The shortening of the Coca-Cola 600 was met with backlash from fans since many believed that the track could have been dried in an hour or two. But NASCAR looked at the logistics and everything and called the race off with 151 laps to go. Not many people were happy about it and the sanctioning body’s Senior Vice President of Competition Elton Sawyer recently explained the decision to do so.
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The rain did not lash down for a long time but there was a lot of water was deposited onto the track. That was the biggest challenge. Sawyer admitted that they would have been able to restart the race, although with a long delay. Although, such a decision would not have been feasible for the competitors, fans, and workers, who had been there since morning.
“We attempted to get the track dry, just wasn’t gonna come in, and as all that started unfolding. Looking at the timelines and the amount of racing we needed to have to complete the race, 151 laps, we were looking at well past 2 am which just didn’t feel right for our competitors, our fans alike, and all the workers that had been there all day. Unfortunate, hated to have to get to that point but that’s where we landed,” Sawyer said on SiriusXM radio.
Will NASCAR’s decision ruin a Cup Series champion’s season?
The Hendrick Motorsports star missed out on racing in the Coca-Cola 600 due to a four-hour delay at the Indy 500. As per NASCAR’s rules, drivers must start every championship race to be eligible for the playoffs. No decision has been made about his future but Elton Sawyer admitted that it was unknown ground for NASCAR.
“You look at it from a standpoint of, obviously they submit the request. He has missed a race so we start…it’s a little bit uncharted waters for us because, in the past, the waivers have been mostly for a medical reason so this was a little bit different from that aspect. We’ve had some preliminary discussions but we haven’t landed,” he said.
Regardless of that, it’s safe to say that the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 weekend was a bust and there was nothing anyone could have done about it.
