Daytona 500 Forecast: NASCAR Cup Race’s New Start Time Because of Weather

Mother Nature has a penchant for crashing NASCAR races with rain and weather delays, and Sunday’s NASCAR season-opening Daytona 500 could be impacted — but the sport is trying to prevent that. The 2026 Daytona 500 green flag was originally scheduled for 3:13 p.m. ET, but NASCAR announced Saturday that the green-flag time is now approximately 2:13 p.m. ET, moved up because of weather. Now, for the 68th running of The Great American Race, the pre-race broadcast NASCAR RaceDay will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET and the race broadcast is set to start at 1:30 p.m. ET (FOX and the FOX Sports app). So what does the weather look like? The Daytona Beach, Florida forecast for Sunday features a high of 79 degrees Farenheit and a low of 58 degrees. There is a 24 percent chance of rain, down from 62 percent, according to FOX Weather as of Saturday. That said, the Daytona 500 could potentially be disrupted yet again. There are also winds heading south at 18 miles per hour. The sun will set at 6:13 p.m. ET. [DAYTONA 500: Bob Pockrass’ Everything To Know About Daytona 500] Last season’s Daytona 500 was affected by rain. There were two delays that totaled more than three hours and 30 minutes, but after it finally resumed, William Byron ultimately won the race. Rain has also already been a story for the 2026 season of NASCAR. The Clash at Bowman Gray, the exhibition race last Wednesday in North Carolina, took three and a half hours to complete, and included 17 caution flags and dicey racing on a wet track. Mother Nature often affects the event known as “The Great American Race.” There’s a heavy chance it impacts Sunday’s result. But the likelihood is that skies should be clear for the remainder of the race week and weekend, from Wednesday through Saturday. There’s a 10 percent chance of rain on Thursday, 16 percent on Friday and 7 percent on Saturday. [WHO IS? Jimmie Johnson Opens Up on His Daytona 500 Future] Following qualifying on Wednesday, when Kyle Busch won the Daytona 500 pole, and the duels Thursday the 2026 Daytona 500 field and starting lineup is set. For the NASCAR Cup Series, Practice 3 is on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, and it should proceed with nearly no obstacles, according to FOX weather. “Conditions on Saturday could not be better for those heading out to the track,” the FOX Forecast Center noted. “Temperatures will top out in the low 70s with low humidity and a steady, but light breeze coming in off the backstretch. Wall-to-wall sunshine in the morning will only be punctuated by a few high clouds moving in throughout the day.” Sunday’s race could be a different story.