NASCAR moves start time of Saturday Xfinity race at Charlotte

NASCAR has moved the start time of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway up in an effort to beat the rain.

“NASCAR has moved the start time of Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway to noon ET,” wrote Dustin Long of NBC Sports. “NASCAR moved the start time up an hour because of the forecast for rain. 

“The Weather Underground forecast calls for a high of 58 degrees and an 80% chance of rain at start of Xfinity race.”

It’s one of the biggest weekend’s of the season for NASCAR, and it unfortunately looks like the weather doesn’t care.

While many have their eyes on the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday night, Saturday’s Xfinity Series event is always highly-anticipated as well, so hopefully they’re able to get the race in before the weather breaks.

Continuing, NASCAR announced the full updated schedule for Saturday’s events, including Coca-Cola 600 qualifying, which is also looking like it could be impacted by the weather.

Charlotte Motor Speedway schedule for Saturday, May 27:

Garage open

• 9 a.m. — Xfinity Series
• 1 – 9 p.m. — Cup Series

Track activity

• 12 p.m. — Xfinity race (200 laps, 300 miles; FS1, Performance Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
• 7 – 7:45 p.m. — Cup practice (FS1)
• 7:45 – 9 p.m. — Cup qualifying (FS1)

Moreover, Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports won the pole for Saturday’s event, while John Hunter Nemechek will start aside him on the front row. Check out the full starting grid below.

#NASCAR Xfinity Series:

No. 7 @J_Allgaier @JRMotorsports Wins the Pole for the #Alsco300 at @CLTMotorSpdwy.
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Starting Lineup: pic.twitter.com/U83dPGvYft

— Next Line Racing🏁 (@NLR_NewsPR) May 26, 2023

As you can see, numerous NASCAR Cup Series competitors are in the field, as well. Ty Gibbs is starting P3 for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, while Kyle Busch is rolling off P6, and many eyes will be on them two during the event.

It looks like the Xfinity Series is set for an exciting showdown on Saturday, if the weather does indeed hold up for them to get some laps down on the track.

Last season’s winner at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series was none other than Josh Berry, who rolls off in P14 on Saturday. At the moment, it’s being reported that Berry is readying for a full-time Cup Series ride with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024, so this could be his last chance to find Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series.

Will Berry be able to repeat as the winner, or will someone dethrone him at Charlotte? Regardless, we’ll have a fun time finding out, as long as everything stays dry long enough.