6:55 pm - Saturday Good Night - For those of you keeping score, that's Mother Nature 3, NASCAR 0 today, although we did get in 50 laps of racing between raindrops. The good news is the forecast for tomorrow is calling for clear skies and warmer temperatures. Join us tomorrow for the Pennzoil 400 and the conclusion of the Boyd Gaming 300.
6:50 pm - Boyd Gaming 300 Postponed - The track workers did the very best they could, but the rain has returned and we're ready to call it a night. The Boyd Gaming 300 will resume approximately one hour after the conclusion of tomorrow's Cup event, which should put the green flag at somewhere around 4:30 p.m.
5:45 pm - Still Waiting - We are still waiting to get this race restarted. Track drying efforts are slow right now without the sunshine to help, but track workers are determined to keep trying. They've come this far, and they're not giving up now. If we can just get Mother Nature to cooperate, we can still get this race finished tonight.
4:30 pm - Weather Update - After a brief rain shower that soaked the track, NASCAR is still hopeful we can get this race in tonight. Track drying efforts are again underway but it is still sprinkling a bit so let's hope the jet dryers can get the upper hand.
3:36 pm - Briscoe Rain Delay Quotes - Chase Briscoe easily won the first segment and is currently second in the running order behind Graf Jr., who opted not to pit with the leaders.
"Hopefully, we can get another window," said Briscoe, who has led 27 of 50 laps so far. "I mean, the radar is not fun to look at but hopefully, we can get back going."
The weather is playing havoc with race strategy as crews scramble to adjust to the changing conditions.
"I think we're probably going to have to go back to the way that we started the race. We just made those pit stops and we adjusted for what the track was doing then. So I'm sure our balance is going to be a little bit different than what we had there, but I feel like we were pretty close. Hopefully, we can stay neutral where we were and get this thing back going and stay in front."
3:20 pm - Rain, Rain Go Away - Just as we were completing that round of pit stops, the rain started to fall again. Joe Graf Jr. stayed out and currently leads the race. Behind him it's Briscoe, Cindric, Chastain, Jones, Allgaier, Annett, Haley, Burton and Moffitt.
And at 3:23 p.m., NASCAR officials call the drivers to pit road. We have completed 50 of 200 laps.
3:15 pm - Briscoe Wins Segment 1 - Briscoe was never challenged after the early pit stops and hangs on to win the first segment.
Chastain was second, 2.1 seconds behind, and was followed by Cindric, Jones and Allgaier.
Snider, who started at the rear, has found his way up to the 13th position.
JJ Yeley is the beneficiary, and that gives us 23 cars on the lead lap.
We'll have pit stops and get set for Segment 2.
3:10 pm - Update, Lap 35 - Briscoe continues to lead and he has pull out to a 2-second lead over Jones.
Chastain, Gragson and Cindric are running 3rd-5th.
6th through 10th are Allgaier, Burton, Annett, Haley, Brown
3:05 pm - Back to Green on Lap 22 - Ryan Sieg stayed out and he leads the field back to green flag racing. Briscoe restarts second.
Green Flag!
Briscoe wastes no time in getting around Sieg and taking the lead.
Top 5 on Lap 23: Briscoe, Jones, Chastain, Gragson, Cindric
Allgaier had a miscue on pit road and restarted well back in the top 10.
3:00 pm - Update, Lap 17, Y#1 - We were three laps from the scheduled competition yellow when Hemric (#8 Chevy) had an issue and hit the outside wall. He had just been reporting to his team that he thought he had a tire going down.
Allgaier took the point from Briscoe on Lap 3 and will lead the field to pit road for pit stops. Allgaier had a 2-second lead over Briscoe when the yellow came out.
The rest of the top 5 are Burton, Cindric and Jones
Joe Nemechek is the beneficiary
Pit stops coming up.
2:48 pm - Boyd Gaming 300 Green Flag! - The drivers have just completed their warm-up laps and we have one to go before we drop the green.
Chase Brisco and Harrison Burton are side-by-side on the front row and let's go racing!
