The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale, the Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, is currently under a rain delay.
Rain has delayed the start of the 26th and final race of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series regular season. The Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, more commonly known as the Brickyard 400, was initially scheduled to get underway today at 2:00 p.m. ET, but its start time was moved up yesterday to 1:00 p.m. ET as a result of the threat of the rain.
As a result of the rain, this new start time could not be adhered to.
While the fact that the start time for the 160-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in Speedway, Indiana was moved up by an hour doesn’t seem to have done much as far as getting the race in goes, the weather forecast does not look nearly as bad now for later in the day as it did yesterday.
Occasional race is expected to end at around 4:00 p.m. ET this evening. However, given the fact that drying a 2.5-mile track is certainly not the easiest task in the world, there is still no guarantee that the race will get underway today.
Plus, there are no lights at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so the race would not be able to be contested once it gets dark. This nearly became an issue in last year’s Brickyard 400 after a one-hour, 47-minute rain delay took place during the race.
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That said, according to NASCAR.com, a Toyota Tundra track-drying team of 19 vehicles is ready dry the track when needed, as are 10 jet dryers and four vacuums.
As long as the first two stages of the race, which extend through the 100th of its 160 scheduled laps, are completed, the race would be deemed official and there would be no need to return tomorrow.
However, because of the fact that there are no lights at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there may not be enough time to complete 100 laps of the race this afternoon, meaning that this race, just like the Xfinity Series race at the track, which was scheduled to take place yesterday, may end up taking place tomorrow.
When the Brickyard 400 does end up getting underway, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch is set to start from the pole position in his #18 Toyota alongside Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick in second place in his #4. This race is set to be broadcast on NBC Sports Network whenever it ends up getting underway.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney is set to lead the Xfinity Series field to the green flag in the Lilly Diabetes 250 in his #22 Ford alongside JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier in second place in his #7 Chevrolet when that race gets underway tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. ET. It is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.
Stay tuned to NBC Sports Network throughout the rest of the afternoon for live updates regarding the start time of the 2018 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard.