Kentucky Sprint Cup race may get washed out (Update)
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard Youth Foundation Chevrolet SS will lead the field to green from the pole.
The 267-lap race will be broadcast live in its entirety on TNT TV, PRN Radio and Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
06/29/13 Rain has delayed the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Quaker State 400 and is threatening to wash out the event Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway.
A rain shower that began at 7:15 p.m. ET soaked the track, which was scheduled to drop the green flag at 7:41 p.m. for the 267-lap, 400-mile race. The National Weather Service predicts a 60 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms for much of the night. The radar indicated more showers building from the southwest. It likely will take close to two hours to dry the 1.5-mile track, which is susceptible to weepers—water coming up from underneath the surface through cracks and pores in the asphalt.
NASCAR policy is not to start a race it does not believe it can finish. Therefore, it is likely NASCAR would not start the race much later than 10:30 p.m. ET. The average time of the first two Kentucky races—this is only the third time Cup has gotten there—is 2 hours, 50 minutes.
Once the race is started, NASCAR's goal is to get it to at least halfway, which is 134 laps and would make it an official race.
If the race is rained out Saturday, it would be run Sunday. Starting time would be noon ET, and the National Weather Service has a similar forecast to Saturday night with a 60 percent chance of rain.
The new NASCAR drying system is not at the track. Speedway officials opted to use the traditional jet-dryer system.
No Sprint Cup race has been postponed because of rain since the 2012 Daytona 500. Sporting News