Daytona 500
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This is definitely the most promising situation since the rain began. Haven't had any new moisture for nearly an hour, the track's an encouraging light grey now, crews are out in force on pitlane...
Concerted track drying efforts are underway and there is a definite break in the rain.
But we have had a warning from NASCAR officials not to get too excited, underlining that the hour-and-a-half drying time predicted with Air Titan was based on having some warmth in the air from daytime and sunshine too. Track drying at night is going to take longer, so we could be two hours away from resuming still.
But we have had a warning from NASCAR officials not to get too excited, underlining that the hour-and-a-half drying time predicted with Air Titan was based on having some warmth in the air from daytime and sunshine too. Track drying at night is going to take longer, so we could be two hours away from resuming still.
Air Titans
This is the scene now: Air Titans by starlight.
Quote
Polesitter Dillon predicts that after what's likely to be a five-hour wait, the drivers are going to be pretty antsy:
"I think once everybody gets our of their motorhomes, it's going to get wild for a bit then I think it will calm down again."
Dillon led the opening lap then slipped back into the pack and played it cool for a while. He'll restart from 10th place.
"I think once everybody gets our of their motorhomes, it's going to get wild for a bit then I think it will calm down again."
Dillon led the opening lap then slipped back into the pack and played it cool for a while. He'll restart from 10th place.
When this does get going, we'd appreciate it if no one crashed into a jet dryer and no holes opened up in the track. That would be great.
Rain
This latest burst of rain has caused track drying operations to pause again. There is, according to all weather predictions we can find, an end to the rain imminent, and NASCAR has so far been absolutely determined that it will wait as long as it takes to get the full 500 in tonight. But it's going to be a late one.
Rain
AUTOSPORT apologises for typing that optimistic note. That's caused it to start raining again. We're sorry. No more optimism.
Rain
General optimism about the weather. We've had some false dawns in the last few hours, but it does look like the rain has now pretty much passed and the current track-drying blitz is going to be the final push required... Fingers crossed. Still a lot of work to do to make the track dry enough for racing, though.
Daytona
Scene at Daytona now - this is definitely a night race.
The rain delay has now been so long that American TV has been able to replay the entire 2013 Daytona 500... and that means Jimmie Johnson is now receiving a host of congratulatory tweets...
Back in the real 2014 world, he's sat in the Hendrick truck waiting for the rain to stop and the track to dry, and is currently in 38th place.
Back in the real 2014 world, he's sat in the Hendrick truck waiting for the rain to stop and the track to dry, and is currently in 38th place.
Twitter
A potentially popular suggestion from Roush Fenway Racing:
"Someone should put Days of Thunder on the big screens here."
"Someone should put Days of Thunder on the big screens here."
Rain
Been a while since the really intense rain stopped, but still every time it seems like the track drying is making progress, another shower picks up.
Quote
It won't make too much difference in the Daytona 500 - a race where no one is going to settle for second-place points unless they have to - but NASCAR's dramatic revamp of its title system is going to set the tone of the rest of the year.
Sixteen drivers will get into the Chase, and four will be eliminated from title contention every three races in the 'play-offs', leaving us with a four-way winner-takes-all shootout for the championship in the Homestead finale.
Controversial? Definitely. It turns traditional motorsport points thinking on its head.
But four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon quite likes it:
"When the driver gets out of the car and says 'well you know, third place today, it was a good points day'. That just doesn't sit well with anybody, not even us.
"We don't want to say that. We don't want to say anything other than we won, and if we didn't win, that wasn't a good day. It's win or nothing and that's the attitude you want to have.
"Whatever points system is in place I still think the best team is going to win, because the best teams know how to put themselves in position to have things go their way."
Sixteen drivers will get into the Chase, and four will be eliminated from title contention every three races in the 'play-offs', leaving us with a four-way winner-takes-all shootout for the championship in the Homestead finale.
Controversial? Definitely. It turns traditional motorsport points thinking on its head.
But four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon quite likes it:
"When the driver gets out of the car and says 'well you know, third place today, it was a good points day'. That just doesn't sit well with anybody, not even us.
"We don't want to say that. We don't want to say anything other than we won, and if we didn't win, that wasn't a good day. It's win or nothing and that's the attitude you want to have.
"Whatever points system is in place I still think the best team is going to win, because the best teams know how to put themselves in position to have things go their way."
