Rain causes delay with Nationwide qualifying

Red flags come out twice for rain during NNS qualifying

RICHMOND, Va. -- Rain has put Friday's on-track activity on hold at Richmond International Raceway.

Much like the day before, late-afternoon storms affected the racing schedule on the .75-mile track. Friday, Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the NASCAR Nationwide Series was interrupted by a brief amount of rain after its 3:45 p.m. ET start, but started shortly after a small delay. After about 10 minutes of on-track activity, rain brought out the red flag for the session. After a roughly 15-minute delay, qualifying resumed before being halted again due to rain with 15 minutes left in the first round of the session.

With the numerous delays in the first round of qualifying, NASCAR decided that the first 30-minute session would be completed and that would set the field for Friday night's Virginia529 College Savings 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2). There would be no second round of qualifying for the Nationwide Series. Kyle Busch took the Coors Light Pole Award for the Nationwide Series race with a speed of 120.903 mph.
 
Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series' Federated Auto Parts 400 (7:30p.m. ET, ABC) was slated for a 5:45 p.m. ET start.
 
Thursday, severe rainfall amounts caused flooding in the Nationwide Series garage area, causing tires to float away and teams to place cars on jackstands to avoid sustaining water damage. The associated lightning forced spotters off their rooftop perch at 3:20 p.m. ET before the first wave of rain 10 minutes later brought an early end to final Nationwide practice.
 
Saturday night's 400-lapper is the final regular-season race before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs begin the following weekend at Chicagoland Speedway.

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