Daytona 500 Start Time Moved Up: Fans Must Tune In Early to Catch the Action

Attention NASCAR fans: The Daytona 500 start time has been moved up by an hour to 1:30 p.m. ET on Fox. The change was made due to rain forecasts threatening the action if the race had started when originally planned. Tune in early or risk missing the green flag drop, which is expected to happen at 2:13 p.m. ET.

Daytona 500 Start Time Shift: Why It Matters and When to Tune In

Today's season-opening Daytona 500 race broadcast was originally set to start airing at 2:30 p.m. ET, with the green flag to be dropped after 3:00 p.m. ET. However, calls for the threat of rain later in the day at the location of the Daytona International Speedway forced a change.

The website for the Daytona International Speedway now lists the event's start time as 1:30 p.m. ET, and the Associated Press confirms the green flag will drop at approximately 2:13 p.m. ET.

For NASCAR fans who don't want to miss any of the action, it is crucial to know about this time change. Viewers who tune in at the original 2:30 p.m. ET time will miss about 17 minutes of the action.

The National Weather Service forecast for Daytona Beach shows a 56% chance of rain by 6 p.m. ET this afternoon. Those chances climb to a 90% chance of precipitation overnight with possible showers and thunderstorms.