NASCAR postpones Daytona 500 to Monday due to weather

Daytona Beach^ FL^ USA: The field comes to the green flag for the start of the NASCAR Cup Series at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach^ FL^ USA. February 19^ 2023

NASCAR has postponed the season-opening Daytona 500 until Monday, citing two days of rain at Daytona International Speedway. The race was to begin Sunday afternoon; the last time the Daytona 500 was postponed a full day was in 2012.a

The postponement means tat NASCAR will run two races on Monday. Saturday’s Xfinity Series race was postponed to Monday at 11 a.m. ET, hours ahead of the 4 p.m. start time for the Daytona 500.  Saturday’s fourth-tier ARCA Series race was pushed up to late Friday night after the Truck Series race to ensure that it wasn’t delayed as well.

Rain was expected to taper off Monday morning as skies clear in the afternoon, and the forecast looks good enough for both races to be run to their scheduled distances. If and when both races are run on Monday, it will be the first time in Speedweeks history that two races have been run on a Monday.

Joey Logano is set to start the Daytona 500 from the pole position whenever the race does begin. It’s Logano’s first career Daytona pole. The two-time Cup Series champion won the 2015 Daytona 500.

For information on NASCAR’s weather protection program for ticket holders, head here.

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