NASCAR lifts red flag at Charlotte Motor Speedway after rain delay

The NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 is getting ready to go back to green at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

A rain delay, which has become all too common over the weekend, took over the Xfintiy Series race once again on Monday, but it looks like we’re at the end of Mother Nature’s turmoil. Engines have been re-fired, and drivers are preparing to rock once again.

“UPDATE: The red flag at @CLTMotorSpdwy has been lifted. Engines have been re-fired,” tweeted the Xfinity Series.”

Moreover, the announcement to delay the race on Monday came after visible droplets continued to fall on the track, even as NASCAR tried to push on through the inclement weather. Many drivers and even JR Motorsports patriarch Dale Earnhardt Jr. questioned what was taking so long to display the red flag.

“This seems excessive,” Earnhardt Jr. tweeted, accompanying a rain cloud emoji.

Additionally, drivers Brett Moffit and Rajah Caruth told their teams the rain was worse than the broadcast would lead on, with Caruth telling his team, “It’s straight up raining. Like we’re not loose. I’m driving on water.”

Evidently, the Charlotte crew did enough to get the track ready to race once again, but we’ll see how long it’s able to last this time.

Time will tell if the rain will only affect the NASCAR Xfinity Series or the Cup Series as well, but one has to keep in mind the Coca-Cola 600 is slated to kick off at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, and the weather is feeling ornery already.

More on Coca-Cola 600, Starting Grid

Moreover, as a result of the canceled practice and qualifying runs, the starting lineup for the Coca-Cola 600 was automatically set according to the rule book instead of performance in qualifiers. Charlotte Motor Speedway will see William Byron in the No. 24 car start from the pole position.

“Byron won the Cup Series’ most recent points race at Darlington Raceway and leads the series with three victories in 2023,” explained NASCAR’s official release. “The performance metric based on Darlington sets the starting lineup for the longest race of the schedule, factoring 15% of fastest lap time position, 25% of the driver’s final race finish position, 25% of the owner’s final race finish position and 35% of the owner points position.”

The full starting grid for the Coca-Cola 600 can be found below, from the aforementioned Byron to seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who will roll off in P37.

1. #24 – William Byron
2. #4 – Kevin Harvick
3. #6 – Brad Keselowski
4. #11 – Denny Hamlin
5. #8 – Kyle Busch
6. #9 – Chase Elliott
7. #23 – Bubba Wallace
8. #12 – Ryan Blaney
9. #20 – Christopher Bell
10. #47 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
11. #17 – Chris Buescher
12. #5 – Kyle Larson
13. #21 – Harrison Burton
14. #1 – Ross Chastain
15. #45 – Tyler Reddick
16. #31 – Justin Haley
17. #22 – Joey Logano
18. #19 – Martin Truex Jr.
19. #54 – Ty Gibbs (R)
20. #14 – Chase Briscoe
21. #2 – Austin Cindric
22. #41 – Ryan Preece
23. #10 – Aric Almirola
24. #99 – Daniel Suarez
25. #7 – Corey LaJoie
26. #43 – Erik Jones
27. #16 – A.J. Allmendinger
28. #42 – Noah Gragson (R)
29. #38 – Zane Smith
30. #34 – Michael McDowell
31. #48 – Alex Bowman
32. #77 – Ty Dillon
33. #3 – Austin Dillon
34. #78 – B.J. McLeod
35. #51 – Todd Gilliland
36. #15 – J.J. Yeley
37. #84 – Jimmie Johnson