NASCAR at Texas rain delay updates: 2020 Cup Series playoff race pushed to Wednesday

By | October 28, 2020
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NASCAR’s Round of 8 playoff race at Texas on Sunday was suspended by persistent mist after just 52 laps.

The tentative plan on Monday was to begin the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at 10 a.m. ET. However, a steady rain caused the race to be postponed until Tuesday at noon ET and then pushed even further to Wednesday at 3 p.m. The race will restart at Lap 53 with Clint Bowyer in the lead.

Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top five when the race was suspended.

Truex Jr. was docked 20 points for failing a pre-race inspection — a punishment that will stand despite the postponement — and is now in serious trouble in his pursuit of a spot in the championship. There are only three positions remaining after Joey Logano’s win last weekend.

The main one-on-one battle to watch out for Wednesday is between Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott, who are separated by eight points on either side of the cut-off line.

Below are the Cup Series drivers still championship eligible, ranked by points:

Pos. Driver Distance from cut-off
1 Joey Logano ADV
2 Kevin Harvick +41
3 Denny Hamlin +20
4 Brad Keselowski +8
CUT-OFF CUT-OFF CUT-OFF
5 Chase Elliott -8
6 Alex Bowman -27
7 Martin Truex Jr. -51
8 Kurt Busch -73

Sporting News tried to track live updates and highlights from Sunday’s NASCAR race at Texas, but instead became a weather blog. You can follow that journey below.

MORE: Watch Tuesday’s postponed NASCAR race live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

NASCAR at Texas weather updates from 2020 playoff race

(All times Eastern)

Tuesday, Oct. 27

8 p.m.: The mist picks up again and NASCAR decides to pull the plug. Wednesday at 3 p.m. is the new scheduled start time.

6:39 p.m.: Maybe an 8:30 p.m. start? NASCAR is cautiously optimistic.

6:15 p.m.: Hey, a dry spot! We did it! (The track is definitely not yet ready for a race.)

5:20 p.m.: A good point by Kurt Busch. Clint Bowyer is technically still in the lead.

4:25 p.m.: It’s a never-ending cycle.

2:50 p.m.: The Air Titans take another trip out to the track.

1:55 p.m.: The dreaded mist has returned.

1:05 p.m.: Someone check on Corey LaJoie. He is slowly descending into madness.

12:15 p.m.: NASCAR makes it official.

11:50 a.m.: Another beautiful day at Texas Motor Speedway! Push that start time back.

11 a.m.: Get comfortable, folks. That noon start time isn’t looking good right now.

Monday, Oct. 26

6 p.m.: NASCAR’s calling it. We’ll try again at noon ET on Tuesday:

5:58 p.m.: NASCAR may be fighting a losing battle today. The jet driers are off.

5:25 p.m.: NASCAR is doing everything in its power to get drivers back on the track.

4:30 p.m.: Here we go again. Keep those fingers crossed.

3:45 p.m.: The track-drying efforts have stopped, and the mist is back.

3:05 p.m.: Not ready to race yet, but a positive development.

2 p.m.: Let’s give the Air Titans another shot.

1:25 p.m.: The Air Titans have to hit the bench.

12:45 p.m.: NBCSN’s Parker Kligerman with a hard-hitting report.

12:05 p.m.: Mother Nature is not helping out NASCAR here.

11:15 a.m.: Still no new start time, but the crews are making some progress.

10:40 a.m.: NASCAR is taking advantage of this window and attempting to dry the track.

10:05 a.m.: The race is now officially delayed.

9:50 a.m.: It looks like the postponed race is going to be delayed.

Sunday, Oct. 25

8:42 p.m.: The race has been postponed to tomorrow morning.

8:37 p.m.: There hasn’t been a peep about NASCAR’s thinking in a while, but it’s fair to assume a decision is coming in the next hour or so. A midnight race doesn’t seem feasible.

7:55 p.m.: Here’s another look at what NASCAR is dealing with.

7:30 p.m.: Texas Motor Speedway issues a statement that doesn’t tell us much we didn’t already know.

7:09 p.m.: Still in a waiting period of NASCAR trying to dry off the track and seeing whether the mist goes away. Again, Texas does have lights, so there is still time to get this in before the race needs to be postponed.

6:56 p.m.: NASCAR has brought its drying machines back out, for what it’s worth. But no official word on when a restart might happen.

6:37 p.m.: Good news. Maybe.

6:15 p.m.: Here’s the current view of the track.

6:02 p.m.: What a weird weather pattern in Texas. It’s a fog-like mist, not downpour, that’s keeping us waiting.

5:48 p.m.: Alex Bowman shares his perspective of the delay.

5:38 p.m.: NASCAR says it’s making negative progress.

5:26 p.m.: Cars remain covered at Texas.

4:55 p.m.: It could be a long while until we see a green flag.

4:48 p.m.: Texas does have lights, for what it’s worth.

4:35 p.m.: Red flag.

4:30 p.m.: Harvick is struggling to figure out what’s wrong with his car after hitting the wall.

4:28 p.m.: Yikes.

4:19 p.m.: Caution finally out for the weather.

4:16 p.m.: Harvick’s team is upset the race isn’t yellow for the moisture.

4:15 p.m.: There’s a low mist that might be making the track surface slick.

4:13 p.m.: Harvick into the wall.

4:11 p.m.: Green at Lap 27.

4:03 p.m.: Caution for JJ Yeley.

4:00 p.m.: Kevin Harvick is maintaining an early lead.

3:56 p.m.: Back to green.

3:53 p.m.: Caution for Chris Buescher on the fifth lap.

3:49 p.m.: Green flag.

3:48 p.m.: Truex Jr. sends a message to his team.

3:30 p.m.: The green flag is supposed to come at 3:47 p.m. Pre-race ceremonies are underway.

NASCAR race start time today

The Round of 8 NASCAR playoff race at Texas on Tuesday is scheduled to begin at about noon ET.

The race is 334 laps spread over three stages and will become official after Lap 167. The distance of the race is 501 miles.

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