Rain
Organisers remain determined to run the full distance (162 laps to go) tonight if at all possible, and the current weather forecasts make that look do-able.
Rain
It's no longer pouring, but it is still drizzling. Track drying machinery is still doing its best.
Some semi-interesting facts to wow your friends and family with:
*The average speed of the race - with 37 laps complete - is 136.489 mph.
*Hamlin set the quickest lap at 196.053 mph, which he achieved on lap four.
*The average speed of the race - with 37 laps complete - is 136.489 mph.
*Hamlin set the quickest lap at 196.053 mph, which he achieved on lap four.
Twitter
Twitter's giving us a bit of insight into how drivers are keeping themselves occupied during the rain delay.
Brad Keselowski is watching TV, Ricky Stenhouse Jr is watching some supercross he taped last night and Clint Bowyer lit a candle, took a picture of it, then invited his followers for a "fireside Q&A".
The latter has so far been a bit... sinister in places. He's been offered birthday cake and asked what he's wearing.
Brad Keselowski is watching TV, Ricky Stenhouse Jr is watching some supercross he taped last night and Clint Bowyer lit a candle, took a picture of it, then invited his followers for a "fireside Q&A".
The latter has so far been a bit... sinister in places. He's been offered birthday cake and asked what he's wearing.
Rain
How late is NASCAR willing to go tonight...? A 9pm (local time) start if necessary has been mooted as an absolute last resort. That's a little over four hours from now.
Rain
Just passed two and a half hours since it began raining, and there's drizzle picking up again.
Air Titan
Here's a shot of the weather versus Air Titan battle currently happening on the track at Daytona.
Allmendinger will restart 15th when the track is dry. He's got a full-time deal with JTG Daugherty Racing this year after his trial runs in place of Bobby Labonte during 2013.
Rain
Track drying now underway in earnest again, growing optimism at the track about the chances of the race happening today.
Some weather sources are predicting more rain to come, though.
Some weather sources are predicting more rain to come, though.
Should've added 'and mid-1990s CART Indycar star Robby Gordon' to that description, of course.
Twitter
Paul Tracy isn't the only one caught out by the American broadcaster replaying the 2013 Daytona 500 during the rain delay. Sometime NASCAR racer turned cross-country rally man Robby Gordon is gleefully retweeting people praising Danica Patrick's performance without realising they're watching a re-run...
NNS
Unlike its premier counterpart, the season opening Nationwide race ran uninterrupted at Daytona yesterday.
Regan Smith took the chequered flag ahead of Brad Keselowski, who he passed on the high side after a green-white-chequer finish.
The gap between the duo was a mere 0.013 seconds - the second-closest series victory at the Daytona International Speedway.
It was also a close finish in Friday's Camping World Truck Series race as Kyle Busch pipped Timothy Peters by just 0.016 seconds.
Rain
In slightly encouraging weather news, the rain has at least eased enough for it to be worth getting Air Titan going again.
Twitter
Oh turns out Tracy didn't realise his TV station was now replaying the 2013 500 during the rain delay:
"Shit this is last year's race"
"Shit this is last year's race"
Twitter
While current IndyCar frontrunner Marco Andretti announced earlier that he was bored with the single-file racing and heading for the gym, 2003 Champ Car champion Paul Tracy has stuck with Daytona coverage into the rain delay and just tweeted this picture of his sofa and socks.
Montoya Daytona crash 2012
Only once has the Daytona 500 ever been postponed beyond its scheduled day.
That was two years ago, when persistent rain on the planned Sunday meant it didn't start until Monday... and then got interrupted and delayed further when Juan Pablo Montoya crashed into a jet-dryer, which then exploded (as the picture shows).
The race eventually finished around 1am on Tuesday.
A total of 39 laps were completed before the heavens opened. The running order? Well that looks something like this:
1. Kyle Busch; 2 Kahne; 3 Hamlin; 4 Vickers; 5 Menard; 6 Keselowski; 7 Gordon; 8 Logano; 9 Stenhouse; 10 Dillon.
11 Kurt Busch; 12 Cassill; 13 Scott; 14 Bayne; 15 Allmendinger; 16 Sorenson; 17 Bowman; 18 Earnhardt; 19 Mears; 20 Whitt.
21 Terry Labonte; 22 Ambrose; 23 Allgaier; 24 Biffle; 25 Bobby Labonte; 26 Annett; 27 Kenseth; 28 Harvick; 29 Kligerman; 30 Almirola.
