NASCAR calls drivers to cars after Dover weather delay, can't find Kyle Larson

After a brief delay for rain at the track, NASCAR called back the drivers to the car around 6:20 p.m. ET. But one driver, Kyle Larson, was apparently missing initially.

Chris Knight of Motorsports reported simply: “NASCAR looking for Kyle Larson” on his Twitter account on Sunday evening. Larson apparently wasn’t the only driver who wasn’t ready right at the call, either.

Christopher Bell was slow getting to his car, as was Ricky Stenhouse Jr. But the race was set to get underway again shortly following the drying of the track.

About five minutes after his initial tweet, Knight tweeted an update. According to NASCAR, “The 5 has arrived.” So the race should resume shortly without any hiccups.

NASCAR throws caution for rain

The red flag has been thrown at the NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover on Sunday. It came at an interesting time as there were 13 laps remaining in the race. But rain moved into the area, which led to NASCAR stopping the race for safety. NASCAR is looking to resume the race around 6:30 p.m. ET.

Shortly after the red flag was thrown, NASCAR began staging the drying equipment. Additionally, the air titans went on the track to get it dry. Those are good signs of NASCAR looking to finish the race, despite it being official.

Before NASCAR threw the red flag at Dover, Denny Hamlin was leading the race. He was followed by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott, who started the race at pole. Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman rounded out the top five.

More on the Dover race

If Hamlin holds on to the top spot, he would be the first driver to win four races this year. In his last five races, Hamlin has earned one victory and finished in the top five three times. And when it comes to Dover, Hamlin has had success at the track with two victories, including last year.

The NASCAR Dover race is crucial for a few drivers who are in the playoff bubble. Bubba Wallace was in 12th before the red flag, and it’s big for him to hold on to that spot (or finish higher) to keep the final spot in the playoffs.

“We haven’t had the best stretch of races in quite some time now,” Wallace said before the race, per Bay to Bay News. “But we’ve had a lot of things go against us. It’s just a matter of resetting, bouncing back. “I’m excited to get to Dover. However, Sonoma ended up (last week), that’s Sonoma. You can’t go back and change it. There’s some things you could do different for sure but it is what it is. “We’re still in the fight. We’ve still got an opportunity in front of us.”

On3’s Brian Jones also contributed to this report.