Hot night signals more to come

At the Wake County Speedway, drivers said the conditions added another challenge to the competition. "There's no breeze. You got a helmet on. You got a full suit on," driver Kristin Gauld described.

"It's excruciating," said driver Richard Arch."It's about 150 degrees inside these cars. I emptied a whole water bottle in two laps."

Holden Haddock, a 10-year-old-driver, said he sweated so much inside the car he felt like he had already jumped in the swimming pool.

The heat also costs the track business. When it gets too warm, casual fans stay home, said owner Deborah Simpkins-McDonald.

Much of the state is under a heat advisory through Saturday when temperatures will again top 100 degrees and humidity will make it feel like 110, WRAL meteorologist Mike Maze said.

Sunday will be much cooler, with a high temperature only around 90 degrees under mostly cloudy skied, but the front that brings relief also carries the chance for showers and storms in the afternoon.