Rain puts a pause on 2025 Daytona 500 just after green flag

NASCAR is back and Mother Nature was sure to be in attendance.

Threats of weather have been top-of-mind for NASCAR officials coming into Sunday's Daytona 500. Enough that Friday, they announced an hour earlier start time for the race. While that allowed them to see the green flag wave at Daytona International Speedway, the storms also didn't want to miss the action, arriving shortly after. Showers, combined with a high wind warning throughout the day have red-flagged the race until things dry up.

Leading the field to the green flag was Chase Briscoe, for Toyota's first pole ever in the NASCAR's season-opener. From there, the field quickly spread out three wide with the Penske drivers forming the outside line. Carson Hocevar lost the draft due to a reported fuel pressure issue, but otherwise, the race was underway without incident.

Pole sitter Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with the crew

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Raindrops began falling, first detected in Turn 2, as a northern band of storms dropped down towards Daytona Beach, forcing NASCAR to halt the race after only 11 of 200 laps, around 2:20 pm EST. The stoppage lasted about three hours before cars got back rolling. Due to a 2022 summer race at Daytona where most of the field wrecked as a sudden shower appeared, the sanctioning body has been very cautious and reacts swiftly to any rain when competing at these fast superspeedways.

Rain, rain, go away

Unfortunately, just as the race was going to get back underway after 3+ hours of waiting, another stray shower hit the track. The field topped off with fuel and paced around the track until the end of Lap 21 when NASCAR red-flagged the race for the second time. Thankfully, this delay lasted less than 30 minutes and once the race got back underway, the radar looked clear for the rest of the night!