The second crown jewel race of the 2026 NASCARCup Series season is planned to go green on Sunday, May 24, at 6 p.m. ET. The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway rounds out “The Greatest Day in Motorsports.”
Tyler Reddick won the first crown jewel race of the season, the Daytona 500. Denny Hamlin is the current favorite (plus-500) to win the Coca-Cola 600. The other two crown jewel races are the Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. They will take place later this summer.
While NASCAR’s longest race of the season always commands attention in prime time on a holiday weekend, the weather forecast is beginning to demand attention. There is a chance that the 600-mile endeavor this Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET will not go down as scheduled.
Here is the weekend weather report. Stay tuned for updates.
(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Sunday, May 24
Timing uncertain; showers are expected to complicate the racing schedule.
|
Series |
Event |
Time (ET) |
|
Cup |
Coca-Cola 600 |
6 p.m. |
The current National Weather Service forecast shows a 40% chance of rain showers after 2:00 p.m. The intensity of rainfall is expected to be quite low. Track drying may take anywhere from 45 to 90 minutes, depending on how damp the track becomes and whether drying is necessary at all.
The chances of nighttime precipitation rise to about 70%. The likelihood of race delays is above average. NASCAR has yet to confirm any delays on the 6:00 p.m. race start time. Expect it to go as scheduled until further notice.
NASCAR generally does not wish to race beyond 1:00 a.m. The Coca-Cola 600 surely may have more leniency. Nonetheless, that would be an issue only with delays of at least 3 hours.