What was supposed to be a Sunday afternoon Monster Energy Cup Series race will now be on Monday, as heavy rain left NASCAR officials with little recourse but to postpone the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol postponed due to rain
The Food City 500 is rescheduled for Monday at 1 p.m. ET.
Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
The reschedule race will take the green flag Monday at 1 p.m. ET and televised live on Fox.
Inclement weather has hampered teams throughout the weekend at Bristol. NASCAR had to rework Friday’s schedule -- including canceling Cup qualifying -- after rain began falling in the late morning. And steady rain put Saturday’s Xfinity Series race under the red flag for over an hour and a half.
The eighth Cup event on the calendar, Bristol is the first race postponement of the 2017 season. Rain forced NASCAR to cancel qualifying at Martinsville Speedway on April 1, but two days later the race was went off without interruption under sunny skies.
According to meteorologist and SB Nation contributor Brian Neudorff, there is still a chance for passing shower Monday afternoon at Bristol, but he expects there will enough of a window to get the entire 500-lap race completed.
Cup Series points leader Kyle Larson was awarded the pole after qualifying was canceled and NASCAR set the starting lineup per its rulebook. Larson, who is seeking his first victory at the half-mile Tennessee track, will share the front row with Chase Elliott, followed by Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano.
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