Rain interrupts Bristol race, forces postponement until Sunday

Rain interrupts Bristol race, forces postponement until Sunday

Aug. 20, 2016

By Reid Spencer

NASCAR Wire Service

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Bristol Motor Speedway teased its race fans with a brief taste of side-by-side action on Saturday night, before persistent

storms halted the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race after 48 laps and forced postponement of the finish until Sunday afternoon.

The race will resume at 1 p.m. ET Sunday and will be broadcast on CNBC.

Carl Edwards led the field to green on Saturday but surrendered the top spot to Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin on the opening lap, as Hamlin sped around the outside through the first two corners.

Before the first of two heavy storms hit on Lap 38 and forced the cars to pit road, Hamlin, Sunoco Rookie of the Year points leader Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch all had spent time at the front of the field.

Busch passed Elliott for the lead on Lap 23, as drivers were able to find speed in both the inside and outside lanes of the .533-mile high-banked concrete short track.

After a red-flag period of 1 hour, 24 minutes, 4 seconds, during which track drying was completed, Busch led the field for 10 more laps under caution, but another hard rain hit the track before the race could restart. That left 452 laps still to be completed when the race resumes on Sunday.

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