NASCAR: LIVE Weather And Race Updates From Bristol
10:45 AM ET – The rain began in Bristol around 10:00 AM ET and is expected to last for the next few hours according to the National Weather Service.
Earlier Sunday morning Bristol Motor Speedway General Manager, Jerry Caldwell issued a statement.
"We will make every effort to accomplish the full day of events on the same day as scheduled, and if needed, we’ll turn on the lights. Come out and join us for a great day at the track!"
11:05 AM ET – For those WCW or WWE fans out there, Goldberg is at Bristol!
11:20 AM ET – NASCAR has announced that there will be a competition caution on Lap 50 of the race. 11:30 AM ET – The Byrnes family was honored and received a special trophy during the drivers meeting.
12:00 PM ET – It’s pouring at the track right now as the radar of the speedway is as green as can be. Driver intros are still scheduled for 12:30 PM ET.
12:10 PM ET – It will take about 60 minutes to dry the track once the rain stops. NASCAR has not officially done so as of yet but they will soon be delaying the start of the race.
12:16 PM ET – It’s still pouring out but ….
12:27 PM ET – The radar is showing a gap that should hit the track in 45 minutes to an hour. That gap could last close to two or three hours before the rain begins again. 12:42 PM ET – Drivers Intros are underway in the rain! Some good news though is that it would seem (according to the radar) that the rain that is falling now is the hardest that is expected for the day. Silver linings right? 12:50 PM ET – According to an update on the Bristol Twitter page at 12:47, the race is going to begin on time. I guess someone over there hasn’t looked out the window today. 12:56 PM ET – Looks wet and cold out there!
1:00 PM ET – One has to hope that NASCAR’s goal today is to run ALL 500 laps and not find a gap in the weather where they think that they can get half of the race in just to make it official. Doing so would be a shame to all that paid good money to be there and are braving the elements. 1:09 PM ET – There IS a window in the rain approaching the track now but that window is only going to last about 90 minutes and there is more rain behind it. If the current radar holds, tonight between 6:00 and 9:00 is the best chance to start this race. 1:11 PM ET – In case you were wondering what songs the drivers used today during driver intros …
1:20 PM ET – Welcome to the rain delay folks.
1:21 PM ET – Air Titans are currently on the track blowing off the standing water as a break in the rain is coming. It should be about a 90 minute window. It will take about 60 minutes to dry the track though, it’s also still raining right now.
1:28 PM ET – This window could be long enough for NASCAR to start the race. The race will certainly come under a delay again with the next batch of rain but with the window ahead this evening; getting some laps in early could go a long way in running all 500 laps.
2:00 PM ET – Track is almost dry and drivers are returning to their cars.
2:15 PM ET – engines will be fired in 5 minutes, time to go racing.
2:25 PM ET – it’s a light rain once again at the track.
2:30 PM ET – Track is READY!
2:33 PM ET – GREEN FLAG!!
LAP 1 – Kenseth leads
LAP 8 – Harvick to the lead and Stenhouse touches the wall.
CAUTION – Keselowski gets loose and collects his teammate Joey Logano. It would seem that Logano’s run to the history books for the most consecutive top-10 finishes to start the season will come to an end today.
LAP 22 – It’s raining … RED FLAG is out.
LAP 22 – Running Order under the Red Flag:
- Kevin Harvick
- Matt Kenseth
- Carl Edwards
- Kurt Busch
- Denny Hamlin
- Kasey Kahne
- Jamie McMurray
- David Ragan
- Paul Menard
- Kyle Larson
2:52 PM ET – Looks like it could be another long wait …
2:58 PM ET – For those of you wondering, NASCAR will not allow the No. 2 and the No. 22 to work on their cars during the red flag. Doing so could result in the car not being allowed to come back out onto the track.
3:00 PM ET – Could be looking at 2-3 hours before the current rain passes.
3:19 PM ET – While waiting out the rain delay check out the two links below to kill some time. Watch some of the best finishes in the history of Bristol and then watch why a Sprint Car driver was suspended indefinitely following his ridiculous post-race antics.
