Latest Daytona weather updates: Xfinity race moved to Monday night, after Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 will be run at 4 p.m. Monday, and it will now be followed by the Xfinity race at 9 p.m.
On Sunday at 9:30 a.m., NASCAR officially announced it had moved the Daytona 500 to Monday. As of Monday morning, that remains the plan for the Great American Race.
NASCAR had first postponed its Xfinity Series race to 11 a.m. Monday after only being able to get in the qualifying session during a soggy Saturday. Then, on Monday morning because of lingering showers, the Xfinity race was moved yet again, to Monday night. This will be the first-ever Monday doubleheader at Daytona International Speedway.
The track needs at least 90 minutes to dry, and any amount of rain will stop racing, so there was little chance of holding the race during the washout throughout Sunday. A brief drizzle during Friday’s Truck race elicited a red flag. The cars’ tires don’t have tread, so NASCAR would be expected to put any race under caution for any amount of rain, anyway.
While Monday’s forecast is mostly nice starting in the afternoon, if either of those races are interrupted during the action, NASCAR can opt to consider the race official if it has reached its halfway point, or the end of Stage 2.
Anticipating the rain this weekend, NASCAR held its ARCA Menards Series race following the Truck Series opener late Friday night. That race didn’t end until around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
Rain fell throughout the day on Saturday. The Xfinity race start time was originally bumped 30 minutes from 5 to 4:30 p.m., but that effort to beat the rain turned out to be in vain.
Since roughly 3 p.m. Saturday, rain fell steadily through Sunday night.
The Xfinity drivers were introduced at around 3:45 p.m. Saturday, but they never actually started their engines. And at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, NASCAR officially announced that the race was postponed. The Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 will still be broadcast on FS1, the race’s original broadcast network, on Monday night at 9 p.m.
Saturday morning’s rescheduled Xfinity qualifying session began about two hours late at 1:30 p.m., and Jesse Love Jr., the 19-year-old reigning ARCA Menards Series champion, won the pole during a brief respite from the rain. Saturday morning’s Cup practice, originally scheduled for 10:30 a.m., was canceled, leaving Cup drivers little to do all day Saturday.
Monday’s weather and schedule
Monday’s outlook is far better than the rainy weekend. According to the National Weather Service, there is only a 50% chance for showers, mainly before 11 a.m. It’s expected to give way to cloudy — but dry — skies in the afternoon with a high temperature in the low 60s, with winds out of the North at 15-20 miles per hour.
The green flag for the Daytona 500 is expected to wave at around 4:30 p.m., and the Xfinity race will likely begin roughly an hour after the end of the Cup race. Daytona International Speedway had announced a sold-out crowd for the event, and Joey Logano will be on the pole.
THE DAYTONA 500
- When: 4 p.m. Monday, weather permitting. It will be run prior to the Xfinity race, which now starts at 9 p.m.
- How to watch/listen: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR (original broadcast networks all stay the same).
NASCAR XFINITY RACE AT DAYTONA, UNITED RENTALS 300
- When: 9 p.m. Monday, following the Daytona 500.
- How to watch/listen: FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
This story was originally published February 17, 2024 at 12:34 PM.
