaffected by weather through the first few days, and the Feb. 14 forecast calls for clear skies.

The forecast changes on Feb. 15 on Daytona 500 race day, starting with increased precipitation chances in the afternoon.

DAYTONA 500 LINEUP: NASCAR Daytona 500 starting lineup, TV schedule for Sunday’s race

NASCAR Daytona 500 forecast, rain chances on Sunday

As of Feb. 14, The National Weather Service calls for rain chances to increase after 1 p.m. on Feb. 15, at a 50% chance. Those chances stay the same until 7 p.m., when rain chances increase to 91% through the rest of the night.

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The NWS forecasts a high temperature of 79 degrees with wind gusts up to 24 mph.

The forecast also calls for thunder chances to increase at 7 p.m. on Feb. 15.

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Daytona’s Speedway’s most dramatic crashes, flips and massive pileups

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 14: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 M&M’s Toyota, Brad Keselowski, driver of the #2 Discount Tire Ford, and Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, are involved in an on-track incident during the NASCAR Cup Series 63rd Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2021 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

Will the Daytona 500 be postponed?

NASCAR is unlikely to change the start time too much given the uncertainty of the forecast as of Feb. 14. It can and has moved up the race time, but not by a significant amount. Last year, the Daytona 500 start time was moved up by an hour but did not prevent a lengthy red flag for rain.

The 2024 and 2025 editions were delayed by rain. The 2024 Daytona 500 was postponed to Monday and completed to the full distance. The 2025 race was delayed to later in the evening on Sunday before being finished at night after a couple red flag delays.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Daytona 500 weather forecast update, will Daytona 500 be postponed?

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