NASCAR has made the call to move the start time of Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Originally scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET, the Cup Series will now race at 2 p.m. ET as the threat of rain on Sunday is the cause for the change.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is one of the few NASCAR tracks that does not have lights. Because of this, NASCAR has only a short time window to get the 301-lap race in.
Advertisement
With a high possibility of rain on Sunday, NASCAR wants to do its part in trying to get the race in on its scheduled date.
NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire will run at 2 p.m. ET
On Friday, NASCAR announced that Sunday’s Dollar Tree 301 will be moving up one hour. The race can be watched on the USA Network on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET, or listened to on either the Performance Racing Network (PRN) or SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
“NEWS: The start time for the Cup Series race at @NHMS has been moved up to 2 p.m. ET on Sunday. Watch live on @NASCARonUSA or listen on @PRNlive and @SiriusXMNASCAR Radio,” NASCAR wrote via X.
Advertisement
Since the beginning of the week, it was evident that Mother Nature could hinder NASCAR’s efforts to get Sunday’s race in. On Tuesday, per the National Weather Service, it called for 60 percent chance of rain on Sunday in Loudon, New Hampshire.
As of Friday evening ET, the weather outlook looks the same. Sunday in Loudon calls for a high of 76 degrees with a 60 percent chance of showers. NWS said that showers are “likely” as well as areas of fog.
NASCAR has been diligent in keeping track of weather conditions ahead of race day in order to have the best chance of running the event on the scheduled date. With rain threatening the Daytona 500 earlier this year, NASCAR moved the start time up one hour, which was enough to get the full 200-lap event in.
Mother Nature threatened Pocono last June, which forced NASCAR to move the race up by two hours. Once again, the change was enough to get the full race in.
Advertisement
New Hampshire comes at critical time for NASCAR Cup Series
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the site for the next-to-last race before The Chase. “The Magic Mile” will give the remaining drivers who have not clinched a spot in The Chase to do so, while others look to gain ground on the cutoff.
Nine spots remain in The Chase. Heading into Sunday, Shane van Gisbergen is the last driver above the cut line. The driver of the No. 97 holds a 50-point advantage over Ryan Preece, the first driver below the cutoff.
