NASCAR at Talladega: Rain postpones YellaWood 500 to Monday

Dani Mohr

NASCAR at Talladega: Rain postpones YellaWood 500 to Monday image

NASCAR postponed its Cup Series playoff race Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway after a rain delay. 

Forty cars will now line up for the YellaWood 500 at 1 p.m. ET Monday (NBCSN, TSN3, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The race is the second in the Round of 12.

Rain delayed the 2 p.m. ET start of the race as the track was left damp. Jet driers traced the 2.66-mile oval and raced against showers in the area in Lincoln, Ala. When the rain eased up, drivers had a slight window to enter the track. Once they approached the track, however, the course quickly became drenched again in another burst of rain. 

After the drivers made their way back to pit road, NASCAR postponed the 500-mile event.

Here's all the information from the race ahead of the rain delay. Sporting News will be tracking live updates from the race on Monday. 

MORE: Watch the YellaWood 500 live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

NASCAR at Talladega Superspeedway updates, highlights from YellaWood 500

(All times Eastern)

3:56 p.m.: The race is postponed to Monday at 1 p.m. ET.

3:50 p.m.: Shortly after the drivers leave pit road, the rain picks up and dampens the track. The drivers head back to pit road and await the jet driers to clear the track. 

3:40 p.m.: All cars are fired up and rolling around the track ahead of the green flag. 

3:30 p.m.: Drivers strap in ahead of command that is expected at 3:37 p.m. 

3:20 p.m.: Quin Houff, Joey Gase and David Starr drop to the rear.

3:03 p.m.: The cars finally exit the garage and head for pit road. NBC says the race will start in about 30 minutes.

2:10 p.m.: Jet driers attempt to dry the track following a drizzle. The race is under a rain delay, follow for weather updates

NASCAR start time today

  • Time (ET): 2 p.m.
  • TV channel: NBC
  • Live stream: NBCSports.com, NBC Sports App, fuboTV

The green flag for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series playoff race on Talladega Superspeedway's 2.66-mile oval was scheduled to drop at 2:03 p.m. ET.

Potential showers were the biggest weather concern on Sunday. The National Weather Service's forecast for Lincoln, Ala. showed a chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1 p.m., with a high near 79. There was a chance the race would encounter a rain delay. The race was scheduled to begin in the afternoon and end around sunset Eastern time.

NASCAR Cup playoff standings

Kyle Larson leads the playoff standings entering the second Round of 12 race. On the other end are the drivers below the cut line: William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell. Byron trails eighth-place driver Brad Keselowski by only four points.

A playoff driver who wins a race in the Round of 12 automatically advances to the next round.

Pos. Driver Points
1 Kyle Larson 3096
2 x-Denny Hamlin 3082
3 Kyle Busch 3074
4 Martin Truex Jr. 3070
5 Ryan Blaney 3063
6 Chase Elliott 3061
7 Joey Logano 3045
8 Brad Keselowski 3043
9 William Byron 3039
10 Kevin Harvick 3036
11 Alex Bowman 3030
12 Christopher Bell 3018

x-Clinched berth in Round of 8.

NASCAR starting lineup at Talladega Speedway

Here is the complete NASCAR starting lineup for Sunday's playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, the YellaWood 500.

Start pos. Driver Car No. Team
1 P-Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
2 P-Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
3 P-Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
4 P-Ryan Blaney 12 Penske Ford
5 P-Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports
6 P-Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
7 P-Brad Keselowski 2 Penske Ford
8 P-Joey Logano 22 Penske Ford
9 P-Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
10 P-William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
11 P-Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
12 P-Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
13 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
14 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
15 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
16 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
17 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
18 Daniel Suárez 99 Trackhouse Racing
19 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
20 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
21 Rickey Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
22 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
23 Ross Chastain 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
24 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
25 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
26 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
27 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
28 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
29 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
30 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row Motorsports
31 Cody Ware 51 Petty Ware Racing
32 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast Motorsports
33 Justin Allgaier 77 Spire Motorsports
34 Josh Bilicki 52 Rick Ware Racing
35 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
36 Joey Gase 53 Rick Ware Racing
37 Garrett Smithley 15 Rick Ware Racing
38 Justin Haley 16 Kaulig Racing
39 David Starr 66 Motorsports Business Management
40 Landon Cassill 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing

Dani Mohr