Weather forces NASCAR to postpone Trucks and Cup races to Monday

Mud covered trucks at Bristol Motor Speedway. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images.
Mud covered trucks at Bristol Motor Speedway. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images.

For the second straight day, NASCAR has called off Bristol Motor Speedway activities because of flooding and safety concerns. The rain that forced the cancelation of Saturday’s Camping World Truck and Cup Series’ qualifying and the Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt continued into Sunday.

NASCAR spent a lot of time preparing Bristol for its first-ever dirt race, but after just one lap in the first Trucks heat qualifier, conditions deteriorated rapidly as light rain fell on the track. Mud flew into the grills of trucks blocking air to the engines, and the red clay stuck to windshields blocking the vision of the drivers.

Read more: Teams calling on NASCAR to allow extra tires for Bristol dirt race

NASCAR had no choice but to postpone till Monday

After Saturday’s postponement, NASCAR rescheduled the two races with the Cup Series leading off the Sunday’s events at 3:30 p.m. The Trucks were slated to start at approximately 8:00 p.m. or after the conclusion of the 250-mile main event.

NASCAR will now try to get the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in on Monday at 4:00 p.m. Pinty's Truck Race on Dirt will open the race day at noon.

The Weather.com forecast for Monday shows a lot of promise to get both events completed successfully. It calls for mainly sunny with a high of 60-degrees. With rain tapering off Sunday evening, the track could be in excellent condition.

Read more: Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Entry list, odds, race information

Heat races were scheduled to determine starting lineups for each race, but that will not happen. They will be set according to the inclement weather policies in the NASCAR Rule Book. John Hunter Nemechek will be on pole for the Trucks race, and while Kyle Larson is the official pole-sitter for Cup, he will drop to the back due to an engine change. That means Denny Hamlin will lead the field to green.