Daytona 500 Red Flagged For Rain After 20 Laps

UPDATE: 6:50 PM ET February 16, 2020:

The 2020 Daytona 500, which completed 20 laps on Sunday will be postponed until Monday at 4:00 PM ET due to persistent rain.

Coverage will begin on FOX at 4PM ET on Monday.

UPDATE: 6:30 PM ET February 16, 2020:

It now looks like a potential Sunday restart of the Daytona 500 will have to wait as rain has moistened the backstretch just as the track was just about dry.

Still in a holding pattern.

UPDATE: 6:25 PM ET February 16, 2020:

NASCAR has instructed teams to pull the covers off the cars for an attempt at a race restart for the 2020 Daytona 500. Teams are scrambling to get ready to race.

UPDATE: 6:11 PM ET February 16, 2020: Rain has been persistent, and the radar doesn’t look favorable in the near future. However, according to Brian Neudorff (@NASCAR_WXman on Twitter) there should be a stoppage of rain around 8-9 PM ET. After drying takes place, the track would be ready to race around 10-11 PM ET.

Radar 5:38 pm EST – next rain 30-45 min out – spoke with @RaceWeather our thoughts:
Rain ends 8-9 pm (hoping earlier)
Track drying – est. poss restart between 10-11 pm… That’s our thoughts on tonight – it just depends on what #NASCAR’s decision is… pic.twitter.com/zuZSd7zpMG

— Brian Neudorff (@NASCAR_WXMAN) February 16, 2020

Of course, this all depends on if NASCAR and FOX are willing to wait this long.

If the race doesn’t happen today, the reschedule time for Monday still looks like it will be 4:00 PM ET on FOX.

The 2020 Daytona 500 has already been mired by weather.

The race was delayed on the initial start by rain, after President Donald Trump gave the command to start engines, and then paced the field in his Presidential Limousine.

As the field was ready to take the green flag, the rain began and delayed the start.

However, the race would eventually go green, but then another pop-up shower stopped the race after 20 laps.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has led every lap from the green flag from the pole.

Stenhouse, in a Chevy, was trailed by five Fords in Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Ryan Newman, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski.

William Byron was seventh at the time of red-flag, Jimmie Johnson was eighth and Ty Dillon was ninth.

Timmy Hill, who has been the intriguing underdog story of Speedweeks, rounds out the top-10 in the running order after the first 20 laps.

A few minutes after the red flag came out, the rain really started to pick up heavily. Currently, it doesn’t look like the rain should stick around for very long, but if the rain does persist, the NASCAR Cup Series action would resume on Monday at 4:00 PM ET.