It is Race Day to begin the 2026 NASCAR Cup Collection season — and the Daytona 500 inexperienced flag shall be a bit bit sooner than anticipated at present.
Due to an inclement climate forecast, the 68th operating of the Nice American Race was moved up an hour to 1:30 p.m. ET with TV protection on Fox and radio broadcasts on Motor Racing Community and SiriusXM’S NASCAR Channel. NASCAR introduced the time change a day earlier than the Feb. 15 season opener.
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, it is anticipated to be 77 levels with a 1% probability of rain at 1:30 p.m. at present. Rain chances are high anticipated to extend after 6 p.m. The most important race of the NASCAR season typically takes about three hours to finish.
In search of his first Daytona 500 win, Kyle Busch alongside Chase Briscoe.
NASCAR: Cup Qualifying
Busch is 0 for 20 within the Daytona 500 and hasn’t began within the prime 5 since 2016, when he nonetheless drove for Joe Gibbs Racing.
William Byron is the two-time defending winner attempting to grow to be the primary NASCAR driver in historical past with three consecutive Daytona 500 victories.
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The Daytona 500 has endured a spate of climate disruptions since its first postponement to Monday in 2012 (after the primary 53 editions had gone off as scheduled). In 2014, the race was delayed by a 6-hour, 22-minute crimson flag, after which postponed after 20 laps to Monday in 2020.
The 2021 race was delayed by a 5-hour and 40-minute crimson flag, and the 2024 race was postponed to Monday by storms.
Final yr, there was a three-hour, 10-minute crimson flag on Lap 9 due to rain.
