Dover XFINITY Series race moved up an hour to try to beat the rain
By Nick Tylwalk
It’s quite possibly going to be a race against the weather this Saturday at Dover, so NASCAR is moving up the XFINITY Series race to try to get it in.
The 2018 NASCAR season has already had more than its share of bad weather, with several races getting delayed or postponed. Dover International Speedway appears to be in the crosshairs of plenty of rain this weekend as well, which is why the NASCAR XFINITY Series race on Saturday afternoon just got an earlier start time.
NASCAR announced that the OneMain Financial 200 has been moved up an hour, and will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 5. The race will air on FS1 and MRN radio just as originally planned.
Weather Channel is calling for rain off and on throughout the weekend at Dover, though the forecast has improved some over the last 24 hours. The latest predictions make it appear the Camping World Truck Series race will get in without a hitch this afternoon before rain comes Friday night, and that rain might hold off until the evening on Saturday as well. But moving the XFINITY Series race still appears to be a great call.
There’s still cause for concern for Sunday and the AAA 400 Drive for Autism, with rain predicted for the morning. Dover International Speedway does not have lights, so realistically, the Cup Series race could only be delayed by a couple of hours before it would need to be bumped to Monday, and moving it up doesn’t appear to be possible since rain is in the forecast for the morning.
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NASCAR has yet to announce how the new OneMain Financial 200 start time will affect the rest of the Saturday on-track schedule, which includes the Cup Series final practice.