NASCAR set to resume Texas playoff race 3 days after start

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The misty conditions moved out and the track was finally drying at Texas Motor Speedway, where NASCAR was set Wednesday to resume its playoff race that started three days earlier.

While the race didn’t resume at the scheduled time, there was no precipitation in the area and no more in the forecast. Air Titan and jet dryer trucks, including some extras brought in from other tracks, continued to do laps on the 1 1/2-mile track and NASCAR expected to be able to race.

Even though it was no longer misty, it was overcast with temperatures still in the mid-40s, conditions that extended the time needed to dry the track.

Only 52 of the scheduled 334 laps were completed Sunday before mist and drizzle led to the initial postponement. Similar conditions Monday and Tuesday thwarted efforts to dry the track, pushing the race to a midweek finish.

Clint Bowyer and seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson were running 1-2 when the race was stopped, ahead of Erik Jones and Joey Logano, the only driver locked into one of the four championship-contending spots in the season finale at Phoenix on Nov. 8.

Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman and Kurt Busch are the seven drivers still in contention for the final three spots.

Harvick won the last three fall races in Texas and is a nine-time winner this season, but was running 36th and a lap down. He had damage to the right side of his car after he brushed the wall while leading on lap 29.

Truex was fifth, having already recovered from being forced to start at the back of the field because of an illegal spoiler, a penalty that also included a 20-point penalty. He was just ahead of Elliott, with Keselowski ninth. Busch was 14th, Hamlin 15th and Bowman 18th.

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