Live updates: NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 set to start on time, but rain looms
Ready for the Coca-Cola 600? The Charlotte Observer has multiple reporters and visual journalists on-site at Charlotte Motor Speedway to document it all.
Read more Live updates: NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 set to start on time, but rain looms
Scroll down and refresh this page for the latest news. We’ll also post results here after the race.
3:01 p.m.: No word yet from NASCAR on any schedule changes. In fact, forecasts are looking quite favorable on Sunday in Concord after a dreary and moist few days at the racetrack. According to WCNC’s meteorologist Brad Panovich, while “you can never rule out a rogue light shower or drizzle,” all the short-range guidance “hints at mostly dry until about 9 p.m. tonight.”
Now, NASCAR still has decisions to make. The Coke 600 is a mighty long race — averaging a little over four hours, historically, to run. With the green flag dropping just after 6 p.m., will they move the race’s start time up? We got you covered here with all of those possibilities.
See Panovich’s report and accompanying radar below:
1 p.m. #Coke600 weather update: Trends are still dry, and even some sunshine is trying to break out. Gotta be on guard for pop-ups, but looking good for racing; we will get laps in for sure! #Nascar #cltwx pic.twitter.com/acxV1L5V42
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3 p.m.: Two notes about what has happened so far in the world of racing:
First up, the NASCAR Truck Series race, which officials have been trying to complete since Friday, ran on Sunday morning. Layne Riggs won — and in celebration, he bowed with the checkered flag in his hand and pointed up to the sky, a beautiful tribute to the late legend Kyle Busch, who died earlier this week and shook the sport and the nation. Also of note: Corey Day, who replaced Busch in the No. 7 truck, got into a scary crash but appeared to be OK after the race.
I just can’t express enough how lucky we are that Corey Day’s truck came back to the ground.
Day would’ve went over that wall…My heart sank for a second. pic.twitter.com/PyqEOYGlxB
Next, a chance at something really cool fell short Sunday. Katherine Legge — who was attempting to complete “The Double,” aka running all 1,100 miles in the Indy 500 and the Coke 600 — crashed out of the Indy 500 within the first 20 laps of the race. Rough turn of events; very similar to what Kyle Larson had to endure last year, when he attempted the same feat.
Some helpful tips:
Cup qualifying was washed out Saturday afternoon, and thus the starting lineup was set by the rule book.
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