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Daytona 500 postponed to Monday due to rain

The Daytona 500 will run on Monday because of persistent rain showers that brought the race to a halt Sunday afternoon. The race is now slated to restart at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Most of Sunday’s pre-race ceremonies, including a visit from President Trump, took place under clear or even sunny skies. But literally as the cars began rolling toward the green flag, droplets began spattering the windshields, and before long the rainfall was sufficient to bring the cars down pit road for a short stint.

The race finally started about an hour late, shortly before 4:30 p.m. ET. The race completed 20 laps before a second, more substantial rainfall halted the race. Pole-sitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. led all 20 laps and will restart the race in first.

It’s just the second time in the 62-race history of the Daytona 500 that it’s been pushed to a Monday finish. The first came in 2012, the infamous race where Juan Pablo Montoya’s car had a parts failure and crashed into a jet dryer. The fire from the jet dryer covered the track in turn 2.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump ride in the presidential limousine as they take a pace lap ahead of the start of the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump ride in the presidential limousine as they take a pace lap ahead of the start of the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020. (Saul Loeb/Pool Photo via AP)

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