Final Turn: When should a delay become cancellation?

Carl Edwards was in street clothes two hours into the final rain delay that ultimately ended the Coca-Cola 600 prematurely. Most drivers were under umbrellas behind pit road or in their motorhome. David Reutimann, however, was standing by his car soaking it all in.

The grandstands were barren. Victory Lane was being set up. Lowe's Motor Speedway's crown jewel was scheduled to begin at 6:03 p.m. ET on Sunday. More than 24 hours later, the race was called early by NASCAR after 227 laps of competition on Monday.

Sloppy finish

While drivers found different ways to cope with delays, all agree it dampened a historic weekend at LMS.

• More

The delay included having Sunday's green-flag start time pushed back due to rain, when finally at 8:30 p.m. it was clear the race would have to be moved to Monday.

Monday's events included a yellow flag seven laps in for rain, followed by three red flags for rain. Estimated time spent under the red flag: 3 hours, 25 minutes.

NASCAR faced a no-win situation:

• Call the race too early and be set up for criticism from ticket-holders (remember the Daytona 500?).

• Make every attempt to get the scheduled distance in before pulling the plug only to face criticism from those who say the wait was for nothing.

When officials called the Daytona 500 16 minutes after rain showers soaked the track, they were scrutinized for not making a thorough attempt to run the scheduled distance.

On Monday, no one could accurately state that NASCAR did not try to run the whole Coca-Cola 600.

Is there a happy medium? Can there be?

Is there a point in which NASCAR can circle -- a time of day, perhaps -- and say no matter the circumstances, an attempt will be made to get the race in until XX:XX p.m. ET?

In a perfect world, yes. But as Monday showed, despite a moving tribute to veterans who have served this country and a shining storyline of a first-time winner in the Cup Series, perfect circumstances don't always produce perfect results.

Final Turn: Is there a standard NASCAR can use for delays?
Your Turn: Join the discussion