3:45 PM ET – still raining …
3:55 PM ET – No. 22 team is making the most of the red flag conditions
4:05 PM ET – It would seem that the next widow will open sometime between 5:00 and 6:00 PM ET. This window should stay open long enough for the race to possibly reach the halfway point assuming that we can get back to racing between 6:00 and 7:00 PM ET.
4:26 PM ET – If the race resumes tonight it will be on Fox Sports 1. If it is pushed back until tomorrow it will be on Fox at 11:00 AM ET.
5:00 PM ET – Looks like the rain could clear up and the next window could open up in the next 30-45 minutes. Fingers crossed.
5:20 PM ET – Percentage of miles led in 2015, and now you know.
- Kevin Harvick – 31.31%
- Jimmie Johnson – 17.18%
- Joey Logano – 13.70%
- Jeff Gordon – 8.24%
5:21 PM ET – Rain is moving SLOW
5:34 PM ET – Radar shows rain clearing our right around 6:00 PM ET. Once the rain stops NASCAR should have enough time to at least get this race to the halfway mark. The last time it took about 45 minutes to dry the track.
5:39 PM ET – Air Titans are getting ready to take the track!
5:43 PM ET – The track might take longer to dry this time around. Could be back to racing between 6:30-7:00 assuming pop up showers don’t pop up.
5:50 PM ET – Just some bookkeeping notes.
- Race will be on FS1 when we go back to green which will hopefully be around 7:00 PM ET.
- Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski wrecked in the first 22 laps and they cannot fix their cars until the race returns to yellow.
- Kevin Harvick leads and JJ Yeley will get the free pass.
- Competition yellow on lap 60, not lap 50.
- Dale Jr. is down to race at 4:00 AM if need be!
5:52 PM ET – NASCAR is allowing teams to remove the covers from their cars. It’s misting still in Bristol.
5:57 PM ET – Drying of the track is in full swing.
5:58 PM ET – If you don’t get FS1 you can see the race on the Fox Sports Go App. You need a cable subscription to view that though. If the app does business with your cable provider you will be in luck! We here at BTF will provide live race analysis and updates right here once we get back to green. We would be more than happy to be your last option to know the heck is going on tonight.
6:00 PM ET – NASCAR has sent word to the teams that they will be racing within the hour. Thank Goodness!
6:05 PM ET – Word from those drying the track is that it could be good to go by 6:45 at the latest.
6:10 PM ET – Radar looks good. Teams have been told they can adjust tape and tire pressure and replace radios. Man oh man this has been a long afternoon and there are still 478 laps to be run.
6:11 PM ET – Moving right along …
6:19 PM ET – There are multiple reports from pit road that the track is drying well. Drivers should be called to their cars soon.
6:22 PM ET – The No. 2 and No. 22 teams are patiently waiting (but are ready) for the flag to go yellow so they can fix their cars.
6:24 PM ET – Drivers have been told to get into their cars!
6:27 PM ET – Race coverage will resume on FS1 in three minutes at 6:30 PM ET.
6:29 PM ET – NASCAR will be going racing under the lights at Bristol very soon! Drivers are with their cars and the track is almost dry.
6:31 PM ET – There is still rain in the area but it looks promising. Pray for no pop up showers though.
6:35 PM ET – NASCAR has no issues with Keselowski or Logano. Some took issue with Logano’s car being moved under the red flag, NASCAR seems to be okay with it. Keselowski thinks it will take 6 laps to fix their issues.
6:39 PM ET – Denny Hamlin will not be in the No. 11 car when we go back to racing. Erik Jones will drive for Hamlin. More into to come.
***ONCE THE RACE RETURNS TO YELLOW AND THEN GREEN, ALL OF THE PREVIOUS UPDATES WILL BE MOVED TO THE SECOND PAGE OF THIS ARTICLE. THIS WILL SAVE TIME SCROLLING AND IT WILL GET ALL OF THE OLD INFORMATION FROM THE RAIN DELAYS OUT OF THE WAY! IT’S ALMOST TIME TO GO RACING – SEE PAGE ONE FOR LIVE RACE UPDATES***