Brisco and Burton are side-by-side through Turns 1 and 2 and give the lead to Brisco.
The rest of the top 5 are Allagaier, Burton, Cindric and Annett.
2:25 pm - Drivers to Their Cars - The drivers have been called to their cars, and we're getting ready to try this again.
2:05 pm - Track Drying Continues - Because the rain has washed down the track surface, when we go racing, we'll have a competition caution at Lap 20 so the crews can give their cars and tires the once-over.
The race will be run in three segments. Segment 1 ends on Lap 45, Segment 2 ends on Lap 90 and the checkered flag is scheduled to fall with 200 laps complete. With rain still in the area, remember that NASCAR considers a race official after the completion of Segment 2 or the halfway point (Lap 100), whichever comes first. That could make for a frantic start to this race as drivers jockey for position early.
1:50 pm - Boyd Gaming 300 Still on Hold - While we wait out the rain, here are a couple more pre-race notes.
Myatt Snider will lead the field off pit road but he won't stay up front long. Snider had trouble during yesterday's practice that sent him to a backup car and that means he'll drop to the rear of the field. Joe Nemechek was slated to start 31st but he missed driver introductions and will also drop to the rear.
1:40 pm - Rain Returns - As soon as the cars pulled off pit road, we got reports of rain on the track. That brings the field to pit road and we're back in wait mode.
1:35 pm - Gentlemen, Start Your Engines - Better late than never—we get the command to start engines and 36 race cars roar to life.
1:20 pm - Clouds Return, But No Rain Yet - The clouds are currently winning their battle against the sunshine but as of right now, there is no wet stuff falling. Track works are still working furiously to prepare the track and we're still hopeful that we'll get this race in this afternoon. Stay tuned for further updates.
1:15 pm - Boyd Gaming 300 Prerace Notes - The previous 25 Xfinity Series events have produced 18 different winners and only two are entered in today's event. Joe Nemechek (#47 Mike Harmon Racing Chevy) won at LVMS way back in 2003, while Ross Chastain (#10 Kaulig Racing Chevy) scored his first series victory here in 2018.
Las Vegas native Noah Gragson returns home a Daytona winner and would love nothing more than to make it two-in-a-row for JR Motorsports. Only three drivers have ever started the season with two consecutive victories. Dale Earnhardt was the first to do in 1986. Chad Little did it in 1995. And the most recent driver to accomplish the feat was Tony Stewart in 2008.
12:45 pm - Sunshine Over LVMS - The sun is peeking through the clouds and pre-race festivities are underway for the Boyd Gaming 300. The crews are in hustle mode as they prepare their pit stalls. Looks like we'll be racing soon.
12:35 pm - Breaking the Law #3 - Three Cup teams were assessed L1 penalties for infractions uncovered during pre-race inspection. The Joe Gibbs Racing #11 (Denny Hamlin) and #18 (Kyle Busch) as well as the Leavine Family Racing #95 (Christopher Bell) were popped because the noses on their race cars did not meet specifications. Each team will lose 10 driver points and 10 owner points and all three drivers will start tomorrow's race from the rear of the field.
Kyle Busch suffers the biggest blow as he gives up the pole position to serve his penalty. Hamlin was due to start fourth and Bell was slotted 22nd on the starting grid.
Two additional teams had trouble in inspection. Chase Elliott's car failed inspection twice, which means he loses his car chief for the weekend and will miss 15 minutes of practice next week at Phoenix.
Garrett Smithey's #51 Chevy failed inspection three times. That will cost him his crew chief, 30 minutes of practice at Phoenix, plus he'll give up 34th on the starting grid and drop to the rear of the field for the start of the race.
11:44 am - Track Drying Underway - The first jet dryer has made its way onto the track, as track officials attempt to prepare the track for this afternoon's Xfinity race. The green flag is scheduled to fall at 1:00 pm, so if the rain stays away, we could be underway with only a slight delay.
