Post by Dalearnhardt3EZ on May 24, 2009 23:26:19 GMT -6
CONCORD, N.C. -- Thousands of fans left Lowe's Motor Speedway on Sunday evening frustrated with the ongoing rain that fell on the track forcing NASCAR officials to postpone the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600.
Weather pending, NASCAR will restart the race at noon ET on Monday, although, forecasters are predicting a 60 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms throughout the day, according to the National Weather Service. FOX will televise the race and PRN will broadcast the event.
The fan gate will open at 9 a.m. ET and the Sprint Cup Series garage will open at 9:30 a.m.
The weather for the remainder of the week still calls for rain and the Cup teams must prepare to leave North Carolina and head for Delaware to make next week's race at Dover International Speedway.
Fortunate for most, Sunday's postponement doesn't cause too much of an inconvenience as most of the drivers and crew live in the area and won't need to pay additional travel expenses.
"Financially it's not a big deal because we're here, it's local and everybody is staying at home anyway. As far as Dover, yeah we do have time. We can run [Monday] and still be able to meet our schedule, our truck will be out of there Wednesday and be ready for Dover and not be a real problem," said Elton Sawyer, Red Bull Racing's director of competition. "The worst part is [Monday] is a holiday and everyone wants to be on the lake. You can't do anything about the weather so we'll do what we have to do."
That said, Sawyer added that racing during the day when most of the teams' notes are based on night and day racing could be a problem.
"Yeah it could be because obviously we'll be dealing with the heat so you won't have as much grip," Sawyer said. "The characteristics of the handling are definitely going to be different. It's the same for everybody but it will be different."
Richard Petty Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne said, "I think it changes the way all of the drivers think. Switching from a night race to a day race will be the biggest challenge. We all set our cars up for a night race, so it will definitely be a different Coke 600 than we've seen in the past."
Penske Racing's Kurt Busch agreed.
"Everyone was set up for racing at night," he said. "This will really have everyone scratching their heads, that's for sure. We were hoping to have an adjustable setup here [Sunday]. Running here [Monday] will definitely put a bigger premium on the adjustability factor. I know everyone will be really loose at the start of the race because all the rubber got washed off the track. It'll get tighter as the race goes on and that's where the adjustability comes in."
Busch sympathized with the fans.
"I'm sure a lot of them were counting on [Monday] for a travel day," Busch said. "The weather has put a kink in a lot of plans, but we shouldn't forget what this holiday is really all about. It's Memorial Day and it's those brave men and women we need to keep in mind. When you think about the big picture, we all have it pretty good, don't we?"
The Coca-Cola 600 has been rain shortened three times (1968, 1973 and 2003) but it has never been postponed, said NASCAR public relations officials.
Should weather continue to be an issue through the week in North Carolina, the next open date on the Cup Series schedule is July 18.
Credit : NASCAR.COM