After rain wreaks havoc, Bristol race finally underway

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Bristol's famous night race turned into a day race that turned into a night race.

Confused? That's OK. The bottom line is the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, scheduled for Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, finally restarted after officials dropped the green flag at 4:42 p.m. ET Sunday.

NASCAR officials scheduled a competition caution for lap 85 to give teams a chance to examine their cars, makes adjustments and get fuel.

The race was postponed due to weather Saturday night after 48 laps were completed and rescheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. But heavy rain ensured that didn't happen either. .

Drivers prep for return to Bristol's bump-and-run

Lightning in the area delayed the start of the race by 40 minutes, but the race eventually started and drivers completed 30 laps under green before another storm cell arrived. The rain caused a delay of 1 hour, 24 minutes, and the race was all set to resume again until another storm arrived and drenched the concrete with heavy rain.

After another delay, NASCAR made the decision to postpone the race at the .533-mile track.

Kyle Busch is leading the race ahead of rookies Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney. The laps already run will count and the race will resume Sunday where it left off.

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck