Rain postpones Coca-Cola 600
CONCORD, N.C. - NASCAR's longest race of the season spilled into a second day Sunday night when the Coca-Cola 600 was postponed by rain for the first time in 50 years.
Light rain had delayed the scheduled 6:03 p.m. start at Lowe's Motor Speedway, but the track appeared dry and NASCAR called the cars out to pit road moments before a heavy shower soaked the surface again. The heavy rain lasted less than 15 minutes, but a persistent drizzle made it impossible to dry the track.
The race will run today at noon. It's the first time it will be held on Memorial Day.
"We have a ton of family members and friends in town this weekend, and of course the big plan was for us all to be here tonight and playing around by the lake tomorrow," said Kurt Busch, who will start 17th.
"You just gotta feel for the fans, though. I'm sure a lot of them were counting on tomorrow for a travel day. The weather has put a kink in a lot of plans."
The only other time the Coca-Cola 600 was postponed was the 1960 inaugural race, when it was pushed from its Memorial Day weekend date to June 19 because three consecutive March snowstorms slowed construction on the speedway.
The weather has been good to NASCAR since the season-opening Daytona 500 was shortened 48 laps because of rain. Since then, every Sprint Cup Series event has been rain-free.
Drug testing: NASCAR randomly drug-tested 10 crew members from 10 teams during the rain delay at the Coca-Cola 600, an apparent tweak to the first three months of in-season testing.
Prior to Sunday night, crew chiefs said NASCAR typically informed them when the garage opened if a team member had been selected to give a sample. The individual had four hours to report to testing. Drivers can be tested on any day of the race weekend.
But at Lowe's Motor Speedway, NASCAR waited until after the scheduled start of the Coca-Cola 600 to inform teams and ordered individuals to report for testing at the end of the race. Because rain delayed the start, crew members were seen entering the infield care center, where the tests were conducted during intermittent showers.