DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The green flag for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race for Saturday’s event at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway has been moved up an hour to 4:30 p.m. ET.
The command to start engines is set for 4:18 p.m. ET.
Earlier in the day, persistent rain led to NASCAR officials canceling Saturday morning’s final Daytona 500 practice session.
Xfinity Series qualifying was delayed as well, with the session not starting until 1:30 p.m ET.
Daytona 500 inspection will take place on Saturday and the garage area is open until 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
The weather system stretches all the way across the Gulf of Mexico and is slow-moving, with persistent light rain expected through Monday.
Most weather reports have a 95-percent chance of rain Saturday, a 95-percent chance of rain again on Sunday and a 60-percent chance of rain on Monday.
NASCAR officials are hoping there is a break in the system before announcing any further postponements or delays until later today.
After Friday evening’s final Daytona 500 practice, SPEED SPORT asked Richard Childress Racing driver and former Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon about the anxiety that comes with weather issues.
“I’ve got to be here either way, so I don’t look at the weather,” Austin Dillon said. “I know my job is to race until the race is over and then I get to go home. I try not to let it go into my mind.
“If I’m in a rain delay, I try to find something fun I can do in the meantime.
“I hate it for NASCAR, though. It’s a momentum killer for us. We want to show all of the fans and on TV how great of a sport we are right now and sometimes Mother Nature doesn’t work to our advantage.
“Maybe Sunday, it will change from here to then, but it doesn’t look great.”
More updates to come