Following early precipitation that proceeded into the afternoon in Talladega, Alabama, NASCAR announced that the Cup Series Playoff event at Talladega Superspeedway scheduled for Sunday, October 3, has been postponed to Monday, October 4, at 1 p.m. ET (noon CT) on NBCSN.
Rain hit the superspeedway venue early Sunday morning and continued throughout the afternoon with the track-drying personnel and jet dryers attempting to dry the racing surface. Following a one-and-a-half-hour delay due to the inclement weather, the crew members rolled their respective cars on to pit road. Once the competitors ignited the engines, they made their way onto the track for pace laps.
Not long after, however, another round of heavy precipitation hit the venue, which forced the pace car to lead the field back to pit road as the decision to postpone the race a day later was made since the venue has no lights installed around the superspeedway turns or straightaways and would not run as a night race.
This marks the third consecutive season where a Cup event at Talladega will be postponed and have the finish of the event determined a day later due to inclement weather. In October 2019, the fall Talladega Playoff event was postponed a day later following the first stage due to inclement weather. The same thing occurred in June 2020 when lightning reports led to a series of storms sweeping the venue and prevented the race from starting.
The event, named the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway and spanning 188 laps, will serve as the sixth event of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and the second Round of 12 event.
When the green flag waves on Monday, Denny Hamlin, winner of last weekend’s Playoff event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will lead the field to the start alongside teammate Kyle Busch. Hamlin is the only Playoff competitor guaranteed a spot in the Playoff’s Round of 8.
The YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway will return and commence on Monday, October 4, at 1 p.m. ET on NBCSN, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
