Storms cancel all Richmond activity until Sunday

Fearing for the safety of more than 100,000 fans expected to attend Saturday's Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway, NASCAR officials elected Friday evening to postpone the start of the race until 1 p.m. Sunday on ESPN after rain from Tropical Storm Hanna threatened to swamp the track.

Spinoff rain from Hanna struck RIR Friday afternoon at about 4:15 p.m. ET, wiping out all hope NASCAR officials had of not only the remainder of scheduled activities for not only that evening, but all day Saturday as well.

Qualifying for the Nationwide Series' Emerson Radio 250 was cancelled at about 4:46, with the 43-car lineup being set per the rulebook, with the top-30 starters lining up in order of owner points. Qualifying for the Cup race also eventually was washed out, and the same scenario was used to set the starting field.

The Nationwide event will now be run at 7 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2, after conclusion of the Cup race and after the grandstands have been cleared.