It’s cloudy in Phoenix. The MRN guys say they’re expecting to get the whole race in though they mention there’s precipitation in the nearby area. For some reason the tv broadcast has the horrid combination of Larry McReynolds and Michael Waltrip on a desk. What a nightmare. Whomever came up with that idea should be tested. Looks like Ryan Blaney might be headed to the booth for the race. That could be fun.
Matt DiBenedetto is currently in the MRN booth. Que sopresa!
Heather DeVoe mentioned that the stages were a bit different for this race. She said 45-90. It’s a 200 lap race, so the stages are 45-90-65? That’s weird. Maybe she meant its 45-45-110 which is different than last year? Hard to say. Checking on that. yeah, its 45-45-110. Not sure what she meant by the stages are different with 45 and 90.
Congrats to pole sitter Justin ‘Dewy Alligator’ Allgaier.
I wonder why the MRN broadcasts are behind the television broadcasts, but generally the PRN broadcasts are with or ahead of the tv broadcasts.
Caution on lap 26 of 200 for David Starr blowing up. The 52 has fire coming out the pipes on the right side of the car. David has stopped the car on the track. Better than laying down fluids all over the track on a cloudy day with rain in the nearby area.
Restarting on lap 33 of 200 with ‘Dewy Alligator’ in the lead.
There’s raindrops on the camera lenses.
Justin Allgaier wins stage one.
Red flag for weather on lap 47.(1638)
Alex says they’ve lost the track in turns three and four due to the rain.
The air titans are on track (1705)
MRN are going to turn the broadcast back over to local stations so it sounds like the track drying is going to take a while.
TV has gone to college basketball chatter.
Okay apparently they went to a different channel. I thought I just read a crawl that basketball is coming on and the race will be relegated to online with FOX Sports Go. Maybe the crawl will show up again. The drivers are in the cars as the dryers are still going around the track.
There’s a comercial that says 40 drivers compete. I’ve not seen 40 drivers since Daytona I believe.
Under caution now after a 1 hour 40 minute red falg.
MRN is 10 minutes away from race time (1822).
No crawl on currently.
The cars are doing pit stops.
Adam Alexander is saying green flag for stage two will be live on FS1.
Restarting on lap 52 of 200. MRN has 5 minutes before they’re back on air.
The radar is showing a lot of rain in the area. The race can be official at 90 laps. Just saw rain on one of the cameras. 1840 eastern. Lap 83.
The 15 of Matt Mills stops on the track and brings out the caution with 7 laps to go in the stage. Once the stage is completed the race can be called complete.
Elliott Sadler explained the thing about the stages. He said last year the stages were 60-60-80.
Allgaier is hitting pit road. The first twelve drivers stayed on the track, so ‘Dewy Alligator’ starts 13th.
The rain has started again and the cars are parked on pit road.
The jet dryers have been sent out. Red flag just went on 1849 lap 88.
AMA Supercross is getting shuffled over to FS2 and Xfinity stays on FS1.
Kyle Rickey says the rain has stopped in turn 2 and the track looks dry in turn 2.
Alex says the same for turn 3.
MRN is saying NASCAR will be told to fire the engines momentarily and they’ll get the one to go to do the final lap of the stage.
The stands look sparse when we see them. Not sure if the weather kept the fans away, or if they left during the rain delay, but I have a feeling it was a similar situation to the Atlanta race where the weather didn’t seem conducive to a full race and it costs too much to pay for a full race and NASCAR calls it early. The risk isn’t worth the reward – the racing isn’t good enough to chance it.
The cars are rolling. (1915)
Restarting on lap 89 of 200.
KyBu wins stage 2.
Restarting on lap 97 of 200.
Green flag pit stops are underway on lap 162.
‘It’ crossed the line first. Congrats to Justin Allgaier on a great race and a second place finish.
Jamie Mc finishes fifth in his return to the Xfinity series after a five year absence.