Postponed
PGA Tour, NASCAR
INDIANAPOLIS – Weather wreaked havoc on Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, forcing NASCAR to postpone both of its scheduled races at the track until Monday.
The Brickyard 400, the final regular-season race of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, is now scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET (NBCSN).
The race was originally scheduled to go green Sunday at 2:19 before series and track officials made the decision on Saturday to move the green flag up to 1:06 in an attempt to build in more time to race at the legendary speedway. But as the rain continued to fall, it became clear that a Sunday race was not going to happen since IMS has no lights.
Besides being one of the premier races on the schedule, the Brickyard 400 will also determine the final two berths in the 16-driver playoff field. Many eyes will be on seven-time Cup champion and four-time Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson, who has not clinched a spot but sits 15th in the points standings.
Saturday’s Xfinity Series race had already been moved to Monday and will kick off the doubleheader at 10 a.m. ET. NBCSN will broadcast this race as well.
Monday’s forecast doesn’t show any rain.
“Once again, we’re very sorry the weather is creating this inconvenience for our loyal fans,” IMS President Doug Boles said in a news release. “The forecast looks much better for Monday, and everyone who comes to the Speedway will see 650 miles of exciting NASCAR action all in one day, with a handful of drivers attempting a ‘daily double’ of running in both races.”
This is the first time the Brickyard has been delayed a day by rain in the race’s 25-year history.
NASCAR initially moved the Brickyard from its usual July date to September in hopes to avoid sweltering temperatures.
But there was no escaping the weather Sunday. Temperatures hovered around 60 degrees, but the rain forced a washout. The average precipitation is 3.12 inches. Indianapolis has had more than 4.5 inches in the past three days.
Ayello writes for The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network