CONCORD, N.C., May 24 -- The rain showers that spoiled so many holiday weekend barbecues throughout the Southeast on Sunday also put the brakes on NASCAR's longest race of the year, the Coca-Cola 600, before a single lap was run.
Moments after the 43 drivers were introduced to the near capacity crowd at Lowe's Motor Speedway, the dark skies erupted, drenching the 1.5-mile superspeedway.
With rolling bands of showers forecast throughout the evening, track officials made only cursory efforts to dry the asphalt before announcing at 8:30 p.m. that the race would be postponed until Monday at noon.
Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Lowe's Motor Speedway, was met with groans and a smattering of jeers as he broke the news to the crowd of more than 140,000 -- most of whom had waited since early afternoon to watch pole-sitter Ryan Newman lead the field of stock-car racing superstars at the drop of the green flag.
Smith explained that track workers simply wouldn't be able to get the surface dried in time to run the race to its conclusion.
The Coca-Cola 600 typically drones on for 4 1/2 hours. Like all NASCAR races, it can be declared officially over in the case of rain as long as at least half the stated distance -- in this case, 200 of 400 laps -- has been completed.
Even a few raindrops are enough to scuttle NASCAR races because the cars' tires don't have any treads.
Fox will broadcast Monday's running of the event, at noon.
But the complexion of the event will surely change.
This year marks the 50th running of NASCAR's lone 600-miler. And a golden-anniversary celebration was staged for the occasion, with past 600 champions such as Richard and Kyle Petty, Bobby and Donnie Allison, Buddy Baker and Marvin Panch, introduced during pre-race festivities.
When the green flag drops Monday, track conditions will have changed radically, with Sunday's rain having washed the accumulated tire rubber from the track, which will alter the cars' handling.
"This will really have everyone scratching their heads, that's for sure," said 2004 NASCAR champion Kurt Busch.
It was the first time in the event's history that rain forced a postponement. The inaugural running, originally scheduled for May 20, 1960, was postponed three weeks because of construction delays at the speedway.
While Sunday's rainout botched drivers' plans for a leisurely Monday, Busch said he felt especially bad for the fans.
"The weather has put a kink in a lot of plans," Busch said, "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?"
