Racing fans woke up on Sunday, April 30, with hopes of watching Cup Series drivers compete at Dover Motor Speedway. However, inclement weather forced NASCAR to postpone the race.
According to a mid-morning announcement at the Monster Mile, the Wurth 400 will now take place on Monday, May 1. It will air at 12 p.m. ET as FS1, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio all provide coverage. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Rusty Wallace will provide commentary from the booth.
NASCAR had made one schedule change while attempting to avoid the rain at the one-mile track. The sanctioning body originally moved the start of the Cup Series race up to 1 p.m. ET on April 30. This strategy did not pan out as the weather further disrupted the weekend schedule.
NEWS: The #Wurth400 at the @MonsterMile has been postponed to Monday at 12 PM ET on FS1, PRN and @SiriusXMNASCAR.
The coverage will start with two former teammates leading the field to the green flag. inclement weather washed out qualifying on April 29, so Talladega Superspeedway winner Kyle Busch will start on the pole after NASCAR set the starting order with its metric. Points leader Christopher Bell will join him on the front row while pursuing his second win of the season.
Rain Has Become a Recent Issue for Dover Motor Speedway
GettyKyle Larson waits during a rain delay at Dover Motor Speedway.
The one-mile Delaware track has been the home of 104 Cup Series races dating back to 1969. It had largely avoided weather-related issues while two races per season, but that trend changed in recent years.
The 2023 Cup Series race is the third of the last four non-COVID races that has been postponed due to inclement weather. This happened in the spring of 2019 before Martin Truex Jr. won for the third time at the Monster Mile.
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Interestingly enough, two of Truex’s wins at Dover have taken place on a Monday after being postponed. The first was on June 4, 2007. Truex took the No. 1 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet to Victory Lane and celebrated his first Cup Series win.
The 2022 Cup Series race also ended on a Monday due to rain in the area and a lack of lights at the track. 2020 champion Chase Elliott led 73 laps, and he won the first Dover race of the Next Gen era.
There Will Now Be Another Concern for Drivers
GettyNASCAR drivers will try to capture an iconic trophy.
With rain expected throughout the day on April 30, there will now be another concern for the teams and drivers. They will have to worry about early tire wear with the rain likely washing away all of the rubber laid down by the Xfinity Series and ARCA races.
This tire wear was significant during the April 29 practice sessions. There were drivers that were unable to make long runs on what they described as a green track. Multiple also pointed out the need for a competition caution early in the race as they saw their tires get ruined quickly.
Tire wear should not be a significant factor as the race continues. Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron indicated to PRN after the practice session that the conditions should improve once all of the Cup Series drivers are on the track together.
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NASCAR Postpones Cup Series Race at Dover Motor Speedway