DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – NASCAR officials have postponed Saturday’s season-opening Xfinity Series race to a Monday start at Daytona International Speedway because of rain.
A combination of Saturday rainfall and Sunday’s threatening weather forecast prompted officials to reschedule the Xfinity Series’ United Rentals 300 – originally planned for a Saturday start at 5 p.m. ET — to Monday at 11 a.m. ET. The race will be telecast on FS1, with radio broadcast coverage on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
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Parts of Saturday’s on-track schedule were washed away, with final Cup Series practice canceled by lingering precipitation at the 2.5-mile track. Weather also delayed Xfinity Series qualifying by two hours, and a single round of time trials was completed before more significant rain arrived mid-afternoon. Officials had moved Saturday’s start time up to 4 p.m. ET and completed driver intros in an effort to beat the approaching showers before the skies opened.
Rookie Jesse Love won the pole position for the Xfinity Series’ 300-miler, placing his No. 2 Chevrolet in the first starting spot for his series debut. He’ll start alongside Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Hill on the front row when the race takes the green flag.
The race will be held a day after the Cup Series season gets underway with the 66th Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Former winner Joey Logano is the polesitter after topping Wednesday night’s qualifying session in the Team Penske No. 22 Ford.
RELATED: Cup Series practice canceled Saturday
The season-opening race for the ARCA Menards Series headed off the weather with a move from Saturday afternoon to Friday night after the Craftsman Truck Series event.