There are three times that have No Limits: Texas Motor Speedway‘s address, the amount of rain pouring on said track during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, and the disappointment of fans when said race was postponed due to said weather. After a delay of nearly four hours due to rain, Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 was pushed to Monday morning.
The race, held shortly after the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series event that went without any weather concern, lasted just 52 laps before it was red flagged. Even green-flag racing proved to be rather tumultuous as mist covered the track even before the start. On lap 29, race leader Kevin Harvick hit the wall in turn two as the moisture from the mist caused the track to be slick when combined with the PJ1 traction compound. At the time of the red flag, Harvick was thirty-sixth and a lap down, while Alex Bowman inherited the lead as a result of the incident.
When the red flag came out, the race had two cautions: Chris Buescher tagged the turn two wall on the fifth lap, while J.J. Yeley slammed into the wall on lap 22. The latter also served as the race’s competition caution. Clint Bowyer would hold the lead at the red flag.
Although Texas Motor Speedway has lights, hence NASCAR’s wait, the weather ultimately won. Bowman’s team-mate Jimmie Johnson, running his final race at Texas as a full-time NASCAR driver, offered a sarcastically upbeat outlook on the week’s forecast.
Although Mother Nature has mostly complied in recent races, much of the 2020 NASCAR season’s late spring and summer stretch was plagued by red flags and postponements for rain, with one race being shortened entirely due to weather. Incidentally, Sunday’s race was not the only major motorsport event to have weather drama as the IndyCar Series‘ championship round at St. Petersburg also featured rain, though as a street circuit, no delay occurred.
The rescheduled Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 will take place on Monday morning at 10 AM Eastern. It is the second race of the Round of 8.
