Charlotte’s Saturday night race in October moving to Sunday afternoon

Charlotte Motor Speedway’s fall Saturday night race, the only night race in NASCAR’s Cup series playoffs, is moving.

The Bank of America 500 has been moved to Sunday, Oct. 8, with a 2 p.m. green flag, the speedway announced Thursday.

The race has been run on a Saturday night in October since 2003, will follow a more traditional schedule this year – with qualifying on Friday night, the Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 300 on Saturday afternoon and the Bank of America 500 on Sunday afternoon.

“Charlotte’s so tricky, especially when the sun’s out,” seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson said in a release. “And, the track’s finally aging and getting to a place with a lot of character (so) that a day race will allow us to run so many more lanes and, I think, create such an entertaining and compelling race. … I’m really excited for a hot, slick, day race.”

This story was originally published April 20, 2017 at 12:15 PM with the headline "Charlotte’s Saturday night race in October moving to Sunday afternoon."