CONCORD, N.C. — Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the day is not what drivers and crew chiefs expected coming into this race weekend. It is, however, what both the Sprint Cup and Xfinity series teams find themselves doing on Sunday.
As rain fell Saturday at the track, some crew chiefs were on social media saying that they hoped the race could be run on Saturday as they believed their cars would be faster. And while they understood the postponement, that Saturday rainout will impact Sunday's Bank of America 500. NASCAR implemented a competition caution for Lap 25 at a track that was washed clean in the past 24 hours.
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Scheduled for Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET, the race will now be run at 12:05 p.m. ET on Sunday — a day that has dawned sunny over the 1.5-mile speedway.
For some, it's a repeat of the fall race in 2015. For others, it's unfamiliar ground.
In case one doesn't remember, check out a summary of the difference running in the day made last year.
Rookie contender Chase Elliott was recently asked about day versus night races at Charlotte.
"The thing about Charlotte is it just picks up so much speed when that sun goes down," he said before getting to Charlotte. "Whatever they did on the surface of that racetrack and how they, when the repaved it, it just seems like the grip when the sun goes down is like it was when it was new. I never raced on it when it was new, but it sure does have a lot of grip."
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And a day race? Elliott struggled to remember if he'd even run on Charlotte in the day.
"It's tough to say … I haven't done one in a Cup car during the day, really," he said at the time. He ran at Charlotte in May in both 2015 and this season for his lone Cup appearances there.
Now he's getting ready to — and to do so as one of the 12 Chase drivers trying to advance to the next round.
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Five drivers will not only be taking on some unexpected Sunday racing, but lots of it. Chase contenders Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick are running in both races as is Kyle Larson.
They'll take on 800 miles at the track in racing in both the Sprint Cup and the ensuing Xfinity series races.