Fortunately it wasn’t catastrophic. Track president Doug Fritz was announcing that he and the staff at RIR are aware of what could happen with Tropical Storm (and, perhaps, Hurricane) Hanna. The statement, in its entirety:

“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. This weekend’s events are currently scheduled to run as planned but we will provide updates at http://www.rir.com and 877-251-7223, as to their status at least twice daily, or as needed.

“Fans who have purchased ticket insurance and have questions specific to the insurance can call World Access at 800-628-6188.”

Good to know they’re looking into it on their end. But all we — and they — can do is to watch and wait.

If Hanna takes an unexpected path or dawdles around in the Caribbean, it could miss the Mid-Atlantic altogether. That doesn’t seem likely, however.

NOAA’s current forecast cone has it approaching an the coast between Charleston and Myrtle Beach, S.C., then bouncing off and tracking up the coast. That’s an important distinction; staying over water could keep the storm more potent. Over land, the storm is robbed of its energy source and slowly fades away.

Though the projected track is well east of Richmond — and likely away from the strongest winds — it seems all of us in the eastern half of the state are due for a soaker.

If Richmond winds up with just a sustained period of rain, it won’t be a big deal. The race could be postponed a day or two, as has happened many times.

But there is a chance that the storm takes a different path. Or maybe the rain is more relentless. That would change the equation entirely.

If the whole weekend has to be scrapped, which isn’t beyond the realm of possibility, then NASCAR has some decisions to make. Do they set the Chase field based on 25 races, not 26? Or do they simply make next weekend’s race at New Hampshire the Chase cutoff and pop Richmond into a later date?

If so, when would the Richmond race be run? There are no off dates in the Chase; yet if Richmond were plunked at the end of the schedule, you can bet the folks at Ford would be none too happy that their race sponsorship at Homestead suddenly became obsolete.

Until we know exactly where the storm is headed and exactly what kind of a punch it will land when it arrives, all we can do is guess and ride out the storm. And hope that NASCAR and RIR are considering all the possibilities.

(Photo by NOAA via the Associated Press)