Why is the Quaker State 400 NASCAR Race Delayed Today? When Will it Start Again?

NASCAR red-flagged the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart Sunday night, stopping Ryan Blaney’s bid for an Atlanta win cold.

The stoppage hit just as Sunday’s storms, which had already forced one hold earlier in the day, caught up with the field again — leaving thousands of fans at EchoPark Speedway wondering how much of the Cup Series night race survives the weather.

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At 11 p.m., NASCAR announced that drivers were ordered to their cars by 11:20. According to Fox Sports motorsports reporter Bob Pockrass, drivers were told to have their engines re-fired by 11:37 p.m. At that time, the televised broadcast showed drivers in their cars. Window nets were being put in place and engines could be heard starting up.

Moments later, the cars were moving into position for the restart, more than three hours after the initial red flag.

The race broadcast on the TNT cable network was expected to resume with the restart of the race, as well as the live stream, on HBO Max.

It took about two hours of waiting for some word on a restart, but in its first significant update NASCAR posted, “track-drying efforts are underway at EchoPark Speedway. NASCAR estimates drying should be complete by 11:45 p.m. ET with no more rain. Drivers will report to their cars prior to that time.”

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The Quaker State 400 appeared set to continue well into the early morning hours at EchoPark Speedway — barring another storm system rolling into the area. According to Athletic motorsports reporter Jordan Bianchi, NASCAR intended to complete all 400 miles of the race.

According Pockrass, it remained a possibility that NASCAR would shorten the race from the full distance due to “adverse conditions.”

The Speedway itself appeared less optimistic. “We are still under the red flag as track drying efforts continue in an attempt to restart the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart,”EchoPark Speedway reported at 10:25 p.m. “We will continue to provide weather updates as track drying progresses.”

If the Quaker State 400 failed to restart on Sunday night, the race would pick up on Monday from where it left off.

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AccuWeather’s forecast for Monday in Hampton, Georgia, predicts, “a couple of showers and a heavy thunderstorm; slow-moving thunderstorms can bring flooding downpours.”

Scheduled for 260 laps, the race was not even half over when weather brought the proceedings to halt.

At about 9:20 p.m., the track dryers came on to the track. At that same time, Race Weather posted, “According to the radar, more rain about 20 miles to the west, moving east about 15 mph. Will monitor to see if it will weaken, which is the current trend.” At 9:40 p.m. “Rain has picked up but track drying continues,” Jayski reported.

According to the Race Weather social media account, “this will go the full 30 minutes, if not longer. Once this cell passed, we’ll have track drying & monitor the radar.”

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The delay came despite a green flag that dropped close to schedule. An early-afternoon hold shut down all activity at the track between 1:30 p.m. and 2:22 p.m. ET, with temperatures already sitting in the low-to-mid 90s and a heat index pushing past 100 degrees by mid-afternoon. Once that hold lifted, the schedule cleared for a roughly 7:19 p.m. ET green flag, keeping the first two stages on pace.

Freelance journalist Luis Torres reported lightning in the area during laps 108, leading to the race stoppage and delay. Here is how the race stood when the red flag came out:

Ryan Blaney Leads Quaker State 400 When Red Flag Falls

Blaney, who won the pole with a lap of 179.912 mph Saturday, carried that speed into the race and captured Stage 1 outright. It was his second Atlanta pole and 14th of his career, and for a while Sunday it looked like the head start would hold up all night.

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He stayed in front deep into Stage 2, with Joey Logano and Kyle Larson never far behind after starting second and third, before caution flew for lightning near the track at lap 108.

NASCAR threw the red flag roughly a lap later, stopping the field with Blaney still out front. Bubba Wallace ran second, trailed by Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott, rounding out the top five as crews scrambled to cover cars on pit road.

Forecasters flagged this scenario well before the green flag flew. The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City put the chance of showers and thunderstorms at 60 percent through the evening, with the heaviest risk concentrated in the same window NASCAR is now navigating.

Read More From Heavy Is the Quaker State 400 NASCAR Race Delayed Today? Expected Start Time, Weather

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