Under the weather

Samsung/Radio Shack 500 rescheduled for Monday

Crew members wait in the rain at TMS. Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- A daylong rain Sunday forced postponement of the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

NASCAR officials made the call about 2 1/2 hours after the scheduled start. The 500-mile race will start Monday at noon EDT.

"We didn't get any practice [Saturday], and now we'll have to wait until tomorrow to race," said Winston Cup points leader Sterling Marlin. "It's just a part of our sport that we have to deal with, though."

The last cup race delayed by weather was last October, when the event in Martinsville, Va., was run on Monday.

Most of the drivers were more concerned about the lack of time on the repaved 1 1/2-mile Texas oval -- with the 90 minutes of post-qualifying practice rained out on Saturday -- than delaying the race.

"We're just going to make our best guess and try to make the car as adjustable as we can," said Dale Jarrett, last year's winner.

Frank Stoddard, crew chief for 1997 winner Jeff Burton, said, "It's still a roll of the dice for most people. We were fortunate enough to be one of the 10 or 12 teams that tested here. We're going to have to look pretty hard at those notes."

The new asphalt has pushed up the speeds and also turned the track into a one-groove oval, with little passing or side-by-side racing expected.

Pole-winner Bill Elliott led 12 drivers who were faster than the previous Texas qualifying record on Friday.

"With the new pavement, it's going to take a while to get a second groove," Kenny Schrader said. "Last year, it was a pretty good racetrack with two distinct grooves, but now it's a whole new ballgame. People are going to have to be patient."

Burton, who will start 37th, said he isn't too concerned about being that far back in the 43-car field.

"People laugh at me when I say this, but our poor qualifying the last couple of years has been good for us in some ways," Burton said. "We have learned how to get through the pack and learned how to use patience and strategy. We don't go into this race thinking we can't win from 37th. We know we can win."

NASCAR said the cars would be reinspected in Monday prior to being placed on the grid.

The race, which had been scheduled to be televised by Fox Sports, will be shown live on FX.

 

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