{"id":901129,"date":"2026-09-19T01:56:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T01:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/901129\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T01:56:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T01:56:16","slug":"is-the-nascar-race-at-bristol-delayed-today-when-will-it-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/901129\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the NASCAR Race at Bristol Delayed Today? When Will it Start?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Cars\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Is the NASCAR race at Bristol delayed today? Here\u2019s the latest weather update and when the Food City 300 is expected to start.<\/p>\n

Rain and lightning shut down Bristol Motor Speedway Friday, raising the possibility of a delay in the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series Food City 300 and testing Sheldon Creed\u2019s points lead in the O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase.<\/p>\n

Creed built that edge with a win and a runner-up to open the Chase, but a long wait now raises questions about track position and tire strategy heading into stage racing.<\/p>\n

When will the race start? \u201cSorry just don\u2019t know,\u201d wrote NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass<\/a> at about 7:05 p.m. ET. \u201cRain has mostly stopped but there is a possibility of more rain. My guess would be 8ish but that is a guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it turned out, engines were fired at 7:33 p.m. even as drying of the pit road<\/a> continued. As a result, NASCAR added extra pace laps before the green flag was waved, to allow more time for drying. At about 7:40 NASCAR deemed the track dry enough to race on, meaning the actual delay in the green flag would be a bit more than 10 minutes.<\/p>\n

Lightning cleared Bristol\u2019s grandstands around 3:30 p.m. ET, kicking off a string of extended holds documented on Bristol Motor Speedway\u2019s weekend weather page<\/a>. NASCAR called off O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifying by 4:05 p.m., pushing the Food City 300 lineup to the sanctioning body\u2019s metric formula.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s forecast called for roughly even odds of rain with highs in the upper 80s, and scattered storms delivered on that promise all afternoon, according to an afternoon rundown of the delay<\/a>. Observations from the area airport put temperatures near 73 degrees with humidity above 85 percent as the evening hold dragged on, according to the National Weather Service\u2019s Bristol-area forecast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rain odds were sliding by early evening. Hourly odds showed chances near 65 percent around 6 p.m. dropping toward 15 percent by 9 p.m., with lows near 66 degrees overnight, according to WeatherBug\u2019s hourly Bristol rain forecast data<\/a>. Bristol Motor Speedway\u2019s own updates still listed the Food City 300 as on schedule as of 6:07 p.m., even after Cup Series practice was scrapped.<\/p>\n

NASCAR O\u2019REILLY AUTO PARTS SERIES \u2014 FOOD CITY 300 STARTING LINEUP<\/p>\n

Bristol Motor Speedway \u2022 O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Series<\/p>\n

Row
\nPos
\nCar
\nDriver
\nTeam<\/p>\n

1
\n1
\n2
\nJesse Love (C)
\nSamsara Chevrolet<\/p>\n

2
\n00
\nSheldon Creed (C)
\nOllie\u2019s Chevrolet<\/p>\n

2
\n3
\n41
\nSam Mayer (C)
\nStarkey Chevrolet<\/p>\n

4
\n1
\nCarson Kvapil (C)
\nBass Pro Shops Chevrolet<\/p>\n

3
\n5
\n54
\nTaylor Gray (C)
\nOperation 300 Toyota<\/p>\n

6
\n19
\nBrent Crews # (C)
\nYoungLife Toyota<\/p>\n

4
\n7
\n99
\nParker Retzlaff (C)
\nFree Bird Southern Spring Water Chevrolet<\/p>\n

8
\n8
\nSammy Smith (C)
\nPilot Chevrolet<\/p>\n

5
\n9
\n7
\nJustin Allgaier (C)
\nBRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet<\/p>\n

