NASCAR, IRL races postponed by rain

NASCAR's bad weather luck at Martinsville Speedway reared its head again Sunday as rain forced the postponement of the Sprint Cup Series race. The Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 will start today at 11 a.m. (Channel 32).

It is the second year in a row that rain pushed an event into the work week at the track in southwest Virginia. Last spring, the truck series event had to be run on Monday.

Rain also has washed out Sprint Cup qualifying for the past three spring races, putting points leader Kevin Harvick on the pole for the race. Harvick will be seeking a weekend sweep after dominating the truck race that was run in ideal conditions Saturday.

Sunday, there was heavy cloud cover and a steady rain.

"It stinks for the fans and all the teams, but the fortunate thing is we've got an off week coming up, so it's not like this is going to put everybody way behind," said A.J. Allmendinger, who will start 21st.

Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, Fla., with 6 inches of water pooling on some sections of the low-lying track, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was postponed after a band of thunderstorms pounded the course for much of the afternoon. It was the first time an Indy Racing League event was pushed back by weather since April 2008, when Danica Patrick won in Japan.

"We're one of the few series in the world that go racing in the rain," driver Ryan Hunter-Reay said. "And even this was a bit much."