NASCAR Cup Series: 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400 qualifying moved to 5:30 p.m. ET

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 06: Fans take shelter during a rain delay prior to qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway on July 6, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JULY 06: Fans take shelter during a rain delay prior to qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway on July 6, 2018 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

Due to rain, qualifying for Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway has been pushed back by one hour and 20 minutes.

Qualifying for the 18th race of the 36-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Coke Zero Sugar 400, was supposed to have gotten underway by now. However, in addition to canceling the qualifying session for the 16th race of the 33-race 2018 Xfinity Series season, the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250, rain has pushed back qualifying for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

Qualifying for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Daytona International Speedway oval in Daytona Beach, Florida was initially scheduled to get underway at 4:10 p.m. ET, meaning a good chunk of it was supposed to have been completed by now.

However, as a result of the and the continued efforts to dry the massive 2.5-mile superspeedway, qualifying for the race has been pushed back by one hour and 20 minutes. It is now scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. ET.

The Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 is still scheduled to get underway tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the Coke Zero Sugar 400 is still scheduled to get underway tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. ET.

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A total of 41 drivers are entered into this year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, meaning one driver who attempts to qualify for the race will not make the field. The field size for tomorrow night’s race is slated to be 40 drivers. Of the first 17 races of the 2018 Cup Series season, only three featured 40 drivers.

Rain affecting the qualifying session for a Cup Series race or the race itself has been anything but unusual. Just last week, the start time for the Overton’s 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois was moved up due to the threat of rain, and several races that took place earlier this season had altered start times and even altered start/finish dates due to bad weather, including both rain and snow.

With the summer months having just begun, expect this trend to continue. Plus, rain itself is certainly not unusual in Daytona Beach, so let’s hope everything else throughout the rest of the weekend can go on as planned without putting any drivers, crew members or fans in harm’s way.

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Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 5:30 p.m. ET this evening for the live broadcast of qualifying for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Be sure to tune in to NBC Sports Network again at 7:30 p.m. ET this evening for the live broadcast of the Coca-Cola Firecracker 250, and be sure to tune in to NBC tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the Coke Zero Sugar 400.