NASCAR postpones Daytona night race until Sunday afternoon because of rain
The NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway has been postponed because of inclement weather.
The 400-mile Coke Zero Sugar 400 is now scheduled to take place Sunday, with a 1 p.m. ET start time.
Rain started two hours before Saturday night’s scheduled green flag of 7:40 p.m. ET and continued on and off into the evening. Because drying the 2.5-mile track takes about two hours, NASCAR officials decided it would be better to race Sunday than into the wee hours of the night.
The afternoon start on NBC also shouldn’t conflict with the Women’s World Cup final, scheduled for 11 a.m. on Fox. The United States and the Netherlands will vie for the championship.
Sunday's weather forecast in Daytona Beach, Florida, could put the rescheduled start time in flux, too. The Weather Channel is forecasting scattered thunderstorms for Sunday afternoon with temperatures in the mid 80s.
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Friday's Xfinity Series race was also delayed 2 hours and 35 minutes because of rain before Ross Chastain took the checkered flag in a chaotic, crash-filled event.
Joey Logano will start on the pole after Friday's qualifying was canceled because of lightning. The lineup was set by owners points.
Here is the lineup for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (car number in parentheses):
1. (22) Joey Logano, Ford
2. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota
3. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford
4. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford
5. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
6. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota
7. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet
8. (1) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet
9. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet
10. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford
11. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford
12. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet
13. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet
14. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
15. (41) Daniel Suarez, Ford
16. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford
17. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota
18. (6) Ryan Newman, Ford
19. (17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford
20. (21) Paul Menard, Ford
21. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet
22. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet
23. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet
24. (8) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet
25. (95) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota
26. (47) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet
27. (38) David Ragan, Ford
28. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford
29. (43) Bubba Wallace, Chevrolet
30. (32) Corey LaJoie, Ford
31. (36) Matt Tifft, Ford
32. (15) Quin Houff, Chevrolet
33. (00) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet
34. (77) Justin Haley, Chevrolet
35. (51) BJ McLeod, Ford
36. (96) Parker Kligerman, Toyota
37. (52) JJ Yeley, Ford
38. (27) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet
39. (62) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet
40. (53) Joey Gase, Chevrolet
Contributing: Ellen J. Horrow