NASCAR at Talladega: Rain postpones YellaWood 500 to Monday

Forty cars will line up on Sunday to compete in what will likely be one of NASCAR's most chaotic races of the season.

The NASCAR Cup Series is hosting the second Round of 12 race at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. Although the weather may cause some delays, the drivers will race 188 laps in order to advance to the next round. With 40 cars on the track, crashes and collisions will be challenging to avoid.

Denny Hamlin is the defending Talladega champion, stealing victory in 2020 by .023 seconds. Coming off a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last week, Hamlin already secured his position into the next round. Hamlin and Kyle Busch are expected to lead into the green flag, followed by Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.

Team Penske has won five of the last seven playoff races at Talladega, and Ford has nine drivers with prior wins. Eighth-place driver Brad Keselowski leads the manufacturer with six wins, including the spring 2021 event. Seventh-place driver Joey Logano has three wins for Ford; Blaney has two and Kevin Harvick, one.

Sporting News is tracking live updates and highlights from the YellaWood 500 on Sunday. Follow for complete results from the 2021 NASCAR Playoff Cup Series.

MORE: Watch the YellaWood 500 live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

NASCAR at Talladega Superspeedway updates, highlights from YellaWood 500

Updates will be added closer to 2 p.m. ET.

NASCAR start time today

• Time (ET): 2 p.m.
• TV channel: NBC
• Live stream: NBCSports.com, NBC Sports App, fuboTV

The green flag for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series playoff race on Talladega Superspeedway's 2.66-mile oval is scheduled to drop at 2 p.m. ET.

Potential showers will likely be the biggest weather concern on Sunday. The National Weather Service's forecast for Lincoln, Ala. shows a chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 1 p.m., with a high near 79. There is a chance the race may encounter a rain delay. It is scheduled to begin in the afternoon and end around sunset Eastern time.

NASCAR Cup playoff standings

Kyle Larson leads the playoff standings as the second Round of 12 race begins. On the other end are the drivers below the cut line: William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell. Byron trails eighth-place driver Brad Keselowski by only four points.

A playoff driver who wins a race in the Round of 12 automatically advances to the next round.

NASCAR starting lineup at Talladega Speedway

Here is the complete NASCAR starting lineup for Sunday's playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway, the YellaWood 500.