NASCAR Explains Why Race Was Called

The day was only half over but the race was finished. NASCAR's decision to call Sunday's Coke Zero 400 at about 3:00pm/et left some competitors and fans perplexed. The decision ended NASCAR's weekend battle with showers, which caused a multi-car crash during Nationwide qualifying on Friday and forced Saturday night's Cup race to be moved to Sunday. Rain twice delayed Sunday's race before it was called after 112 of 160 laps. Aric Almirola was declared the winner. With a forecast from the National Weather Service calling for the likelihood of rain until about 8:00pm/et and the race past halfway – a day after it was scheduled to run – it tipped the scales for NASCAR to call the race.

"We've seen this weather pattern and felt it was the best interest of fans getting done and getting home," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition.

"We put on 2 1/2 hours of solid racing. When you looked at what was in front of us weather-wise, we felt it was best for all concerned that the race was completed." Pemberton said an issue was that was so much rain in Turn 3 that water was trapped behind the SAFER barrier and coming down on the track. That could have delayed a restart if the rest of the track was dry. The later the rain persisted, the longer it would have been to dry the track because it would not have been aided by the sun. Motor Racing Network