Sports: Car racing (NASCAR): Daytona speedway will host the action today, if the weather holds after yesterday's reschueduling

I know fans who woud eat their shirts — or yours — just to be in attendance at this major event of the professional racing season at Daytona, Florida.  To some "racing" means car racing, h+ turbo automotive h+style racing.  News of today's goings-on will flood us during the event, unless the rain doesn't cooperate again today.  I've been trying to find out how long the NASCAR Daytona 500 typically lasts, in order to estimate how long that dang rain has hold off.  It's going to become harder and harder to reschedule successfully, as other events in the sport and in the sports culture and wider culture will be backing up onto the possible new dates.

The video below presents one of the more tragic racing disasters — as it affected racing's key female star.  I present it here for its news-value and for its conveyance of the feel of a major racing event.

The text below is by sports journo Cindy Boren, and it gives a taste of what the racing pros and their support teams went thru yesterday, many of them struggling for focus and maintenance of their readiness — both key emotional (psychological) factors in professional racing.  What an edge, rather edginess, must have prevailed for most.

— Sportikos, refWrite Backpage sports columnist

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Posted at 02:56 PM ET, 02/26/2012

Daytona 500 postponed until Monday, averting collision with Oscars, NBA All-Star Game (updated)

by Cindy Boren

View Photo Gallery: Daytona 500.

Updated at 5:13 p.m.

Rain began to fall again and NASCAR officials made the unprecedented decision to move the Daytona 500 to noon Monday at Daytona International Speedway.

Forecasts call for worst weather Monday, however.

Updated at 5:04 p.m.

The rain reportedly has stopped and the track is being dried as NASCAR tries to start the Daytona 500.

Original post

Rain continues to fall in Florida, delaying the start of the Daytona 500 and placing the race on a collision course with the Oscars and the NBA All-Star Game, if only lthe weather will break.

The Academy Awards will start at 8:30 p.m. EST (ABC), with the All-Star Game beginning at 7:30 (TNT) — a head-to-head matchup that already was on tap.

The auto race was scheduled to start around 1:30, but rain has fallen steadily all day. Officials say it would take about 2 1/2 hours to dry the track once the rain stops and, with the track lighted, there could be night-time racing.

NASCAR officials plan to wait as long as possible to push the race to Monday — when the forecast remains dire — with Fox committed to showing the race tonight, if it comes off.

If it does happen, call it the the NBAytonOsctargame or something like that. In the meantime, go to Twitter, where Danica Patrick’s delayed Sprint Cup debut and the Oscars are trending with #replacewordinmovietitlewithdanica. (“TallaDanica Nights.”)

H/T Steve Sweeney