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NASCAR fans who are eagerly awaiting the start of the 2024 season will have to wait one more day.
The Associated Press reported the Daytona 500 has been postponed until Monday due to inclement weather that has brought “two days of rain” to Daytona International Speedway.
The final practice on Saturday was canceled, and the Xfinity Series race was postponed to 11 a.m. ET on Monday. The Daytona 500 is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET.
The event was last postponed for a day in 2012. In 2020, the race ran for 20 laps before rain halted it, forcing drivers to restart the following day.
Postponing the event protects drivers and ensures that fans don’t have to endure unfavorable conditions. Earlier this month, the Clash at the Coliseum — an exhibition race — moved up one day due to heavy rainfall in Los Angeles.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano — the 2015 Daytona 500 winner — earned pole position on Wednesday night. The two-time Cup Series champion only won one race last season but believes he could rebound this year.
“I also know that a lot of times, more times than not, when we have an off year, the next year’s pretty damn strong,” he recently told MotorSport.com. “So, I feel like we can do that again.”
As of Sunday, DraftKings gives the 33-year-old the second-best odds (+950) to win the event behind Denny Hamlin (+850) of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of JTG Daugherty Racing won it last year, but he has work cut out for him. He’s starting in 35th position. The last driver to capture back-to-back Daytona 500 victories was Hamlin in 2020.
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