Rain delays start of Xfinity Series' return at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Xfinity Series racers will have to wait a little longer for their first event since March as rain has hit Darlington Raceway, delaying the start of the Toyota 200 on Tuesday.

Officials had already moved up the scheduled 8 p.m. start two hours because of the threat of bad weather later on. But rain hit the area around 4 p.m. and several heavy waves have drenched the country track.

Jet driers were dispatched several times when it appeared the storms had subsided. A short time later, they were shut down as the rain intensified.

This is the series' first race since March 7 at Phoenix. NASCAR returned to racing when its top series ran a 400-mile race on Sunday.

All drivers, teams and essential personnel were screened at the track before being let in. All cars passed pre-race inspection. Now, the wait is on for the weather to let up.