NASCAR rain delay updates: Tracking Charlotte weather forecast for Thursday's postponed Cup rac

Jacob Hancock

NASCAR rain delay updates: Tracking Charlotte weather forecast for Thursday's postponed Cup rac image

A NASCAR Cup Series race had been slated to take place for the fourth time in 11 days until the Alsco Uniforms 500 was postponed to Thursday.

The abundance of live racing action has been a welcomed return to normalcy — or at least something resembling normalcy — during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has shut down most of the sports world. But the rain has not. Several races have been interrupted or shortened by the rain since NASCAR's return, and it happened again Wednesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR decided to push the Alsco Uniforms 500 back one day to 7 p.m. on Thursday. After 31 laps, the race got put under the red flag due to lightning in the area. 

Sporting News is tracking the weather updates for the Alsco Unforms 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

9:17 p.m. — The race is back to green at Lap 35. 

9:09 p.m. — Engines are re-fired. About to start back up. 

9:03 p.m. — Engines will restart at 9:07. 

9 p.m. — One more cell to watch for. 

8:57 p.m. — Drivers heading back to the track. Looking at a 9:15 ET restart time. 

8:56 p.m. — The lightning hold has been lifted, NASCAR announced. 

8:53 p.m. — Approaching an hour long delay. 

8:37 p.m. — Some mist on the track. 

8:31 p.m. — Air titans are out to dry the track.

8:16 p.m. —  Looks like the severe weather veered east of Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

8:12 p.m. —  Could be back soon. 

8:05 p.m. —  Another update. 

8 p.m. ET—  Severe thunderstorm warning for the track. A minimum of a 30-minute delay will be in place. 

MORE: Watch NASCAR races live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

What time does the NASCAR race start today?

  • Date : Thursday, May 28
  • Start time : 7 p.m. ET (7:25 p.m. ET green flag)
  • TV channel : FS1
  • Live stream : Fox Sports Go |  fuboTV (7-day free trial)

The Alsco Uniforms 500 was postponed Wednesday and will now take place on Thursday, May 28 at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. For those without cable, the race can be streamed on Fox Sports Go and fuboTV, which offers a seven-day free trial.

According to weather.com, there is a 15 percent chance of rain in the Concord, N.C., area at 7 p.m. ET, as scattered thunderstorms are expected to move through the region. The early afternoon hours at the track featured sun, but more storm systems were expected to threaten the area later in the evening.

A flood warning is in effect for the Concord area until 9:45 p.m. local time Thursday.

NASCAR starting lineup at Charlotte

Below is the complete starting lineup for Thursday night's NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The top 20 spots are an inversion of the top 20 finishers from Sunday's race, and the bottom 20 spots are simply the bottom 20 finishers from Sunday's race, with the exception of Johnson.

One note: Josh Bilicki and J.J. Yeley are driver changes from Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, so they will drop to the back of the pack before the start of Wednesday night's race.

Pos. Driver
1 William Byron
2 Alex Bowman
3 Michael McDowell
4 Matt DiBenedetto
5 John Hunter Nemechek
6 Aric Almirola
7 Austin Dillon
8 Joey Logano
9 Cole Custer
10 Erik Jones
11 Chris Buescher
12 Christopher Bell
13 Tyler Reddick
14 Kurt Busch
15 Martin Truex Jr.
16 Kevin Harvick
17 Kyle Busch
18 Ryan Blaney
19 Chase Elliott
20 Brad Keselowski
21 J.J. Yeley
22 Ryan Preece
23 Corey LaJoie
24 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
25 Ty Dillon
26 Matt Kenseth
27 Ryan Newman
28 Daniel Suarez
29 Denny Hamlin
30 Brennan Poole
31 Gray Gaulding
32 BJ McLeod
33 Garrett Smithley
34 Timmy Hill
35 Quin Houff
36 Joey Gase
37 Josh Bilicki
38 Bubba Wallace
39 Clint Bowyer
40 Jimmie Johnson

Jacob Hancock