11:20 am - Cup Qualifying Cancelled - NASCAR Officials have just announced that today's Cup qualifying session has been cancelled. The drivers will line up based on 2019 owner points, putting defending Champ and hometown hero Kyle Busch on the pole for tomorrow's race.
Starting 2nd-5th: Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano
6th-10th: Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bower, Chase Elliott
11:00 am - Xfinity Qualifying Cancelled - We are still under a rain delay at the track and that means the Xfinity cars will line up according to 2019 owner points for the start of the Boyd Gaming 300.
Myatt Snider will start the race on the pole in the Richard Childress Racing No. 21 Chevy with Chase Briscoe in the No. 98 Ford next to him on the front row.
Starting 3rd-10th - Harrison Burton, Justin Allgaier, JJ Yeley, Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson, Michael Annett, Brandon Jones, Daniel Hemric.
10:55 am - NASCAR Officials Talk About Newman Crash - NASCAR officials held a press conference today to debrief the media on the ongoing investigation into Ryan Newman's accident on the last lap of the Daytona 500.
Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR Executive Vice President and Chief Racing Development Officer, provided a timeline of the events immediately following the crash. Safety workers arrived at the scene 19 seconds after the car came to rest and a trauma doctor was at the car within 33 seconds and a paramedic entered the vehicle two seconds later.
Two doctors and a paramedic attended to Ryan for three and a half minutes before the decision was made to turn the car upright while aid continued to the driver. It then took several minutes for workers to cut the roof off the car and remove Ryan from the wreckage. At the 15 minute, 40 second mark, Newman was out of the car and moved to an ambulance for transport to Halifax Medical Center.
O'Donnell was unable to provide any details that would violate HIPPA privacy laws, meaning he could not reveal any details about the medical response that could disclose Newman's personal or medical information. What we do know is that Newman was able to walk out of the hospital under his own power less than 48 hours after the crash.
"We continue to work with not only Ryan but his family and his race team," said O'Donnell. "We will continue to be with him every step of the way."
NASCAR officials at the R&D Center are methodically going through the No. 6 and No. 32 car, which were transported to North Carolina after the crash.
"Regarding NASCAR crash investigation—that begins at the racetrack," said Dr. John Patalak, NASCAR Senior Director of Safety Engineering.
According to Patalek, the investigation begins with photos of the interior and exterior of the car, as well as the driver restraint system. Officials also remove the Incident Data Recorder (IDR) and the high-speed camera. All that information is compiled in an incident report, which is kept in a crash database.
At the R&D Center, officials will comb through all the equipment, documenting each component. Sources of date for the crash investigation include the IDR, the high-speed camera, ECU data, available telemetry from the race cars, and broadcast and non-broadcast video of the incident.
"We're working together with Roush Fenway Racing, as well as outside experts," said Patalak. "As we continue to investigate and look forward to providing more information sometime soon."
Newman's engineering background makes him an extraordinarily valuable resource for this investigation.
"The fact that Ryan Newman with his engineering background has been someone who we've turned too many times in talking about safety enhancements is one of the reasons you won't hear many details today," O'Donnell explained. "We still haven't had a chance to go through this with Ryan and his team, with the other drivers in the garage. Ryan's feedback as we go through this will be key."
10:20 am - Xfinity Qualifying Delayed - Well, folks, the racetrack is no stranger to four letter words but the one we hate most is R-A-I-N. We crossed our fingers, we crossed our toes, but Mother Nature is having her way with us and we are on hold. We'll keep you posted on schedule adjustments.
8:45 am - Good Morning from LVMS! - Welcome back for Day 2 of our live coverage of NASCAR racing. This morning we are going to set the field for today's Xfinity race and tomorrow's Pennzoil 400. The green flag for the Boyd Gaming 300 is scheduled to fly at 12:30 p.m.
I'm gonna be honest—we are looking at some overcast skies and the forecast calls for rain on and off all day. Weather permitting, we'll be able to race between the raindrops. And we have lights, so we'll turn 'em on if we have to.
If you can't make it to the track today, stay tuned here for all the action as it happens.
