NASCAR moves Bristol spring race to mid-April

BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) Bristol Motor Speedway is getting its wish - a later race date in the spring.

NASCAR says the schedules for all three top series will be announced on Tuesday night, but the sport's governing body did share the news about a new date at the track hosting this weekend's races. BMS will host a NASCAR weekend next April 17-19, instead of mid-March like this year.

Rain has often been an issue in mid-March at Bristol, and this year's Sprint Cup race day was marred by rain delays that added up to more than five hours. Racing finished under the lights in frigid weather.

At the time, track general manager Jerry Caldwell said the race needed to be in April. On Friday, he got his wish.