Rain delay or no rain delay at Richmond this weekend Hanna closes in on U.S



CNN.com/SI.com
Posted: Thursday September 4, 2008 1:37PM; Updated: Thursday September 4, 2008 3:01PM

Countdown to the Chase Field

Thursday, 2:59 p.m.

SI.com's Tom Bowles predicts that Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne will be shut out of the 12-man Chase Field. He notes that the only other time Gordon missed out -- in 2005 -- crew chief Robbie Loomis got the ax


Thursday, 1:45 p.m.

SI.com's Tom Bowles hit the road for Richmond earlier today and had these observations as he navigated the interstate south of Baltimore. "It's feels weird driving into the eye of what could be Hurricane Hannah, but everybody in the NASCAR community is interested in finding out how this storm will affect the final race of the regular season. It's difficult for NASCAR to postpone this race because it doesn't have an open weekend between now and the start of the playoff schedule next Sunday at New Hampshire. All their efforts are geared toward getting the race in this weekend or even early next week, but will Hannah cooperate?



An insider tells me that NASCAR is preparing to run the race no earlier than Monday morning based on the latest forecast. However, RIR organizers have sent out consistent updates that all events remain on as scheduled and I'm told that campers are being allowed into the facility to set up shop. How many stay there throughout the course of the weekend remains to be seen.


Thursday, 1:30 p.m.

NASCAR's 12-man Chase field is expected to be finalized this weekend, but weather could delay the proceedings. With the National Hurricane Center predicting Hurricane Hannah will most likely come ashore between Friday and Saturday, somewhere between the east coast of Florida and the North Carolina coast, Saturday night's race at Richmond could be delayed by rain. RIR organizers continue to insist that all events will run as planned. Check back for race updates and on-the-scene garage reports from SI.com's team in Richmond.






A crew takes down a lifeguard tower in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, on Wednesday.

Hanna closes in on U.S. as Ike becomes major hurricane
updated 1 hour, 26 minutes ago,it is now 3:11

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Hanna churned across the Bahamas and toward the U.S. coast on Thursday, while Hurricane Ike, an "extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane, roared farther out in the Atlantic, its destination a mystery.

Hanna was about 670 miles south-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, at 2 p.m. ET Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

It was expected to pass just east of the Bahamas on Thursday and to be close to the U.S. coast by Friday night, the center said.

A hurricane watch was in effect from Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina, at the southern end of the Outer Banks, to near Edisto Beach, South Carolina, between Charleston and Hilton Head.

Hanna caused massive flooding in Haiti when it pummeled the Caribbean nation earlier this week, killing 61 people, a government official said Thursday.

Another 79 people were killed in Haiti by Hurricane Gustav last week, said Louis Pinchinat, deputy director of Haiti's Civil Protection Directorate.

The eye of the storm passed over the Haitian city of Gonaives on Tuesday night, leaving water more than 12 feet deep in some places, said Abel Nazaire, the deputy coordinator of the civil protection service.

Earlier Thursday, Ike was about 525 miles northeast of the Leeward Islands, moving west-northwest near 16 mph.

Trailing Ike by about 1,600 miles in the eastern Atlantic was Tropical Storm Josephine. Josephine

Re: Rain delay or no rain delay at Richmond this weekend Hanna closes in on U.S

Hanna is goign to be nothing more than a normal rain storm and will go by quickly!