Overall view of empty grandstands at the start-finish line in the tri-oval as it rains following the postponement of the Daytona 500 to Monday due to rain at Daytona International Speedway. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Daytona 500 postponed due to poor weather conditions

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Feb 18, 2024 1:09 PM ET

NASCAR fans who are eagerly awaiting the start of the 2024 season will have to wait one more day.

The Associated Press passed along the announcement that the Daytona 500 has been postponed until Monday due to inclement weather that has brought "two days of rain" to Daytona International Speedway.

The final practice on Saturday was canceled, and the Xfinity Series race was postponed to 11 a.m. ET on Monday. The Daytona 500 is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET.

NEWS: The #DAYTONA500 has been postponed to Monday at 4 p.m. ET due to inclement weather.

Watch The Great American Race on FOX or listen on @MRNRadio and @SiriusXMNASCAR Radio. pic.twitter.com/JZ4du5USi1
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 18, 2024

The event was last postponed for a day in 2012. In 2020, the race ran for 20 laps before rain halted it, forcing drivers to restart the following day.

Postponing the event protects drivers and ensures that fans don't have to endure unfavorable conditions. Earlier this month, the Clash at the Coliseum — an exhibition race — moved up one day due to heavy rainfall in Los Angeles.

Team Penske's Joey Logano — the 2015 Daytona 500 winner — earned pole position on Wednesday night. The two-time Cup Series champion only won one race last season but believes he could rebound this year.

"I also know that a lot of times, more times than not, when we have an off year, the next year's pretty damn strong," he recently told MotorSport.com. "So, I feel like we can do that again."

As of Sunday, DraftKings gives the 33-year-old the second-best odds (+950) to win the event behind Denny Hamlin (+850) of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. of JTG Daugherty Racing won it last year, but he has work cut out for him. He's starting in 35th position. The last driver to capture back-to-back Daytona 500 victories was Hamlin in 2020.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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