UPDATE: NASCAR will hold a practice for the NASCAR Cup Series, after all.
The sanctioning body confirmed on Friday that all NASCAR Cup Series drivers and teams will get a 25-minute practice session on SATURDAY at 2:00 pm ET. Qualifying has been pushed back and will start at 2:40 pm ET instead.
NASCAR Cup Series practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway has been axed.
The 50-minute session was scheduled to begin shortly after the end of NASCAR Xfinity Series practice at the 2.5-mile superspeedway, but didn’t get the chance to get underway when a lightning strike occurred within eight miles of the racetrack.
By rule, when a lightning strike is within a certain radius of the racetrack, on-track activity must halt for at least 30 minutes. While waiting for that lightning clock to expire, though, the rain came and soaked the 2.5-mile speedway in Speedway, Indiana.
With both the ARCA Menards Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series hitting the racetrack at Indianapolis Raceway Park this afternoon, it wouldn’t be conducive to wait out the rain for a practice session for the NASCAR Cup Series.
Now, the 39 drivers entered in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 will hit the racetrack for the first time on Saturday, for single-vehicle qualifying. That session will take place at 2:30 pm ET on TruTV, IMS Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
The ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will attempt to get their on-track activity in the books on Friday, before all focus turns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday for the Pennzoil 250 and Sunday for the Brickyard 400.
