Daytona 500 Postponement Creates Monday Doubleheader

Rain has postponed the 66th Daytona 500 to Monday afternoon. (HHP/Chris Owens photo)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – With steady rain projected to continue throughout the day Sunday, and with no apparent window for racing, NASCAR officials made the early call to postpone the 66th Daytona 500 to Monday afternoon.

The green flag for the Great American Race will wave at 4 p.m. ET Monday, with racing airing on FOX, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

Announced at 9:30 a.m. ET Sunday, the decision creates a Monday NASCAR twinbill at Daytona Int’l Speedway for the first time in the history of Daytona Speedweeks presented by AdventHealth.

NASCAR Xfinity Series action will kick off the day at 11 a.m. ET Monday, after that series’ season-opening United Rentals 300 was pushed from Saturday afternoon to Monday due to the same sprawling storm system that rolled in and settled across Central Florida.

The Xfinity Series race will be followed by the 66th Daytona 500, making for 800 miles of racing in one action-packed day at the World Center of Racing.

When the Great American Race gets underway, Team Penske’s Joey Logano will lead the field to green from the pole position, joined by Front Row Motorsports’ Michael McDowell in the first Ford sweep of the Daytona 500 front row since 2012.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won last year’s Daytona 500 for JTG-Daugherty Racing, rolls off 35th after a rough Duel qualifying race on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney will begin his pursuit of the Harley J. Earl Trophy from the rear of the 40-car field due to a crash in his Duel that forced him to a backup car.

Five drivers – Anthony Alfredo, A.J. Allmendinger, Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek, and Daniel Suarez – will run double-duty Monday and compete in both the Xfinity Series and Cup Series races.

Of note, with the Daytona 500 shifting to Feb. 19, it will mean that the Cup Series races on the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports’ debut at the sport’s top level.

Then known as All-Star Racing, car owner Rick Hendrick fielded the No. 5 Chevrolet Monte Carlo for Geoff Bodine, with Harry Hyde as crew chief.

Bodine finished eighth in the 1984 Daytona 500 that day, a race won by Ranier-Lundy’s Cale Yarborough in what was Yarborough’s fourth and final Daytona 500 win.