By Staff
BROOKLYN – I had never experienced anything like Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.
I left town knowing there was a chance that the 3M Performance 400 could get rained out. I had a race stopped after the halfway point last year, but at least the race was official and there was a winner.
I heard the rain falling as I went to bed Saturday night and heard thunder as I awoke Sunday morning at 3:45 a.m. to get ready for the two-plus hour drive to Brooklyn.
I drove through some pretty heavy rain as I worked my way east to the race track. Despite the lightning, thunder and rain, I kept hoping the skies would clear and we would have a race.
Arriving at the track around 7 a.m., it was still raining. It continued to rain as I waited for the photographers' meeting at 11 a.m.
My heart sank as I looked at the radar and saw a line of rain and thunderstorms stretching back into Iowa. Finally the rain slowed and eventually would come to a stop, briefly.
Noon came and went without much of a change in the weather. I continued to lose hope as I noticed the jet engine blowers hadn't made their appearance on the track.
Then, just before 2 p.m. and after the drivers had been announced to the crowd, the skies opened up again and I knew it was all over. I went back to the car and headed home. A day wasted.
But despite the fact that the race was being postponed until Monday, I had to marvel at the NASCAR fans. They not only stuck it out Sunday through the rain, but also were ready to wait for the race no matter how long it was going to take.
Little did any of us know on Sunday that it would take until Tuesday to actually go racing. The same thing happened on Monday, but without me. I decided not to head back to Brooklyn because of a forecast that didn't leave me much hope for a race.
I was right. Again, like on Sunday, it looked like there was going to be a race. The track drying equipment had pretty much done their job when the skies opened up again and forced the race to be postponed for a second straight day.
Finally, on Tuesday, they were able to get the race in. With only a short delay because the low cloud cover made it difficult to see the entire track. I watched the race on television as I again decided not to trek back to Brooklyn. I wish I had though, as it turned out to be a pretty entertaining race.
Congrats to Kurt Busch, who continues to hold on to the last spot in the "Race for the Chase."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. moved back into the No. 13 spot and remains positioned to move into the Top 12. Ryan Newman dropped a spot to 14th with only three races remaining until the "Chase for the Championship" over the final 10 races. These final three races should be interesting.
I think there is going to be at least one big change in the order before the Top 12 is decided. Then, we can sit back and see how NASCAR's changes to the "Chase" format play out.