NASCAR changes Dover schedule due to weather

As a result of a less than stellar weather forecast, NASCAR has adjusted the start time for Sunday afternoon’s Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway.

Last year’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover Motor Speedway ended up being started on Sunday and finished on Monday as a result of bad weather, and weather is expected to be a major factor again at the track during the upcoming race weekend.

As a result, NASCAR has decided to move up the scheduled green flag time for Sunday afternoon’s Wurth 400 by one hour, shifting it from 2:11 p.m. ET to 1:11 p.m. ET.

According to The Weather Channel, there is a 93% chance of rain throughout the day on Sunday, so even this change may not produce the desired result.

At least 200 of the race’s scheduled 400 laps around the four-turn, 1.0-mile (1.609-kilometer) high-banked Dover, Delaware oval would need to be completed on Sunday in order to avoid having this race become yet another postponed Dover Motor Speedway spring race.

Two of the last three spring NASCAR Cup Series races at Dover Motor Speedway (2019 and 2022) were completed on a Monday.

There was no spring race at the track in 2020, and the 2021 race was contested as scheduled.

With rain also projected throughout Saturday, there is a chance that the qualifying session, which is currently scheduled for 10:35 a.m. ET, will be canceled, in which case the metric would set the starting lineup. That provisional starting lineup can be found here.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott is the reigning winner at Dover Motor Speedway.

Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 1:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, April 30 for the live broadcast of the Wurth 400 from Dover Motor Speedway, and be sure to check back for updates in case the schedule is changed again. If you haven’t already done so, begin a free trial of FuboTV now!