Wet weekend comes to a sloppy finish at Lowe's (cont'd)

He got to get back in the car after a 57-minute delay, and the cars were able to stay dry and on the track until Lap 175 when the next red flag was thrown. This time, Edwards slumped down with his back against the side of his No. 99 Ford and ate a ham-and-cheese sandwich during a television interview.

"I wish it was Subway," said Edwards, shamelessly plugging one of his sponsors (but also undoubtedly telling the truth, too).

“

I'm here for the duration. I don't care when we race. It's really up to NASCAR and the fans and what's best for the show. I'm fine with racing at four in the morning or any day of the week.

”

-- CARL EDWARDS

The frustration for everyone was that the race was stopped just 23 laps shy of halfway -- which would have made it official. But NASCAR officials liked what they saw on the radar, and after another delay of only 23 minutes, 33 seconds, they got the cars back on the track yet again.

This time they lasted until Lap 227 before the rains came again. Frustration was mounting for everyone.

"I think we've just been chasing the track more than anything," said David Ragan. "It seems like once we get it close to being dialed in, another shower comes and we have to start over again."

Matt Kenseth, Ragan's Roush Fenway Racing teammate added: "It could be worse. I mean, we couldn't be halfway yet and we'd have to come back again tomorrow. It could be like Michigan that year we ended up racing on Wednesday or whatever it was, so it could be worse. So yes, whenever the weather interferes, it's always a little bit frustrating. But we really can't do anything about the weather."

Making his 800th career start, Bill Elliott looked like a man who couldn't wait to get home as what turned out to be the final delay of the day stretched from minutes to an hour and then finally to beyond two hours.

"I told them it sure was nice of them to throw a few 'old man cautions' in there with those red flags -- to let me get out and rest a few minutes," said Elliott, laughing.

Finally, after the final delay of two hours, three minutes, 44 seconds, NASCAR gave the word that the race was over as rain continued to pelt the track.

For Reutimann and others who gambled and stayed out of the pits on a caution just before the red flag, it meant they had hit the jackpot on their big gamble. It was the first win of Reutimann's 75-start Cup career, the first win for Michael Waltrip Racing that fields the No. 00 car, and the first win for the manufacturer Toyota at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Others who made out included Ryan Newman, who finished second after early pit problems threatened his day; Robby Gordon, who finished third; the ham-and-cheese-eating Edwards, who gladly settled for fourth; and Brian Vickers, who claimed fifth.

Two others who came away with good finishes but weren't as happy were Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne, who earlier seemed to have the cars that were the class of the day. But after running up front -- Busch led a race-high 173 laps while Reutimann led five, all under caution -- Busch had to settle for sixth and Kahne seventh, respectively.

"It was just unfortunate that Mother Nature didn't cooperate. They tried to dry it again and again," said Gordon, whose third-place car was taken back to NASCAR's Research and Development Center for further evaluation after the race.

Of his and others' decisions to stay out when the rest of the field pitted before what proved to be the final red-flag period, Gordon added: "Part of it was watching the computer screen [for the weather]. We were sitting there in 20th or 21st. If we pit we're going to come back on the track in 21st or something like that. For us the gamble of staying out seemed worth it. I was just sorry to see that two others took the same gamble."

One of those, of course, was Reutimann. After nearly three-and-a-half hours total in rain delays Monday -- on top of Sunday's postponement following seemingly endless delays then -- it all came to a happy ending for him.

"I wanted for it to quit and the sun to come out, or for the skies to open up and for it to just pour," Reutimann said. "But it kind of stayed in between. It seemed like we were out on pit road there [during the final red-flag period] for a month, waiting for them to call it. I was so glad that they finally did."