NASCAR race weather updates: Rain in forecast postpones Bristol dirt race to Monday

Tom Gatto

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NASCAR race weather updates: Rain in forecast postpones Bristol dirt race to Monday image

A weekend washout postponed NASCAR's plans for a historic Cup Series dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway. 

After rain canceled Saturday's qualifying, more ominous weather in the forecast for Sunday's race forced NASCAR to move its plans to Monday with the Cup Series race now scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET.

NASCAR said it decided to postpone the races "due to overnight weather and forecast (and) the Sullivan County flood warnings and safety concerns."

Rain returned to the track after storms Saturday forced NASCAR to cancel Cup and Truck series qualifying races and postpone the Truck Series main race. The trucks managed a few laps of heat racing before the track turned into a muddy mess.

Below are the moments that led to NASCAR's decision to cancel the heat races and postpone the Truck and Cup races, and a look at what's ahead for Monday.

MORE: Lineup for Bristol race without qualifying

NASCAR race weather updates

SUNDAY, MARCH 27: 

Racing conditions are expected to be good enough for NASCAR to finally get the race in on Monday.

The National Weather Service had more bad news for Bristol heading into Sunday:

Showers and thunderstorms before noon, then showers likely. Some of the storms could be severe. Patchy fog between 10am and 11am. High near 66. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible. Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 7pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 34. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

The green flag for the Cup Series race is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET and the green flag for the rescheduled Truck Series race is set for approximately 9 p.m. ET. The above forecast makes neither start time look realistic. It raises the possibility of a doubleheader Monday, when clear conditions are expected.

SATURDAY, MARCH 26: Severe weather remained in the area after NASCAR called off racing Saturday night.

The radar painted a gloomy picture after the trucks were ordered off the track.

NASCAR canceled the heat races and postponed the truck main at 6 p.m. ET.

There was always a threat Saturday of thunderstorms and hail turning the track into muck.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.