Is NASCAR Race in Kansas Delayed Today? Outlook After Rain Chaos in Truck Race

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Is the NASCAR race in Kansas delayed today? Here’s the latest outlook after rain caused chaos during the Truck Series race.

Rain soaked Kansas Speedway all weekend, but Sunday’s forecast finally gives NASCAR a real shot at running all 267 laps of the Hollywood Casino 400 without a hitch.

The uncertainty follows two straight days of washouts, leaving both Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series starting lineup and Sunday’s Cup Series lineup decided by metric with rain washing out qualifying and practice heading into the fourth race of the 10-race Chase — as well as causing a 4-hour, 47-minute delay in Saturday’s Craftsman Truck Series race.

Morning clouds carried the bulk of Sunday’s risk. National Weather Service forecasts for Kansas City metro zones put rain chances at 50 percent before the green flag and only 20 percent in some outlying counties, with highs in the mid-70s and light southeast wind. That threat was expected to ease as the 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT) start approached.

“Mostly cloudy skies thru the day, chance of early evening showers. With a 2 PM CT start, NASCAR should be good for all 400 miles,” read a 10:45 a.m. update posted on the RaceWeather forecast page on Jayski, with another check due at noon.

NASCAR’s own live weather tracker showed overcast skies in the mid-60s with patchy rain nearby during parts of the 2-4 p.m. CT window before clearing overnight. Earlier weekend outlooks pegged Sunday’s chances closer to 40 percent rain with afternoon clearing.

Kyle Larson’s Chase Lead Meets Shaky Kansas Weather

None of those forecasts point toward a washout on the level of Friday and Saturday, though an isolated shower or evening storm cell remains the wild card for a mid-race caution once cars are running.

Kansas Speedway carries no wet-weather tires for its 1.5-mile oval, and NASCAR won’t send cars out on a wet or standing-water surface at an intermediate track. NASCAR’s wet-weather tire protocol for ovals covers only shorter venues such as Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond. Kansas isn’t among them, so rain hitting the field means slicks, a caution and jet dryers rather than a tire change.

What a Delayed Green Flag Means for the Chase Field

Friday’s washout scrapped Craftsman Truck Series practice and qualifying, forcing NASCAR to set that field by owner points and recent finishes, with Nick Sanchez inheriting Saturday’s pole position. Saturday brought more of the same for the Cup Series, where practice went green briefly, with only four drivers completing a lap before rain returned for good.

NASCAR’s metric set Joey Logano on pole, with Kyle Larson alongside him on the outside of the front row and Chase drivers occupying nine of the first 10 starting spots. It marked the third qualifying rainout through the Chase’s first four races.

Saturday’s Truck race itself needed more than four hours of patience. The race was red-flagged after 69 laps with Grant Enfinger leading, then resumed once the track dried, with Kaden Honeycutt going on to lead 111 of 134 laps for the win.

If Sunday’s race stalls out, NASCAR can wait it out with jet dryers and, if necessary, the speedway’s lights before resuming. A race becomes official once it reaches halfway or the end of Stage 2, whichever comes first, meaning any running order at that point would stand if rain never lets up again. Under the Chase’s no-elimination, points-reset format, a shortened race still pays full points and a win bonus to whoever leads at that official moment.

Larson carries a one-point edge over Denny Hamlin into Kansas, with Logano sitting third, 16 back. A full 267 laps gives the points leaders room to separate; an early stoppage locks in whatever gap exists at that instant, a wrinkle for drivers like Ryan Blaney, mired around 25th after a Bristol wreck with little time to recover if the afternoon gets cut short.

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