Rain halts Daytona 500
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Daytona Beach, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - The 56th running of the Daytona 500 has been briefly stopped due to rain.
A shower moved over Daytona International Speedway about 35 minutes after the green flag waved for the start of Sunday's prestigious race at 1:30 p.m. ET. NASCAR displayed the red flag when 38 laps had been completed around this 2.5- mile superspeedway, as the field came to a stop on pit road.
The race was under caution at the time it began to rain. Martin Truex Jr. had suffered engine failure and dropped fluid on the track, prompting the caution.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Truex secured the second starting position for this race in time trials one week ago. He had to start from the rear of the field in a backup car after he was involved in a last-lap multi-car wreck in Thursday night's Daytona 500 qualifiers. Truex is in his first season as driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet for Furniture Row Racing.
"It's definitely a tough break for the team," Truex said. "The car was super fast today. I went to bed last night, thinking this is probably my best shot of winning the Daytona 500. Unfortunately, it just wasn't meant to be."
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Daytona Beach area until 3:45 p.m. There is a 60 percent chance of precipitation forecasted here for the remainder of the afternoon and evening.