Drivers were brought down pit road just after Lap 100 as a large storm cell approached the speedway.
Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen was 12th at the time of the red flag while Ryan Blaney led the race for Team Penske.
“Inclement weather is in the area and the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart is currently in a 30-minute hold,” read a weather update from the speedway.
“Please stay weather aware and take the necessary precautions to assure your safety.”
It had been a frenetic contest prior to the stoppage.
The opening stanza of Stage 1 was punctuated by near misses, which began with RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski getting loose, shooting up the racetrack, and grazing the wall on Lap 2.
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Team Penske controlled the lion’s share of Stage 1. Blaney won the stage despite a late challenge from 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick, who made massive gains from 31st.
Kyle Larson kept a watching brief until late in the stage when the Hendrick Motorsports driver began to make headway. He made a challenge for the lead but ended Stage 1 in third.
Joey Logano and Austin Cindric had run second and third for the majority of the stage but eventually fell back to fourth and fifth respectively.
Van Gisbergen flirted with the top 10 but finished Stage 1 in 16th.
“Just need grip obviously,” van Gisbergen told his team during the stage break.
“Just feel a bit light on [corner] entry on the front especially.
“Once I land, I was pretty loose and then it builds okay then I’m tight off. The Toyotas obviously have a lot of grip.”
Reddick assumed the race lead at the start of Stage 2 but was usurped early by Blaney and then Larson.
Van Gisbergen began to make headway from 17th and cracked the top 10 just shy of Lap 80.
NASCAR threw the caution for inclement weather on Lap 108, and rain arrived shortly after.
At that moment, Blaney led 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace. Reddick was third and Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell fourth.
Van Gisbergen, to that point, was 12th. Just a few laps before the caution came out, he slid up into the wall between Turn 3 and 4.
“That was a big moment,” he radioed.
“Good adjustment. It was quite good to drive then. Definitely a lot more competitive.”
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