NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol postponed due to rain

The Food City 500 is scheduled to resume Monday at 1 p.m. ET.

Persistent inclement weather has pushed the conclusion of the Food City 500 to Monday after rain continually delayed the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Three times NASCAR had to stop the race due to rain and after the third stoppage on Lap 204 and facing an unfavorable forecast, officials elected to run the remaining 296 lap of the race on Monday. The race will resume at 1 p.m. ET and be televised on Fox.

Rain plagued the eighth Cup Series race of the season throughout Sunday. The start was initially delayed by almost 30 minutes and once the race began, intermittent showers twice put the race under the red flag before the postponement. For NASCAR to consider the race official, the second stage (Lap 250) must be completed.

Kyle Larson is the leader, with Denny Hamlin second and Paul Menard third. Polesitter Kyle Busch is fourth, followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who overcome a pit road penalty and an earlier spin.

Bristol’s annual spring race was postponed a day because of rain last year, and this is the second time in 2018 a Cup Series race was impacted by inclement weather. The March 25 race at Martinsville Speedway was moved from Sunday to Monday due to snow in the southwest Virginia region.

The Monday forecast at Bristol is drier, according to meteorologist and SB Nation contributor Brian Neudorff, though rain and possibly snow could hamper the proceedings at times. Neudorff puts the odds of racing on Monday between 45 to 55 percent.