DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Rain could impact Sunday’s Daytona 500 even with the start of the race moved up from its original time.
The green flag is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET Sunday on Fox, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The Weather Underground forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with a high of 82 degrees, a 18% chance of rain and wind gusts of 20 mph at the start of the race.
The chances of rain, though, increase after that.
The hourly forecast calls for a 70% chance of thunderstorms at 3 p.m. ET, a 99% chance of thunderstorms at 4 p.m. ET, and a 97% chance of thunderstorms at 5 p.m. ET.
The chance of rain drops drops to less than 10% by 6 p.m. ET.
For a NASCAR Cup race to be considered official, it has to reach the halfway point or the the completion of Stage 2, whichever comes first. For the Daytona 500 to be considered official, 100 of the 200 laps would need to be completed.
Chase Briscoe will lead the field to the green flag for the Daytona 500 after winning the pole. He will be joined on the front row by Austin Cindric. Here is the rest of the starting lineup.
President Donald Trump is expected to be in attendance. He also was at the 2020 Daytona 500.
Driver introductions are scheduled for 12:50 p.m. ET. The invocation is schedule for 1:32 p.m. ET, the National Anthem is scheduled for 1:33 p.m. ET.
The command to fire engines is scheduled for 1:45 p.m. ET.
William Byron is the defending Daytona 500 winner.
