Rain leads to first postponement of Daytona 500 in over 50 years

History was made at the Daytona 500 on Sunday, but not the kind that anyone at Daytona International Speedway wanted to see. For the first time in the event's long history, the Great American Race has been postponed to Monday because of weather.

After battling intermittent showers all day, NASCAR officials announced shortly after 5 p.m. local time that the 54th running of the Daytona 500 had been pushed back to noon Monday. Although NASCAR's showcase event had been shortened four previous times due to the elements, it had never been completely postponed -- until Sunday, when jet dryers battled rain all afternoon, and a gloomy forecast into the evening prevented any attempt at running the race under the lights.

And with that, a streak that began with the inaugural Daytona 500 in 1959 came to an end.


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