“Just Didn’t Feel Right”: NASCAR Senior VP Comes Clean on Unexpected Ignorance to Solve Coca-Cola 600 Washout

Christopher Bell was declared the winner of the Coca-Cola 600 race by NASCAR after only running 249 of 400 laps at Charlotte Motor Speedway. A lengthy lightning delay followed by a rainstorm virtually ended the hopes of getting the race back to green. This decision to call the race official didn’t sit well with a lot of fans, knowing that they could’ve raced in the early hours of Monday.

They had the drying equipment to get the track ready in time, even Kyle Larson had made his way back to Charlotte after his Indy 500 debut. So what exactly was the reasoning for not completing the race?

Elton Sawyer reveals the reason behind cutting the Coca-Cola 600 race short

If not on the same day, NASCAR could have completed the race on Monday. The Daytona 500 event is an example of how they can run a race apart from the weekend. Moreover, back in 1980, NASCAR did go ahead with the race, even after multiple red-flag stoppages. It was Benny Parson who emerged victorious in that event. So it’s not that; the race couldn’t have worked out.

But things were rather tricky for them this time around. Sharing what forced NASCAR’s hand into calling the race official, Elton Sawyer, in a statement via YouTube, shared: “We were up for it; we attempted to get the track dry, just wasn’t going to come in and as all that started unfolding and looking at the timelines, the amount of racing we needed to have to complete the race, 151 laps, we were looking well past 2 a.m. which just didn’t feel right for our competitors, our fans alike, and all the workers that had been there all day.”

Sawyer even stated that they could have opted to restart the race. But after careful deliberation with the ground crew, they decided to make the tough call. “Obviously, we have our air tunders, we have all the drying equipment there, and once it stopped and we could start the process, and then communicating with the folks on the ground who have great experience and done this for many years, they get a feel pretty quick of where we’re at.”

Truth be told, NASCAR could have made this decision based on how previous rain-affected Coke 600 races have turned out. Even a decision to complete the race the next day hasn’t fared well for them in the past.

The 2009 Coca-Cola 600 race couldn’t be completed despite moving it a day ahead

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Rains haven’t been plaguing the NASCAR races just this season. There have been a fair few instances when the governing council were forced to make a tough call. While some worked in their favor, like the one in 1980, but they always weren’t that lucky.

The most recent example of the rain-affected Coca-Cola 600 race can be traced back to 2009. The race was originally scheduled to go green on Sunday, May 24. However, inclement weather conditions forced NASCAR to push the race the next day. Thus exercising the option of racing on Monday.

But unfortunately, the weather gods were not in favor of racing even on Monday. The region surrounding the racetrack recorded 1.33 inches of rainfall, forcing NASCAR to call the race official after running just 227 laps. Making it the shortest Coca-Cola 600 race ever. David Reutimann of Michael Waltrip Racing was crowned the winner of the race, just like Bell was this past weekend.

Not sure how cooperative the weather was on Monday at Charlotte. But given that it was a Memorial Day Monday holiday, NASCAR at least could have tried getting the race back up and running. What are your thoughts regarding the decision? Was NASCAR right to cut short the race, or should they have completed the event?