Rain and water seepage hamper and halt race

NASCAR and track officials sought ways to stop water seeping through the seams.

FONTANA, Calif. (AP) — A wet few days in Southern California left NASCAR’s Sprint Cup drivers with a little time on their hands Sunday.

The Auto Club 500 finally began about 21⁄2 hours after its scheduled 1 p.m. start time, but it was slowed by two early crashes and then halted as NASCAR and track officials looked for a way to stop water seeping through the seams of the 2-mile oval.

The race was red-flagged by rain on lap 87; NASCAR officials hoped to get the race going again around midnight.

Both Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr., involved in separate crashes in the early going, were critical of the track, blaming the wet conditions for their problems.

Hamlin slid up the track and hit the wall hard on lap 14 of the 250-lap event.

“I think we can get back out there, but I think there are 42 other drivers that would agree that we should not be racing on that racetrack right now,” Hamlin said. “I hit a slick spot and my car took off. You can see it on television — right at the seams, it’s seeping a lot of water. I hit a wet spot and I’m not going to be the last one.”

After the race was restarted, Casey Mears apparently slid through water on lap 21 and clipped new Hendrick Motorsports teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. Behind them, Cup rookie Sam Hornish Jr. slammed into the rear of Reed Sorenson and then, with his hood blocking his vision, plowed into Mears, turning his car over.

Hornish’s car burst into flame as safety workers arrived and quickly put out the fire. None of the drives were injured.

Earnhardt, still looking for his first Cup victory since May 2006, was irate over the conditions in which the race was started.

“It’s just a dirty old racetrack out there,” Earnhardt said. “It’s just frustrating, man. The track isn’t ready today. We just rushed into this. It was a bad move.”

Other drivers weren’t as upset about the track conditions.

After NASCAR stopped the field on pit lane while workers cut into the track with concrete saws in an attempt to stop the so-called “weepers,” two-time series defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson said, “It seemed like the track was the best it’s been when they were bringing us onto pit road. We just need some time running out there to get some rubber down and get the dirt off the track.”

Rain on Friday washed out all on-track action, including qualifying for Cup, the Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. Saturday, the truck race was run and the Cup drivers were able to get in half their scheduled practice before rain began again.

The Nationwide race was postponed from Saturday night until after the Cup race.

The red flag lasted 1 hour, 7 minutes.

During the long delay, crewmen played catch with a football and drivers stood or sat in groups, chatting with each other.

“It’s just a shame for the fans,” said two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart. “They’ve had a long day already.”

Meanwhile, there was still the threat of more rain.

The rain also forced NASCAR to delay the running of the Nationwide Series race at Auto Club Speedway for a second day.

After it was rained out Saturday, the race was rescheduled to be run following Sunday’s Auto Club 500 Sprint Cup event. But several long rain delays in that race meant the Nationwide event had to be moved to this morning.

Several of the Cup stars, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch, were in the Nationwide lineup.