The 2024 NASCAR season will have to wait one more day before it officially commences.
Per ESPN, the season-opening Daytona 500 was postponed on Sunday and rescheduled to Monday at 4 p.m. ET due to inclement weather that brought "two days of rain" to Daytona International Speedway.
ESPN noted that there were already "heavy doubts" that the Daytona 500 would take place at its original start time on Sunday afternoon, as Saturday's final practice for the event and the scheduled Xfinity Series race were both canceled. The Xfinity Series race will now be held at 11 a.m. ET on Monday.
This is the first time a Daytona 500 has been postponed for a full day since 2012. In 2020, the race was halted due to rain after 20 laps and resumed the next day.
The early call on Sunday to cancel the Daytona 500 continues an effort by NASCAR to avoid forcing fans to sit through unpleasant weather conditions while waiting for a decision. Earlier this month, the exhibition Clash at the Coliseum was moved up one full day due to poor weather in the Los Angeles area.
Team Penske's Joey Logano, the 2015 Daytona 500 winner, won the pole position for this year's Daytona 500 on Wednesday night. Hendrick Motorsports drivers had won the pole at Daytona in eight of the last nine years, but the team's highest qualifier this time around was Kyle Larson in third.
2023 Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is starting from the 35th position as he looks to become the first driver to win the event in back-to-back years since Denny Hamlin did so in 2019 and 2020.
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