Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway was postponed until Monday 3 p.m. ET (FOX) because of inclement weather.
About an hour before the green flag for the GEICO 500 was scheduled at 3:24 p.m. ET, lightning near the central Alabama track — NASCAR’s longest track at 2.66 miles — put the pre-race theatrics on hold. Not long after, a thunderstorm took over with heavy rain and high winds, according to the media pool report, and delayed the start of the race.
Around 4 p.m. ET, NASCAR began trying to dry the track, but when the rain picked back up again, it opted to postpone the race. As FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass has noted, NASCAR typically won’t start a race if it doesn’t think it can complete it that day, and the Talladega track does not have lights.
A little after 5 p.m. ET, NASCAR announced the race had been postponed.
The 188-lap, 500-mile race is now scheduled for Monday afternoon. But as of Sunday evening, the National Weather Service predicts showers and thunderstorms are likely, especially in the afternoon with a 60 percent chance of rain.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin — whose No. 11 Toyota will have a paint scheme honoring the National Civil Rights Museum for this race — are set to start on the front row. Here’s the full starting lineup for Talladega.
The GEICO 500 was originally scheduled for April, but it was among the eight races postponed or canceled this spring because of the COVID-19 (coronavirus outbreak).
