Rain at Pocono Raceway Pushes Pennsylvania 500 to Monday

LONG POND, Pa. (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson's White House visit will have to wait. So will the start of the Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway.

Steady rain postponed Sunday's race and it has been rescheduled for 12:15 PM Monday.

Heavy rain hit the track Sunday morning. It let up about an hour before the scheduled 2 PM start and the sky brightened for driver introductions. The rain returned about 3:30 PM and soaked the surface again. There was light rain the rest of the afternoon, forcing the postponement.

More Coverage: Pennsylvania 500 Preview

There was also some concern about "weepers" -- water that seeps up through the track following heavy precipitation on the triangle track. Pocono does not have lights and faced a time crunch to start the race.

"It's just kind of rough to endure it when you're here waiting for it to either rain more or rain less," Bobby Labonte said.

Johnson, the three-time defending Cup champion, was among a group of NASCAR drivers to be honored at the White House by President Barack Obama on Monday. Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet was going to be parked at the White House.

NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said the date of a future visit was being discussed with White House officials.

Rain also washed out qualifying on Friday, which automatically gave the pole to points leader Tony Stewart. Stewart lost his pole position and will start from the back of the pack after wrecking his car during Saturday's practice. He leads Johnson by 192 points in the standings.

Stewart won the Pocono race in June from the rear of the field after a similar practice wreck knocked him from the pole.

Drivers had to wait about 2 1/2 hours from the scheduled green flag before the race was called. It's the second postponement this year, following the Coca-Cola 600 in May.

"I just think being around another day won't be fun for anybody," Jamie McMurray said.

McMurray had been informed by Roush Fenway Racing that he can talk to other organizations about a ride for next season. Crown Royal has been with the team as sponsor for McMurray, who is in the final year of his contract. RFR officials have said they want to re-sign McMurray, but only if they can find additional sponsorship.

Crown Royal's sponsorship was moved to Matt Kenseth's car after Dewalt Power Tools said it would not return in 2010.

McMurray said on Sunday that two or three owners had already called him with good opportunities for next season.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-03-2009 @ 10:06AM

illsell4u said...

Perhaps the problem is that you have no real experiences actually interacting with people that live in the south. Your experience has been limited to some people that visit your favorite blogs and rip our President. What blogs are those? As you have no real interest in Nascar it would be interesting to know what actual interests you have. Perhaps I would get to see something you have a positive view of as it is certainly not Nascar.
mbl

8-03-2009 @ 10:59AM

I agree that there are far too many people that have to jump in and inject some political or racial agenda into newsworthy articles. But my question would be, "are there any of the people that regularly post on Nascar Fanhouse the ones you have also seen spewing that garbage?" And unless they are the ones, are you not doing EXACTLY what bothers you the most? You are stereotyping Nascar and all its fans as being Southern, white, poor, racist, and uneducated. Most of the people that actually post regularly are not from the original CSA, we actually have heard of soap and toothpaste, and believe it or not, we are not married to our sisters.
And I would argue that most "black" people are also unfortunately racist by nature. It is a shame on the human race as a whole but it also a problem of hanging on to the past and directing hatred at the wrong people. Rather than blame the rum/slave trade that took advantage of what they called a "commodity", slaves, why not blame the people that started it and are still involved in it? The African people and the rival tribes. Slavery is a ugly fact of our national heritage and the people that were developing our country should have never gotten involved in it but they did not invent it. They took advantage of a slave trade that has been active for over a thousand years in Africa and is still prevalent today. That is the root of the problem that needs to be resolved.
Feel free to enjoy the race today, you might actually learn to like Nascar.
mbl

8-03-2009 @ 11:07AM

southerner said...

It truly amuses me to hear from you idiots about Nascar, you obviously do not have a clue about the technology that is involved or the skill it takes to drive at the speeds they drive at,much less the conditioning the drivers have to go through to be able to do it. I am southern as the day is long and will match my intelligence or the color of my teeth against yours any day of the week.As for Obama, did you read today where there will have to be a tax increase for the middle class. Congratulations,he will have to do what every other President has had to do only this time it will not be for the good of the country,it will be for one classof people, not the ones who need a job but the ones who will not work. As for your yellow teeth we all know you are a coward, this is why you exspress yourself in this format, you are afraid to say it to anyones face for fear of getting them knocked out.

8-03-2009 @ 2:00PM

mfatty500 said...

could'nt agree with more,nascars sucks but it sounds like you do too! leave them poor NAPCAR fans alone. Open wheel racing forever!

8-03-2009 @ 2:03PM

nzcr14 said...

STILL PUTTING $$$ BONUSES IN THOSE WHITE REDNECKS
aol reporters KEWV 31? You most not hate them as much as you say.And just out of curiosity,WHICH ONE IS YOUR SPACE THAT THOSE WHITE RACIST MAGGOTS HAVE INVADED? i NEVEN KNEW I HAD CROSSED IN TO A BLACK GANG CONTROLLED GHETTO AND PROBABLY NEITHER DID those other white yellow teeth (as u like to call them).
You mention about the rednecks bashing your OSAMA
HUSSEIN PRES?.Isn't what the blacks to to every white pres. exspecially if it's a republican pres.?
DOYOU THINK YOUR OSAMA BOY is going to be a perfect
president? WHY hsa he and his ugly wife been living so LAVISHLY swimming in the thousands of dollars in house and all over the country 20 to 30
thousands $$$ dinners and other excursions?
WHY DOES MICHELLE O.S DRESSES IN $5000 and up dresses and shoes,jewelry, beauty parlors,entertainments etc. etc. while 70% of black familyes struggle to survive AND MANY SUFFER EVEN HUNGER?
WHY IS THAT THE BLACK RACE IN AFRICA KEEPS ON DIENG
FROM HUNGER AND PRIMITIVE POVERTY WHILE THE FEW BLACK ELITES INCLUDING THE OSAMA'S LIVE IN GOLD AND EMERALD'S AH?
WHY IS THAT yor BLACK PRES. WANTS ISRAEL TO GIVE JERUSALEM TO THE RATS, PARASSITES AND COWARDS OF ALLAH, WHEN JERUSALEM WAS ALWAYS a city and capital of the JEWS STATE? AH? ........that's going back thousands years when ISRAEL WAS GIUDEA, SAMARIA and before that the LAND OF CANAN?
CAN YA TELL ME WHY YOUR RACIST ANTISEMITIC BLACK MAGGOT SCUM HATES THE JEWS SO MUCH TO SIDE WITH TERRORISTS MURDERERS DESEASED SHAME OF THE HUMAN RACE CALLED THE ASS LICKERS OF ALLAH???? WHY?????????. WHERE IS JUSTICE??????????????????.
As BB NETTANGNAU I. Prime minister sayed to OSAMA.
THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JERUSALEM IS THE CAPITAL OF THE JEWS ALWAY BACK TO KING DAVID AND SOLOMON AND EVEN BEFORE, NOT THE MECCA/MEDINA OF THE EMPIRE OF TERROR AND MAGOOTS WORMS OF ALLAH PARASSITING ON THE JEWS STATE!!!!!.