NASCAR has released an estimated time for a restart in the rain-affected Quaker State 400 at Echopark Speedway. The sanctioning body expects the track drying efforts to be completed by 11:45 PM ET.
Sunday’s Cup Series race was halted by inclement weather on lap 109, with Ryan Blaney leading the 260-lap event. Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick trail the Team Penske driver, while Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott round out the top-5.
Fox analyst Bob Pockrass shared NASCAR’s update on the track drying process.
“UPDATE: Track-drying efforts are underway at @EchoParkSpdwy. NASCAR estimates drying should be complete by 11:45 p.m. ET with no more rain. Drivers will report to their cars prior to that time,” The X post read.
“NASCAR says if no more rain, they estimate track being dry around 11:45p ET …. Not sure if NASCAR would run the full distance or try to set an “adverse conditions” time,” Pockrass wrote.
Stage 1 was completed without any caution, despite the field having no practice for Sunday’s race.
Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, and Carson Hocevar each took turns leading the race. Notably, Ryan Blaney qualified on pole for the summer bout at Echopark. Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Austin Cindric initially held the top-3 spots alongside Blaney until Hocevar broke up the trio.
The Ford outfit has only one win in the 19 starts so far, as Logano and Cindric battle on the Chase bubble. Blaney currently sits third in the standings with a Phoenix win bolstering his season.
Shane van Gisbergen reveals Austin Hill’s threat after NASCAR meeting
Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill have been going at it for the past few weeks. Their rivalry began at Pocono, where Hill squeezed van Gisbergen and sent him down the order.
SVG fell victim to Hill during the street race in San Diego. The Trackhouse driver appeared to retaliate at Chicagoland Speedway, but NASCAR found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Hill, however, took it personally and doored the No.97 Chevy before parking his car. Tensions rose when the two locked horns in a NASCAR meeting.
“It was weird dynamic in the meeting and weird way how it ended. I think what’s been cool about this sport, you can kind of sort it out yourselves and then I guess it gets to that point. To me it’s at that point, but to him it’s not. He’s the kind of personality, I guess, who feels like he’s got to get the last laugh or the last one to strike. And he threatened that, I guess,” Shane van Gisbergen said via X/Steven Taranto.
