 | | Rain poured at Atlanta Motor Speedway all day. Credit: Autostock |
By Mark Spoor, NASCAR.COM
March 19, 2006
05:28 PM EST (22:28 GMT)
HAMPTON, Ga. -- Persistent rain pelted Atlanta Motor Speedway for most of the day Sunday, forcing NASCAR to postpone the Golden Corral 500 until 11 a.m. ET Monday. The race will be broadcast on FX. NASCAR impounded the cars until Monday, preventing teams from making any adjustments. Driver introductions were made on time Sunday during a short period of dryness, but the command to start engines was not given. The weather forecast for Monday is not promising, either. Thunderstorms are expected throughout the day with highs in the 50s. If the race gets rained out again Monday, NASCAR likely would attempt to run the race Tuesday, when the weather is expected to be much better, although there is still a small chance of showers. When the race does go green, Kasey Kahne will lead the field to the flag, followed by Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton, Bobby Labonte and J.J. Yeley. Defending race-winner Carl Edwards led Saturday's final practice, followed by his Roush Racing teammate, Mark Martin. Before qualifying 18th on Friday night, Edwards said the prospect of rain Sunday actually altered his team's strategy for the weekend. "They said there might be a little bit of rain, so we spent a lot of time in race trim during practice," Edwards said. "We made only two runs in qualifying trim, I guess. That's kind of our strategy -- just spend a little more time working on the racecar trying to make it right." Elliott Sadler, who will start 28th, said there's very little worse than sitting through a rain delay. "The weather for [Monday] doesn't look that good either, so it's a tough deal," Sadler said. "It's tough on everybody, not only us but the crews and the guys who are going through trying to get the cars inspected in the rain. It's just a tough day." | 