10
\n88
\nRajah Caruth (C)
\nHendrickCars.com Chevrolet<\/p>\n

6
\n11
\n20
\nBrandon Jones<\/a> (C)
\nMenards\/SunnyD Toyota<\/p>\n

12
\n26
\nDean Thompson
\nThompson Pipe Group Toyota<\/p>\n

7
\n13
\n27
\nJeb Burton
\nSprayway Chevrolet<\/p>\n

14
\n39
\nRyan Sieg
\nSciAps Chevrolet<\/p>\n

8
\n15
\n28
\nKyle Sieg
\nSustainachem Chevrolet<\/p>\n

16
\n18
\nWilliam Sawalich
\nSoundGear Toyota<\/p>\n

9
\n17
\n44
\nBrennan Poole
\nMacc Door Systems Chevrolet<\/p>\n

18
\n48
\nPatrick Staropoli #
\nSyfovre Chevrolet<\/p>\n

10
\n19
\n96
\nAnthony Alfredo
\nDude Wipes Fragrance Free Chevrolet<\/p>\n

20
\n21
\nAustin Hill<\/a> (C)
\nBennett Transportation Chevrolet<\/p>\n

11
\n21
\n31
\nBlaine Perkins
\nCapriccio Red Blend Sangria Chevrolet<\/p>\n

22
\n92
\nJosh Williams<\/a>
\nKK\u2019s Diecast Chevrolet<\/p>\n

12
\n23
\n32
\nAndrew Patterson
\nWinsupply Chevrolet<\/p>\n

24
\n91
\nStefan Parsons (i)
\nDavid\u2019s Electric Chevrolet<\/p>\n

13
\n25
\n0
\nGarrett Smithley
\nNorth Georgia Spring Chevrolet<\/p>\n

26
\n17
\nCorey Day (C)
\nHendrickCars.com Chevrolet<\/p>\n

14
\n27
\n02
\nRyan Ellis
\nTablo TV Chevrolet<\/p>\n

28
\n07
\nJosh Bilicki
\nMando Chevrolet<\/p>\n

15
\n29
\n51
\nJeremy Clements
\nOne Stop Convenience\/AllSouthElectric Chevrolet<\/p>\n

30
\n55
\nDavid Starr
\nMarathon Coach Chevrolet<\/p>\n

16
\n31
\n42
\nLogan Bearden
\nT3 Vodka Chevrolet<\/p>\n

32
\n45
\nLavar Scott #
\nTruShine Car Wash Chevrolet<\/p>\n

17
\n33
\n87
\nNick Sanchez (i)
\nPeterson Racing Group Chevrolet<\/p>\n

34
\n24
\nHarrison Burton
\nKlutch Vodka Toyota<\/p>\n

18
\n35
\n53
\nCarson Ware
\nfrik.io Chevrolet<\/p>\n

36
\n9
\nJake Finch
\nO\u2019Reilly Auto Parts Chevrolet<\/p>\n

19
\n37
\n47
\nNatalie Decker (i)
\nT.N Dickinson\u2019s Witch Hazel Chevrolet<\/p>\n

38
\n38
\nJJ Yeley
\nFord<\/p>\n

Did Not Qualify: #43 Landon S. Huffman. Track Race Record: Elliott Sadler, 03\/17\/12, 1:41:16, 94.74 mph. Bristol Motor Speedway. Data provided by NASCAR Statistics, 9\/18\/2026.<\/p>\n

Jesse Love, Sheldon Creed Set Bristol Lineup<\/p>\n

Jesse Love starts on the pole in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, with Creed lined up second in the No. 00 Haas Factory Team car, according to Jayski\u2019s O\u2019Reilly Series race page<\/a>. Sam Mayer, Carson Kvapil and Taylor Gray fill out the top five, and Justin Allgaier starts ninth, according to The Tennessean\u2018s coverage<\/a>. Chase contenders Brandon Jones, Austin Hill and Corey Day start 11th, 20th and 26th, respectively, and Landon Huffman failed to qualify.<\/p>\n

NASCAR insider Bob Pockrass reported mid-afternoon that lightning remained a threat and that a few drops had begun falling by 4:55 p.m. As of that update, NASCAR had not pushed the race off its 7:30 p.m. target.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

What a Delay Means for Sheldon Creed\u2019s Chase Lead<\/p>\n

A same-night delay would leave Love and Creed\u2019s front-row starting spots intact, though NASCAR\u2019s revised wet-weather rules now let teams decide independently when to swap rain tires for slicks, according to NASCAR\u2019s newly revised wet-tire protocol rules<\/a>. That flexibility puts extra pressure on strategy for cars starting deep, including Hill and Day.<\/p>\n

A national-series race becomes official at the halfway point or the end of Stage 2, whichever comes first \u2014 lap 150 or lap 170 of Friday\u2019s scheduled 300. Rain after that threshold hands the win to whoever leads at the time. A stoppage before it sends NASCAR toward resuming later or postponing outright rather than naming a winner. Either way, Friday\u2019s metric lineup carries over to any makeup date, and Chase points stay frozen until the Food City 300 goes official.<\/p>\n

Bristol\u2019s lights mean darkness alone won\u2019t stop the race; only standing water or active lightning can. Concrete dries fast once storms clear, which is why track officials kept Friday\u2019s 7:30 p.m. green-flag target on the board even as rain pushed through the area.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tJonathan Vankin<\/a> JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist who covers MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, boxing, golf, and Olympic sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Newspaper and Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering the Olympics, pro baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Is the NASCAR race at Bristol delayed today? Here\u2019s the latest weather update and when the Food…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":901130,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-901129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/901130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}