Will Weather Determine This Year's NASCAR Chase Contenders?

For NASCAR fans, this is the last hurrah—the last race before the Chase for the Cup championship ensues. 

The Chasers and those who want so desperately to be in the Chase are all headed to Richmond International Speedway this weekend, where the 12 drivers who will get the chance to compete will finally be decided. 

This is our "big one." It's stock car's version of the Democratic and Republican conventions all in one.

Alas, instead of the impending demolition derby between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch and the stealth attack by Jimmie Johnson, there may be another major factor in determining the Chase lineup.

And that is the weather.

Just like the Republican National Convention, NASCAR is also subject to the weather.  Hurricane Gustav affected the California race as many hauler drivers had to adjust their routes to avoid the southern Gulf Coast devastation.

Thankfully, Gustav did not live up to its billing as the mother of all storms and there was no serious loss of life or major damage. 

At worst it was an inconvenience for the NASCAR teams who had to spend just a little bit more time on the road returning to their home race shops.

But Tropical Storm Hanna is already on her way. Although the National Hurricane Center currently classifies it as a tropical storm, it is a slow mover and could gather enough strength to become a hurricane.

The Center projects Hanna's path as hitting Florida and moving up the East Coast by this weekend.  This current trajectory could in fact impact the Saturday night NASCAR racing at Richmond.

In fact, the Speedway's website has the following statement issued by Track President Doug Fritz: "Given the projected path of Tropical Storm Hanna, we are working closely with NASCAR, as well as state and local government officials, to monitor the path and potential impact of the storm. As always, the safety of our fans, competitors, and the local community is of the utmost importance to Richmond International Raceway."

There are online resources and phone numbers to call to check the status of the race.  These will be updated on a regular basis.

So, what will this mean for the Chase?  Will qualifying have to be set on points?  What will this do to the field on a short track, where track position is golden?  Or worse yet, will the race itself have to be rain delayed or even postponed, leaving all fans and drivers in Chase limbo?

This is an incredible confluence of events—the NASCAR version of the "perfect storm." 

So, this weekend, Richmond will not only be keeping an eye on the competition for the Chase but also an “eye” on the storms on the Doppler radar.

And, to top it all off, Tropical Storms Ike and Josephine lurk just behind Hanna...

Stay tuned to the NASCAR section of Bleacher Report for the latest on the racing, the Chase, the rivalry—and the weather—action.

Photo Credit National Hurricane Center website.