HAMPTON, Ga. -- Forty-five teams made the trek this week to Hampton, Ga., and Atlanta Motor Speedway for Sunday's Pep Boys Auto 500, and 45 drivers and crew chiefs knew what could happen Friday -- Cup qualifying could be washed out for a record 10th time this season, and the lineup would be set by owner points.

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To say, 'You know, we can rearrange track practice and put everything in the way we want it,' but there's a lot more factors involved.

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TONY RAINES

A heavy rain fell at the track overnight Thursday and in the early morning Friday but things looked good as the day went on. Rain avoided the track for most of Friday and at 5:09 p.m. ET, Cup practice finally started. Nine minutes later, a heavy mist started to fall at the track and NASCAR finally declared the racetrack lost for the day a couple minutes after 6 p.m. ET.

Rain has always been a problem for NASCAR, but this season it's gone to the extreme -- especially in the Chase. Yet a solution seems to be a long way off. Most drivers agree something needs to be and could be done; it's what that solution is they're not sure of.

"Until they put a roof over the place I don't see you getting away from it," said Tony Raines, who made the field, albeit barely, as he will start Sunday's race 43rd. "When you're running two or three classes at the racetrack, it's just the way it is. It's unfortunate for the two or four guys who get caught up in it because everybody is locked in that's in the top 35, but everybody knows that showing up. It's just Mother Nature and you got to play the hand you're dealt."

Raines has been on both sides of the fence. He missed recent races at New Hampshire and Richmond because of rain, but admitted there is no easy fix.

"They could alter the schedule; they've done it many, many times. But when you sit on [the executive] side of the track and look at all the logistics that go into getting people here to do the track drying, it's a lot harder than it looks," Raines said. "To say, 'You know, we can rearrange track practice and put everything in the way we want it,' but there's a lot more factors involved. Police being there to handle traffic in and out -- there's a lot of factors that go into it, so it's not as easy as it looks."

Greg Biffle, currently second in the Cup Series standings at 149 points behind Jimmie Johnson, finds it frustrating the guy at the top gets all the breaks. But like Raines, Biffle isn't sure how to fix it. (Continued)