Rain washes out Pocono Sprint Cup practice

Rain washed both Sprint Cup Series practices Saturday, meaning teams will head into Sunday's race without any post-qualifying practice at Pocono Raceway. NASCAR originally had scheduled two 50-minute practice sessions for the Cup teams prior to the Camping World Truck Series race, which has a listed 1:21 p.m. ET green flag.

The track was not dry for the 9 a.m.-9:50 a.m. practice session, and the planned 11:30-12:20 session was called because the rain only stopped at 11:15 a.m. It typically takes at least two hours to dry the 2.5-mile track surface.

NASCAR’s priority for the day is to get in the 50-lap, 125-mile truck race. Qualifying for that event was scheduled for Saturday morning but was canceled, putting Miguel Paludo and Ross Chastain on the front row based on Friday practice speeds.

The Cup teams already had practiced and qualified Friday, with Jimmie Johnson winning the pole for the race Sunday.

Most of the teams, not anticipating a total washout for practice Saturday, focused on qualifying setup Friday. But with them already having raced at the track in mid-June, having no post-qualifying practice won’t have as much of an impact as it would at some race weekends.

The National Weather Service predicts a 20 percent of rain by late Saturday afternoon, and sunset at the track, which does not have lights, is 8:17 p.m.

If the truck race is rained out (which does not appear likely now), it likely would run Sunday, either prior to or after the Cup race, which is set for 1 p.m. ET. The National Weather Service predicts less than a 10 percent chance of rain Sunday.