INDIANAPOLIS — I'm very optimistic we'll have a wonderful day of weather for race day Sunday. We have a departing system that will continue to push east through the Ohio River Valley on Sunday. This will keep any pop-up rain chance mainly in eastern Indiana.
We start the day with increasing clouds, with skies becoming partly cloudy by noon. Clouds are great on race day. They limit direct sun on the track and will keep track temperatures lower. This is critical to allow the cars to grip the track and achieve higher speeds.
By the green flag at 2:30 p.m., temperatures will top out at 84 degrees with a stray pop-up developing to the east. Rain chances again will be very limited closer to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The wind remains mainly light from the southeast up to 5 mph through the race. This is also an advantage. Dew points will also be reasonable in the mid 60s so overly moist air won't be much of a problem.
Through the race the sky will stay partly cloudy but the temperature rises a few degrees to near 86. This is very close to the average this time of year, which is 84. The average temperature on the day of the 500 over the past decade is 83.1 degrees.