31 Wise; 32 Edwards; 33 Patrick; 34 Stewart; 35 Bowyer; 36 Ragan; 37 Gilliland; 38 Johnson; 39 Waltrip; 40 Newman.
41 McMurray; 42 Larson.
Truex is the only retirement so far after his engine went kaput on lap 31.
1. Kyle Busch; 2 Kahne; 3 Hamlin; 4 Vickers; 5 Menard; 6 Keselowski; 7 Gordon; 8 Logano; 9 Stenhouse; 10 Dillon.
11 Kurt Busch; 12 Cassill; 13 Scott; 14 Bayne; 15 Allmendinger; 16 Sorenson; 17 Bowman; 18 Earnhardt; 19 Mears; 20 Whitt.
21 Terry Labonte; 22 Ambrose; 23 Allgaier; 24 Biffle; 25 Bobby Labonte; 26 Annett; 27 Kenseth; 28 Harvick; 29 Kligerman; 30 Almirola.
31 Wise; 32 Edwards; 33 Patrick; 34 Stewart; 35 Bowyer; 36 Ragan; 37 Gilliland; 38 Johnson; 39 Waltrip; 40 Newman.
41 McMurray; 42 Larson.
Truex is the only retirement so far after his engine went kaput on lap 31.
Breaking news
News from elsewhere in racing today:
Romain Grosjean swapped Bahrain F1 testing for Moscow ice racing
And Jacques Villeneuve likes Lydden!
Romain Grosjean swapped Bahrain F1 testing for Moscow ice racing
And Jacques Villeneuve likes Lydden!
Rain
Rain update: Some more rain just turned up. Chances of this becoming a night race are increasing.
As wet as this is right now, the odds of getting the race done tonight are still good.
Daytona is well prepared with floodlights and NASCAR's preference is to get the race in on the scheduled day if at all possible.
It can be declared official if half distance is reached.
Daytona is well prepared with floodlights and NASCAR's preference is to get the race in on the scheduled day if at all possible.
It can be declared official if half distance is reached.
Breaking news
Here's a quick recap of events so far:
* Hamlin and Kurt Busch lead most of the early laps
* Kyle Busch hits the front just before rain arrives and causes a red flag after 38 laps
* Front row qualifier Martin Truex Jr has engine failure while recovering from having to start last in back-up car due to Duel shunt
* Rookie Kyle Larson has two crashes in first 30 laps
* Hamlin and Kurt Busch lead most of the early laps
* Kyle Busch hits the front just before rain arrives and causes a red flag after 38 laps
* Front row qualifier Martin Truex Jr has engine failure while recovering from having to start last in back-up car due to Duel shunt
* Rookie Kyle Larson has two crashes in first 30 laps
Rain
rain
Some good weather news: we hear the tornado warning has been called off. Just lightning now. And another big blob of it heading Speedway-wards on the radar.
Landon Cassill is currently listed in 12th place with the Hillman team's Chevrolet.
That would already be enough to earn him an AUTOSPORT underdog appreciation nod even without the added fact that he's racing despite being hit by a car while out cycling last week:
"It's actually healed pretty well. I'm really lucky. Got some road rash on my arms and legs. Inside of my knees were bruised up pretty badly.
"But my face took most of the fall. Just the chin."
That would already be enough to earn him an AUTOSPORT underdog appreciation nod even without the added fact that he's racing despite being hit by a car while out cycling last week:
"It's actually healed pretty well. I'm really lucky. Got some road rash on my arms and legs. Inside of my knees were bruised up pretty badly.
"But my face took most of the fall. Just the chin."
Twitter
Martin Truex Jr, whose engine blew on lap 28 as he was making rapid progress back up through the field, is finding this rain delay particularly frustrating as his Furniture Row team would probably have time to repair his car if rules allowed.
"Too bad we can't just put a new engine in"
"Too bad we can't just put a new engine in"
Twitter
Stewart-Haas is tweeting away undaunted:
"It used to be known as the Bermuda Square until #AirTitan made it a triangle."
Right now even Air Titan is defeated, though.
"It used to be known as the Bermuda Square until #AirTitan made it a triangle."
Right now even Air Titan is defeated, though.
Rain
Those issuing the weather warnings weren't joking. The infield grass is covered in big puddles now. You really wouldn't want to go off in that.
By: Matt Beer, Dan Cross
Published:
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