Florida is rather notorious for its weather, especially in the summer months as sunny days can quickly become thunderstorms. Unfortunately, NASCAR continues to face this literal storm as the Cup Series‘ Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway had to be postponed from Saturday to Sunday at 10 AM Eastern Time.
Rain had forced qualifying to be cancelled on Friday and delayed the Xfinity Series race later that day, with the latter eventually ending at 1 AM the next morning. The weather remained non-ideal throughout Saturday as lightning and storms hit the track and pushed back the scheduled green flag at 7:46 PM before NASCAR finally decided to pull the plug on the race half an hour later. It is the third rain delay in the Cup Series in 2022 and the second involving a postponement after the Drydene 400 in May was moved a day after completing seventy-eight laps.
The 400 has suffered from rainouts multiple times in its history, with the 2014, 2015, and 2019 editions also being pushed from Saturday night to Sunday. The 1996, 2014, and 2019 races were shortened by rain, while the 2015 race ended after midnight on Monday. The Daytona 500 in February has also been subject to weather issues in the past, with the two most recent races being delayed or postponed.
With no qualifying taking place, Hendrick Motorsports team-mates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will start on the front row via qualifying metric.
Alluding to his post-race interview gaffe at Watkins Glen, Elliott quipped on Twitter, “Not raining in Bristol btw..”
According to The Weather Channel, thunderstorms are still expected throughout the next ten days. For Sunday, there is an eighty-percent chance of rain with showers forecasted in the morning.
The race will need to reach the halfway point at lap 80 to be official. Consequently, stakes will be especially high as it is the final stop before the playoffs with only one championship-eligible spots left for those seeking their first win of the year.
