Rain frustrates efforts to run Sprint Cup race at Texas

FORT WORTH, TX - APRIL 06: Air Titans dry the track prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 6, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images )
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FORT WORTH, TX - APRIL 06:  Air Titans dry the track prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 6, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas.  (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images )
FORT WORTH, TX – APRIL 06: Air Titans dry the track prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Duck Commander 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 6, 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images )

FORT WORTH, Tex. — The elements and a balky track conspired to force postponement of Sunday’s scheduled Duck Commander 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The race was postponed until noon ET Monday, when three-time series champion Tony Stewart will lead the field to the green flag in the seventh Sprint Cup race of the season.

Rain drenched the 1.5-mile speedway Sunday morning, and even though the precipitation abated in the afternoon, high humidity, low temperatures and continued seepage through the track’s asphalt surface (otherwise known as “weepers”) frustrated track-drying efforts, even though NASCAR and TMS deployed a fleet of Air Titan units and jet dryers.

NASCAR announced the postponement at approximately 7 p.m. ET, after another cloudburst wiped out the progress that had been made in efforts to dry the track.

TV coverage for Monday’s rescheduled event will be broadcast on FOX.

Though rain has threatened several NASCAR venues this year, the Texas race will be the first not to be run on the scheduled date. This is the third time a Texas race has been postponed until a Monday.

There have been six different winners in the first six races of the season. Stewart-Haas Racing, which fields Chevrolets for Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick, is the only organization with more than one victory this season (Harvick at Phoenix and Busch at Martinsville).

Las Vegas winner and 2012 series champion Brad Keselowski will start beside Stewart on the front row when the racing starts on Monday.

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.