“No Chance” – Livid Fans Warn NASCAR Against Daytona 500 Hopes as Heavy Downpour Boots Xfinity to Monday

Once again, the rain decided to steal the spotlight on the NASCAR circuit, leaving the drivers waiting in the wings. The latest buzz is that the United Rentals 300, the Xfinity Race at Daytona, has been pushed to 11 a.m. ET Monday, with Fox Sports 1 set to capture all the action live. The relentless downpour in Daytona Beach, Fla., has thrown a wrench into the works, causing NASCAR to delay the eagerly awaited kickoff of the Xfinity Series season to Monday.

As for the Daytona 500, the jury’s still out, but given the current cloudburst, fans are betting their bottom dollar; it’s only a matter of time before the hammer drops on that too. With the track swimming under a blanket of rain, it’s hard to imagine the Daytona 500 going ahead as planned.

NASCAR insider reports green flag to Daytona 500 race

It looks like Bob Pockrass from Fox Sports isn’t batting an eye at the weather, as he wrote, “No change to the Cup on-track schedule Sunday for Daytona 500 — 3:11p ET green flag on FOX. … Xfinity is 11 am ET green Monday on FS1.” However, the forecast for Daytona Beach, Florida, is looking pretty soggy, with rain chances north of 80% until Sunday night and not dipping below 50% until the wee hours of Monday. If the much-anticipated Cup Series opener gets washed out on Sunday, it’ll likely take the stage following Monday’s Xfinity Series race. That event’s early start leaves enough elbow room for the 500 to roll out afterward.

Coming to the practice, Saturday morning saw the final Cup Series practice get axed. It was Denny Hamlin who topped the charts in Friday’s Daytona 500 practice, with Toyota drivers making a strong showing. The track was incident-free, though many drivers were testing the waters with their backup cars post-duel race crashes. Despite the final practice for the Daytona 500 being a no-show, NASCAR did sneak in a round of Xfinity Series qualifying on Saturday.

Talking of rain on NASCAR race days it has been a bit of a party crasher in recent Daytona 500s. The 2020 race got bumped to Monday, and the 2021 race wrapped up late on Sunday night, all thanks to the rain. This wet blanket has been hanging over the entire week leading up to the 500. NASCAR, playing it safe, shifted Saturday afternoon’s ARCA race to late Friday night, right after the Truck Series race.

NASCAR’s move was truly a masterstroke, ensuring the ARCA race didn’t overstay its welcome in Daytona and sparing teams the headache of an extended stay. The ARCA event, combined with the Truck race, turned out to be a caution-filled marathon, clocking 21 in total across the 180 laps split between the two races.

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Fans, reading the rain-soaked tea leaves, are almost convinced the Cup race at Daytona won’t escape a reschedule, with the announcement likely just around the corner.

Disheartened fans are guessing that the Cup race will also be postponed

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The moment Bob Pockrass broke the news about the Xfinity race’s shift to Monday, NASCAR fans were quick on the draw, betting their bottom dollar that the Daytona 500 would be next in line, thanks to the brewing storm.

One enthusiast threw in their two cents on Pockrass’s tweet, remarking,  “Good luck with that. No chance they get it in tomorrow,“ while another chimed in with, “I have a feeling you will be quoting this with a postponement announcement tomorrow at around noon.”

A succinct addition by another fan to the reporter’s tweet was just the word “Yet,” hinting at the inevitable delay. A more adamant spectator weighed in, “When will they look at postponing the 500? Seems like it should be sooner rather than later.”

Read More: Daytona Weekend Takes a Turn for the Worst as the Cup Series Practice Gets Cancelled

One fan didn’t mince words, labeling the wait-and-see approach as a slap in the face to fans: “The disregard shown to fans.” Meanwhile, a stats-savvy viewer pointed out, “Just as much rain tomorrow 🙄 And they think their going to get the 500 in! Not happening 😫.” 

Another fan laid their cards on the table, predicting, “Cup race will be postponed to Monday too.”

Well, do you also think that the Daytona 500 is on the brink of a rain check too?