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The Daytona 500 is no stranger to rain. Take a look back at races interrupted by weather

dan rorabaugh, usa today network - florida
·2 min read

Stop me if you've heard this one before: The Daytona 500 has rain in the forecast.

Yes, there's a massive system moving into Central Florida this weekend, threatening NASCAR's season-opening weekend and the Great American Race. On Friday, the National Weather Service called for up to a 90% chance of rain Saturday night into Sunday with a 70% chance of rain on the day of the 2024 Daytona 500.

The Daytona ARCA 200 race was moved up from Saturday afternoon to Friday night already. The fate of the Xfinity Series race Saturday and of course Sunday's Daytona 500 will be determined.

Race fans have been through this before. Daytona International Speedway is certainly no stranger to the elements, as the Daytona 500 was postponed in 2020 and delayed in 2021. The 2021 delay was put on hold for 5 hours, leading some drivers to head to Panda Express and McDonald's for a quick bite to eat.

The race was delayed more than 6 hours in 2014, and in 2012, the race took place over three days, starting Sunday before getting postponed until Monday night and finished after midnight Tuesday.

Here's hoping we don't have to wait quite that long in 2024.

When is the Daytona 500?

The 2024 Daytona 500 is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, February 18. The race will air on Fox. Mike Joy will be the main announcer, with Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick serving as analysts from the booth, Larry McReynolds and Michael Waltrip contributing, and Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Josh Sims reporting from pit road.

Streaming options include fuboTV, which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Daytona 500 history with rain, bad weather, delays, postponements