NASCAR Cup Series New Hampshire weather report: Will it rain during the qualifying session at Loudon?

NASCAR has been greeted with inclement weather conditions during its visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend. The 1.058-mile oval in Loudon is scheduled to host the Modifieds, Xfinity, and the Cup Series over the weekend, June 21-23.

On Friday, the practice and qualifying session for the Xfinity Series was rained out with the grid for the SciAps 200 set by metric score. Cole Custer and Chandler Smith will lead the field to the green flag on Saturday, June 22, at 3:35 PM ET.

Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass reported a 40% chance of rain in Loudon for most of Saturday, which hosts the Cup qualifying. He also noted occasional light mist falling on the track. The practice session for the NASCAR Cup Series is scheduled at 12:35 PM ET, followed by the qualifying session at 1:20 PM ET.

"Forecast for Loudon is 40% chance rain most of day. Currently occasional light mist." he wrote on X.

Pockrass added that the National Weather Service predicted more scattered rains for qualifying day on Saturday, and heavy storms for Race day on Sunday, June 23. The timing of the rain and the potential windows of clear weather cannot be determined accurately.

"Forecasts for Loudon vary as far as timing of rain and possible windows. The Natl Weather Service indicates more scattered today than Sunday and some of the storms Sunday could be heavy/severe. Not raining at the moment here at track."

If the Cup Series practice and the qualifying session are rained out, the grid for the USA Today 301 will be set by the metric score. A metric score for a team is determined by multiple factors including - the fastest lap time position, the driver's final race finish position, the owner's final race finish position, and the Owner's Points position.

---

NASCAR full weekend schedule at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

Here is the weekend schedule for NASCAR's visit to New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Saturday, June 22 (All times in ET)

10:00 AM - Modified Tour

12:35 PM - Cup Practice and Qualifying

3:00 PM - Xfinity Prerace

3:35 PM - SciAps 200 green flag (Stages: 45-45-110, Tire sets: 4, Fuel window 85-90)

Sunday, June 23

2:00 PM - NASCAR Cup prerace

2:35 PM - USA Today 301 (Stages: 70-115-116, Tire sets: 8)

The forecast for Sunday's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is not looking promising, with a 60-70% chance of rain. If NASCAR decides to postpone the race to Monday, there is a 50% possibility of rain. Cup and Xfinity teams will have rain tires available to race in damp conditions, along with defoggers to help manage visibility.