New Daytona 500 Start Time After NASCAR Change for Bad Weather

Daytona Beach, Fla. – NASCAR has revised the start time for Sunday’s 68th running of the Daytona 500, moving the green flag up one hour to 2:13 p.m. ET in an effort to outrun forecasted rain. Prerace coverage on FOX will still begin at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Officials announced the adjustment Saturday evening after the National Weather Service placed the probability of afternoon showers at 50 percent, with an even greater threat of precipitation arriving Sunday night. The decision is designed to give the 41-car field the best chance of completing all 500 miles without interruption.

Pole-winner Kyle Busch and front-row partner Chase Briscoe will lead the field to the start line at Daytona International Speedway, kicking off the 36-race NASCAR Cup Series championship season. William Byron, seeking an unprecedented third consecutive Daytona 500 victory, will roll off 39th and faces a daunting charge through the pack.

Weather has now influenced the Great American Race for three consecutive years. The 2024 event was postponed to Monday because of persistent rain, while last year’s contest endured a three-and-a-half-hour red-flag delay. This year’s schedule shift is comparatively minor, underscoring NASCAR’s increasing reliance on real-time meteorological data to protect its marquee event.

Track president Frank Kelleher and NASCAR vice president of competition Elton Sawyer both emphasized that completing the race on Sunday remains the top priority. “We’d rather start earlier and race in daylight than risk another Monday finish,” Sawyer said in the series release.

With engines set to fire 60 minutes ahead of the original 3:13 p.m. ET slot, teams have recalibrated their prerace routines, and fans holding grandstand tickets have been encouraged to enter the facility as soon as the gates open at 9:00 a.m. local time.