NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Ross Chastain, center, stands under an umbrella after exiting his race car on the pit lane after rain stopped the Production Alliance Group 300 after only two pace laps at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series teams push their race cars back to the garage after persistant rain postponed the Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. The race will resume following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers drive across the front straightaway as a jet dryer attempts to dry the track at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. The race was stopped after just two pace laps due to persistent rain. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series crew members Matt Schlytter and Matt Kempe use squeegees to remove water from the pit lane at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series cars sit on the pit lane prior to the Production Alliance Group 300 as threatening weather moves win at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Cole Custer climbs into his race car for the Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Austin Dillon climbs from his race car after returning to the pits after just two pace laps due to persistant rain at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. The race will be concluded Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Jet dryers attempt to dry water in the pits at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series crew member attempts to dry a pit stall prior to the Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Jet dryers attempt to dry water off the track at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series teams push their race cars back to the garage after persistant rain postponed the Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. The race will resume following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Brennan Poole, right, walks away from his race after rain stopped the Production Alliance Group 300 after only two pace laps at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers drive across the front straightawy as a jet dryer attempts to dry the track at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. The race was stopped after just two pace laps due to persistant rain. The race will be concluded Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill stands for the national anthem prior to the Production Alliance Group 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series crew members Matt Schlytter and Matt Kempe use squeegees to remove water from the pit lane at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A NASCAR Xfinity Series crew member walks down the pit lane as race cars return to the pits due to persistent rain at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Ross Chastain, center left, stands under an umbrella after exiting his race car on the pit lane after rain stopped the Production Alliance Group 300 after only two pace laps at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Persistant rain caused the cancellation of all on track activities including the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 race till Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
A NASCAR Xfinity Series crew member walks down the pit lane as race cars return to the pits following just two pace laps due to persistant rain at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. The race will be concluded Sunday following the NASCAR Pala 400. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
NASCAR did its best to dry the track and tried to start the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300, but relentless weather prevented racing Saturday at Auto Club Speedway.
“It was really wet,” Xfinity Series rookie Chandler Smith said.
Sunday’s schedule has been adjusted and racing will begin with the NASCAR Cup Series Pala Casino 400 (12:30 p.m. on FOX), followed by the Xfinity Series Production Alliance Group 300 (5 p.m. on FS2).
“With the rain, who knows what the track will do, but we know that it can change a lot,” pole sitter John Hunter Nemechek said.
Engines were fired and one pace lap was completed Saturday, but the red flag was raised before the start and teams and crews waited on pit row nearly an hour before an official announcement was made.
“When we went out there for pace laps, there was a lot of weepers, so it’s going to be a little sketchy,” Nemechek said.
Weepers, or seams in the track that seep water during and following moderate to heavy rain, were on most driver’s minds Saturday.
“I’m not worried about the cold so much as the weepers,” 2022 Cup Series champion Joey Logano said. “This surface has a lot of cracks and I assume it’ll be really tough to dry this thing. We’re definitely going to race with wet spots on the track, but at what point do we go ahead and say, ‘Let’s go’?”
The last time weather was a factor during race weekend in Fontana was 2012 when Tony Stewart won a rain-shortened 129-lap event.
“We always talk about the big seams and the water that comes from those, so we’ll just have to play it by ear and see how it goes,” Ryan Blaney said.
Forecasts suggest a 25% chance of rain, but the cold, damp conditions will prevent the track from drying sufficiently.
“We don’t want to go if the weepers are too bad,” Blaney said. “Obviously, we don’t want to tear anything up, but we’ll race with some weepers.
“There’s a give-and-take there because some will be there no matter what, but you also don’t want to be driving through a waterfall.”
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