Rain clouds pass over as practice for the Daytona 500 is delayed at Daytona International Speedway on Friday.(Photo: Patrick Smith, Getty Images)

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Daytona 500 will likely start on time despite an iffy forecast, according to a nationally recognized meteorologist. But whether it finishes without a rain delay is another story.

Brian Neudorff, known as the unofficial NASCAR weatherman, told USA TODAY Sports he's 80% sure rain won't affect the start of Sunday's race (1 p.m. ET, Fox; green flag is scheduled for 1:30). But scattered showers could pop up in the area during the late afternoon, which could cause several stoppages for weather.

"I think we can start it and make it official (by getting to the halfway point)," Neudorff said. "Is it possible we get a complete race in? It's certainly possible, especially if NASCAR is patient. It's not a soaker like it was two years ago (when the race was postponed to Monday night)."

Neudorff said the timing of the scattered showers is one thing; whether they'll hit the track is another. Trying to guess where the pop-up showers will go, he said, is akin to dumping a bag of marbles on the floor and predicting where they will end up.

"We're going to have to watch it in the afternoon," he said. "All the models say starting between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., there are going to be areas of scattered shower activity. … You could see them start to decrease around 7 or 8 and could get back to racing around 9 in the worst case."

NASCAR has the powerful Air Titan on its side, which dried the 2.5-mile superspeedway in about 90 minutes Friday night. The Air Titan uses pressurized air to blow water off the track.

Neudorff will offer updates to the forecast on his Twitter handle, @NASCAR_WXMAN. Aside from his NASCAR hobby, he is a meteorologist for KMVT-TV in Twin Falls, Idaho.

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