Instagram Facebook Youtube Tiktok Discord

Update: Monday Forecast For 2024 Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 19: Rain falls prior to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series BrakeBest Brake Pads 159 At Daytona Presented by O'Reilly at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2021 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Joshua Lipowski

All Content
Royal T Grafix

Join the Conversation

Instagram Facebook Youtube Tiktok Discord

What’s Happening?

It’s officially Daytona 500 week, and NASCAR fans across the world are excited for the first racing weekend of the regular season…that is…if Mother Nature allows. Unfortunately, the forecast does not look swell for this weekend, but, we will keep fans up to date on the latest twists and turns to the weekend weather.

Read Also:

What Happens if it Rains at the Daytona 500?
  • We will look at the forecast for the entirety of Speedweeks along with the Daytona 500. This includes qualifying, the Duels, the Truck Series race, the ARCA race, and the Xfinity Series race as well.
  • The Daytona 500 is the sport’s biggest race, but, weather has hampered this race in 5 of the last 15 seasons. This includes 2 postponements (2012 and 2020), 2 delays (2014 and 2021), and 1 rain-shortened event (2009).
  • Fans are nervous about a bad weather forecast for this weekend. Unfortunately, the weather is out of both their control and NASCAR’s control.

Weekend Forecast via National Weather Service

Monday, February 19th: Cup Series Daytona 500 (4 PM ET)/Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 (9 PM ET)

  • Forecast: Gradually Clearing
  • Temperature: High 62°F, Dropping into 50s°F after sunset, Low 50°F
  • Rain: 1%
  • Wind: N 7-11 MPH

UPDATE: NASCAR’s Plan for Bad Weather

The 2024 Daytona 500 was postponed the morning of the race, before FOX pre-race coverage even started. A virtual guarantee of rain throughout the day and the early evening meant that there was no window for NASCAR to complete the race on Sunday, so, the race was postponed to Monday at 4:00 PM.

Rain Delay: Daytona 500 Pushed to Monday at 4pm EST

The NASCAR Xfinity Series race has been moved three separate times this weekend. The original start time was 5 PM ET on Saturday before NASCAR moved it up to 4:30 PM to accommodate the rain. A deluge on Saturday caused NASCAR to postpone the race to Monday at 11 AM ET, only to be moved again by more rain on Saturday morning. Finally, it seems 9 PM ET on Monday is when it will happen.

What Mike’s Weather Page Had to Say

Mike’s Weather Page calls for the same forecast. Rain will linger in the morning, but clear with plenty of time for the races to happen on Monday night. It seems today is finally the day that the Daytona 500 will happen.

Daytona 500 Weather History

Over the last 10 years, Daytona International Speedway is tied with Bristol Motor Speedway for the most weather-impacted races in NASCAR with 7. The most recent argument the Daytona 500 specifically has had with the weather came in 2021. A rain shower moved in early in the race right after “The Big One”, and the race was delayed until late Sunday night.

That was year two of a weather saga at Daytona. In 2020, rain and lightning came just as they were about to throw the green flag, and the race was delayed. Eventually, the race started, but another caution for weather came at lap 20. Eventually, NASCAR pulled the plug and held the race on Monday. It was the 2nd postponement in Daytona 500 history.

Perhaps the most memorable Daytona 500 weather kerfuffle was the 2012 Daytona 500. A steady rain pelted Daytona Beach all Sunday, forcing the race to be postponed to Monday at noon. The problem was, the rain didn’t stop, so NASCAR had to move the race to Monday night. The decision turned out to be perfect as a solid crowd returned to the Speedway to watch Matt Kenseth win one of the most chaotic Daytona 500s in history.

Daytona and Mother Nature have an interesting relationship. Will the weather cooperate this weekend, or will this be another chapter in NASCAR’s weather saga?

Share this:

Join the Conversation

Instagram Facebook Youtube Tiktok Discord
HAMPTON, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 21: Sheldon Creed, driver of the #00 Road Ranger Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at Echo Park Speedway on February 21, 2026 in Hampton, Georgia.

O’Reilly: Sheldon Creed Breaks Through in Thriller at EchoPark Speedway

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

It was a busy Saturday at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). First, we had the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Then, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series took center stage and they were two vastly different events. Ultimately, it was Sheldon Creed standing tall in victory lane when all was said and done. Here’s what you need to take away from tonight’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at EchoPark Speedway.

