UPDATE 10/27:
NASCAR officials have postponed the remainder of the Cup Series Playoff race from Texas Motor Speedway to a Wednesday restart because of persistent rain.
The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 started Sunday afternoon, and 52 of a scheduled 334 laps were complete before wet weather forced a red flag. The race was set to resume Monday, but ongoing showers pushed that plan to a proposed restart Wednesday at noon ET (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM).
A NASCAR official statement regarding the weather at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth track stated: “With continued moisture and low temperatures hampering drying efforts, as well as a similar forecast for the remainder of this evening at Texas Motor Speedway, the resumption of the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 has been pushed to Tuesday at 11 a.m. CT / Noon ET on NBCSN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.”
Clint Bowyer was scored as the race leader midway through the opening stage. His No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford took the top spot during Sunday’s third caution period and was ahead when officials made the decision to postpone.
Stage 1 is set to end on Lap 105 with Stage 2 to be complete on Lap 210. The race would be official at the halfway point (Lap 167).
Original Story:
Misting rain interrupted Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and ultimately forced postponement of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race until 10 a.m. ET Monday (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NASCAR called a caution on Lap 42 because of wet track conditions. In the second race of the Round of 8, the Cup cars ran 10 laps under caution before the sanctioning body brought the field to pit road and red-flagged the event.
The race will resume where Sunday’s event was stopped. Fifty-two of the 334 laps have been completed.
The forecast for Monday at Texas calls for a high of 50 degrees and an 88% chance of rain at the schedule resumption. Rain is in the forecast throughout the day.
Roughly half the field opted to pit under the caution, leaving Clint Bowyer and seven-time Texas winner Jimmie Johnson in the top two positions awaiting the resumption.
The two drivers who have dominated the series this season both had issues in the early going. Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford was a victim of the slick track on Lap 29, scraping the wall in the tri-oval when his car refused to turn.
Harvick made an unscheduled pit stop on Lap 32 and was 36th, one lap down, when the race was halted.
Denny Hamlin slipped up the track on a Lap 28 restart and fell back to 28th in the running order, but the driver of the No. 11 Toyota avoided contact with the wall and worked his way back to 15th by Lap 42.
