Race Weekend Central

Food City 500 Postponed to Monday, Will Resume in Stage 2

In an ongoing battle with Mother Nature, NASCAR lost … again.

Rain forced the postponement of the Food City 500 after 204 of 250 laps needed for an official race (conclusion of the second stage) were run. The event will resume Monday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.

The start of the race was delayed about 30 minutes and brought out four red flags (three for weather). The event was originally scheduled for just after 2 p.m. but NASCAR moved the start time up one hour. In total, the race was halted for just shy of one hour due to the stoppages.

Kyle Larson had rocketed his way to more than a straightaway lead over second-place Denny Hamlin before the rains came. So far, he has led 74 laps.

Paul Menard, polesitter Kyle Busch and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. round out the current top five. Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Austin Dillon complete the top 10.

The first 150 laps or so were dominated by Ryan Blaney. But the Team Penske driver ended his day an innocent victim; he was caught up in a multi-car pileup while leading his 100th circuit.

MASSIE: DAY ENDS EARLY FOR RYAN BLANEY

Unfortunately for driver No. 12, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and his day ended early.

There was also another multi-car incident early on in the race. This one on lap three involved Michael McDowell, Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott.

Brad Keselowski was the winner of the first stage. The No. 2 car stayed out as the majority of the field opted to pit. He’s currently 14th.

About the author

Davey is in his fifth season with Frontstretch and currently serves as a multimedia editor and reporter. He authors the "NASCAR Mailbox" column, spearheads the site's video content and hosts the Frontstretch Podcast weekly. He's covered the K&N Pro Series and ARCA extensively for NASCAR.com and currently serves as an associate producer for SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and production assistant for NBC Sports Washington. Follow him on Twitter @DaveyCenter.

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