The Daytona 500 will resume today after heavy rain arrived in Florida and halted the annual race shortly after its start.
Weather conditions grew ominous at Daytona International Speedway when rain began to pelt down around 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Daytona’s 40 drivers had already completed 20 laps of the 200-lap thriller when officials made the call to delay the race to ensure ideal conditions and safety. There were efforts to dry the track amid the persistent rain, and drivers were even called back to their cars after a two hour wait. However, NASCAR revealed shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday that the race would not go forward that night but will conclude Monday at 4 p.m. All tickets will be honored for the second day of action.
NEWS: Today's 62nd running of the #DAYTONA500 has been postponed due to inclement weather.
The race will resume on Monday at 4 PM ET on FOX. pic.twitter.com/YqhxSJrOHD
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 16, 2020
This marks only the second time in its 62-year history that the Daytona 500 will finish on a Monday. It last occurred in 2012 when persistent rain not only pushed the action back a day, but also forced a later Monday start time as precipitation continued to fall through the early part of the day. That outing was also plagued by a sizable fire which forced another gap in the action before Matt Kenseth crossed the finish line in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
At the time of Sunday’s postponement, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was in front, followed by Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick.