  • There were a lot of drivers who had tire problems which set off massive wrecks and incidents. First, Sam Mayer had a tire go down from the race lead. Sammy Smith got bitten. Austin Green. Corey Day. Taylor Gray. The list goes on and on. Some of them were able to stay in contention while others were plagued for the rest of the race.
  • Speaking for Corey Day, he just had a bad race. First, he sparked an incident which took out several drivers, including the Sieg brothers (who weren’t shy about voicing their displeasure about the rookie) and Harrison Burton. And though the broadcasters on the CW gave him the benefit of the doubt, the later incident was less forgivable. In this incident, while he was battling the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier for the race lead, Day got into the No. 1 Arby’s Chevy, sending all three of them into the wall. This is certainly a performance that he’ll want to forget.
  • Chevrolets swept the stages. Winning the first one was none other than Jesse Love, continuing RCR’s dominance on drafting tracks. Rajah Caruth, who had a handful all race, was able to capture his first career stage win by winning Stage 2.
  • It wasn’t the dominating race for RCR that we all thought it would be. With ill-handling cars, their qualifying attempts were underwhelming, and they got off to a lukewarm start tonight. By the end of it, though, they were in the mix. Slicing and dicing, Austin Hill had the lead as they came around to take the white flag. However, in Turn 1, he got “Chastained.” Ross Chastain plowed into the back of the No. 21, knocking him down to the apron. Hill was able to save it and rally home to a 12th place finish.
  • The big story tonight is that Sheldon Creed, finally, after far too many runner-up finishes to count, broke through to capture his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win. It will certainly be a day he and his team will never forget.

Notable Incidents

Lap 5: Corey Day

Corey Day had a very sloppy, bad race in general, and it started early. First, he caused a wreck that took out Harrison Burton and a couple of others. Then, he took out the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. You can recap that first incident by reading the article below.

Also Read:

O’Reilly: Corey Day Triggers Big Wreck Early at EchoPark Speedway

Lap 142: Sammy Smith

Kvapil and Allgaier weren’t the only JRM cars to have issues tonight. Firstly, Rajah Caruth was out of control throughout the race, fighting a mean-handling car. He was able to brilliantly save it several times, to his credit. But perhaps the biggest incident involving the four JRM Chevys came at Lap 142 when Sammy Smith had a tire go down and spun in front of the pack. This took out several drivers, including Taylor Gray, among others. Read about that here:

Also Read:

O’Reilly: Sammy Smith’s Flat Takes Out Heavy Hitters Late at EchoPark

Results

Results Pending.

Points Standings (2 of 35)

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

O’Reilly: Sammy Smith’s Flat Takes Out Heavy Hitters Late at EchoPark

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

As Ross Chastain took the lead and the pack was closing in on 20 laps to go, things a little deeper in the pack started to get a little hairy. We had yet another huge crash late in the running here tonight, this one sparked by Sammy Smith’s flat rear tire. Here’s what happened:

  • As the laps were winding down in tonight’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, Sammy Smith, along with his JRM teammates, were in the thick of contention for the win. Unfortunately for him, a poorly-timed flat rear tire ended his (and several others) chance to capitalize and get that first valuable win of the season. Unable to hold onto it, the No. 8 Pilot Chevy spun around in front of a massive horde of cars.
  • Helpless to go anywhere, several heavy hitters were caught up in this incident. They include the likes of William Sawalich, Gio Ruggiero, Patrick Staropoli, Taylor Gray, Brennan Poole, Nick Leitz, and Lavar Scott.
  • It’s an unfortunate beginning of the year for a handful of these drivers. Luckily for Brennan Poole, he’s coming off a strong showing at Daytona and was in the thick of it here tonight. That shows some promise for sure.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

O’Reilly: Mid-Race Report from EchoPark Speedway

by Cody Williams

What’s Happening?

It has been a tail of two races when it comes to today’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at EchoPark Speedway (formerly the Atlanta Motor Speedway). We got off to a rough start with Corey Day triggering a massive wreck that took out the likes of Harrison Burton, and the Sieg brothers. Then, the field settled in and started to churn laps. Here’s what’s gone down so far.

  • Sam Mayer led a bulk of the opening laps. Leading the first 23 laps of the race, he was forced to pit on Lap 24 due to a flat left front tire. No caution was triggered. To make matters worse, he was caught speeding on pit road, putting him down several laps and effectively taking him out of contention.
  • Jesse Love continued RCR’s dominance in the first stage. With Mayer out of the picture, he assumed the race lead, leading 31 laps to win the opening stage.
  • Austin Hill finally made it up to the race lead by Stage 2. Unfortunately for him and RCR, their win streak in the stages ended with the conclusion of Stage 2. It was Rajah Caruth in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevy that captured the green and white checkered flag.
  • In a horrific accident during pit stops, Taylor Gray smashed into one of his tire carriers. It was a scary situation. Fortunately, he got up like a champ and completed the stop. He was thankfully checked and released from the in-field care center.
  • Corey Day’s woes continued as the field set in for the final stage of the evening. Drawing further criticism, Day, while battling for the race lead, made contact with leader Carson Kvapil, sending them both into the outside wall. Also collected in the incident was Kvapil’s teammate, the 2024 series champion, Justin Allgaier.

What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.