Thanks to the persistent rain pouring over Daytona Beach, Florida, NASCAR announced the rest of the 62nd annual Daytona 500 will be completed on Monday at 4 p.m. ET. The rest of the race will air on Fox and will be available to stream on the Fox Sports App. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was leading the race at the time the red flag was waived.
Stenhouse, driving in the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet, led all 20 laps raced on Sunday. Joey Lagano, Aric Almirola, Ryan Newman and Kervin Harvick rounded out the top five. Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Jimmie Johnson, Ty Dillon and Timmy Hill made the top 10.
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There are still 45 laps remaining in the first of the three-stage race.
This is the second time the Daytona 500, which kicks off the NASCAR season, has been delayed until Monday due to weather. The 2012 race was the first postponed until a Monday, and became the first Daytona 500 to start in primetime.
Rain also made a big impact on the 2014 race. After lap 36, the red flag came out for a 6-hour, 22-minute delay, the longest in Daytona 500 history.
The race has also been shortened thanks to rain three times in the past, notes 247 Sports. In 1962, the race was called after 198 laps, while the 2003 race was called after 109. In 2009, the race was called after 152 laps. If there are no interruptions, the race is completed in 200 laps.
Sunday got off to a good start, as the skies were clear for President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s arrival. Trump served as the grand marshal, telling drivers to “start their engines” at the beginning of the race. The presidential limousine, also known as “the beast,” served as the pace car.
“The Daytona 500 is a legendary display of roaring engines, soaring spirits and the American skill, speed and power that we’ve been hearing about for so many years,” Trump said in a brief speech before the race began, reports the Daytona Beach News-Journal. “The tens of thousands of patriots here today have come for the fast cars and the world-class motorsports, but NASCAR fans never forget that no matter who wins the race, what matters most is God, family and country.”
The Trumps left the race aboard Air Force One during an earlier rain delay. They already planned to leave the racetrack before the race was over.
Photo credit: Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images
