DAYTONA BEACH — The Daytona 500 was postponed until 4 p.m. Monday due to inclement weather for only the third time in the 66-year history of the NASCAR showcase event.
Sunday morning's decision indicates that NASCAR officials want to avoid fans having to play the waiting game on Florida's Surf Coast.
Previously, severe weather – including heavy rain or even tornado warnings – has led to delays of several hours, forcing crowds of more than 100,000 people to seek shelter, wait out the storms and return to the race.
Fans travel long distances in many cases and spend several days in anticipation of the Daytona 500. A postponement could leave their efforts unrewarded. The fact that Monday is President's Day, a national holiday, will help mitigate the expected crowd exodus.
Sunday's decision created the first-ever Monday doubleheader at Daytona International Speedway. The Daytona 500 will be run after the NASCAR Xfinity Series season opener scheduled for 11 a.m
The weather forecast at 4pm calls for sunny weather with a 4% chance of rain and north winds of 15 mph.
The 2012 race was the first Daytona 500 to be moved to a Monday. The run eventually spread over three before Matt Kenseth won in overtime early Tuesday morning. The late finish came after the 7pm Monday start time and a two hour delay after that Juan Pablo Montoya He hit the jet dryer on lap 160 during the caution, causing a fuel leak and catching fire.
Bad weather pushed the 2020 Daytona 500 to a weekend weekend, this time around After many hours of delay. The race ended with Denny Hamlin wins third Daytona 500but is best remembered for Ryan Newman's terrifying last-lap accident.
The Daytona 500s have a rich history with President's Day.
The first Daytona 500, won by Lee Petty in 1959, was actually held on the holiday. Leadership for Small Enterprises Pete Hamilton won the 1970 race on President's Day.
But the The most famous presidentDemo Day was in 1979 As Richard Petty took the checkered flag for his sixth of a record seven race victories as the fight broke out between Bobby Allison and Cale Yarborough.
A final lap wreck between Donnie Allison and Yarborough led to a heated argument that resulted in Bobby rushing to his brother's defense on the field. A large audience of television viewers watched the events of the President's Day weekend storm that left tens of millions in snow after a major storm hit the East Coast, boosting the sport's popularity.
More than 15 million viewers tuned in, a record until 2001 when Darrell Waltrip's first win in the Daytona 500 after 17 attempts attracted more than 17 million viewers.
Daytona 500 ratings have declined in the past decade. The last six Daytona 500 races have drawn 9.2 million viewers or fewer, down from the record 19.355 million during Jimmie Johnson's 2006 win.
The downgraded Daytona 500 was followed by significant weather delays and an early morning finish.
Michael McDowell wins in 2021 A weather delay of 5 hours and 40 minutes followed with the drivers still having more than 425 miles to go when the race resumed. Television viewers were just 4.908 million, more than 2 million fewer than the 7.33 million in 2020 and more than 3 million fewer than any 500 people.
But 2021's long delay did not match a 6-hour, 21-minute delay in 2014. Rain, storms and tornado warnings preceded Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s second Daytona 500 win. Just 9.3 million viewers watched the sport's most popular driver pull into Victory Lane. In the early morning hours, it is only the second Daytona 500 race from 1979 to 2017 with fewer than 10 million viewers.
Recognizing the concerns, safety and comfort of fans, NASCAR made the latest move nimbly Monday.
Broadcast networks remain unchanged. FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will call the Xfinity race. Fox, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will next handle the Daytona 500.
Fans with tickets Saturday and access to the Hard Rock Bet Fanzone can attend a NASCAR Xfinity Series race and the Daytona 500.
Tickets are available for Monday's event through SeatGeek, NASCAR's official marketplace.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com.
