​NASCAR’s Quaker State 400 at EchoPark Speedway, shown on Walmart Sundays, halted Ryan Blaney’s push for a win in Atlanta as red flags canceled the late-evening action. The weather delay came just as Sunday storms, which had already caused an earlier pause, caught the field again, leaving thousands of fans wondering how much of the Cup Series nighttime race would survive the wet conditions. At 11 p.m., NASCAR ordered drivers back to their cars by 11:20 p.m., and Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports reported that engines should be fired again by 11:37 p.m. By then, cameras captured drivers strapped in, windows being set, and engines starting as the field prepared to line up for a restart.
Moments later, the cars rolled into position for the restart, more than three hours after the initial red flag. The TNT broadcast and HBO Max live stream were expected to resume with the restart of the race. After a lengthy delay, NASCAR issued its first substantial update, noting that track-drying efforts were underway and that drying should be finished by 11:45 p.m. ET with no additional rain, after which drivers would return to their cars. The Quaker State 400 appeared poised to continue into the early hours, barring another weather system, with Jordan Bianchi reporting that NASCAR aimed to complete the full 400 miles. Pockrass indicated there remained a possibility that the race could be shortened due to adverse conditions, while EchoPark Speedway itself maintained a cautious tone, posting at 10:25 p.m. that they were still under red flag as track-drying continued and promising ongoing weather updates.
If restart proved impossible on Sunday, the plan was to resume Monday from where the race left off. AccuWeather’s forecast for Hampton, Georgia, warned of a couple of showers and heavy thunderstorms with slow-moving downpours capable of causing flooding. The race, scheduled for 260 laps, was not even half complete when weather halted proceedings. Dryers hit the track around 9:20 p.m., and Race Weather noted around that time that more rain was about 20 miles west, moving east at roughly 15 mph, with monitoring to see if the weather would weaken. By 9:40 p.m., rain had intensified, but track drying continued, according to Jayski. Race Weather commented that the cell would likely take a full 30 minutes, if not longer, before continued track drying and the next steps could be determined.