Mother Nature looks like it might want to rain on NASCAR’s parade Sunday, so the Cup Series race has been moved up.
We’re going racing earlier than expected on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Because of the threat of inclement weather, the NASCAR Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 will get underway 70 minutes before it was originally scheduled.
According to NASCAR.com, everything about the race is being bumped up by an hour and 10 minutes, so driver introductions will start at 12:15 p.m. ET. The FOX TV coverage, originally slated to start at 2:00 p.m., will now begin at 1:00 p.m., with the green flag time set for approximately 1:06 p.m.
Even that change might not help. Rain is expected in the Atlanta area by Sunday morning, with Weather Channel calling for a 50 percent chance of rain by the 9 o’clock hour and even more daunting forecasts for the time between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. There appears to be a possibility of rain all the way through Sunday night, with relief not coming until about 1:00 p.m. on Monday afternoon.
The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 has not had weather-related issues since it was moved from the fall to early in the NASCAR season in 2015. Prior to that, Atlanta races experienced delays or postponements three times since 2000, including the September 2011 race that was delayed from Sunday afternoon all the way until Tuesday morning before it was finally run.
Next: See the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 starting grid for Atlanta
If the race gets delayed because of rain, even if its held on Sunday, expect NASCAR to announce a competition caution during Stage 1 in order to give the teams some help in dealing with the green track. We’ll be sure to keep you posted if the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 is delayed again, and we’ll be doing our best anti-rain dance for the time being.