Photo Credit: IndyCar
After a day plagued by both excessive rain and persistent weepers in the banked turns of the 1.5 mile Texas Motor Speedway, Verizon IndyCar Series officials have postponed the Firestone 600 to Sunday afternoon, with a 2:15 p.m. eastern time projected green flag start.
Although the major rainfall concluded around 7 p.m. on Saturday evening, track crews were unable to empty the seamed areas of the race track where rain water had seeped into and by 11:30 p.m. officials called for the postponement. A similar issue with track weepers also extended the delays for qualifications three weeks ago during time trials for the 100th Indianapolis 500. The concern related to the weepers involves the downforce generated by the current IndyCars, with them being able to pull the water out of the cracks in the race track surface. With the trapped water possibly then being spread onto the circuit, the chances for a serious accident therefore greatly increases.
This is only the second time in the history of the Verizon IndyCar Series at Texas Motor Speedway, that an event has been postponed due to rain. The only previous instance was in the year 2000, a race eventually won the following day by Scott Sharp, in a very tight finish with Robby McGehee.
Stay tuned to OnPitRoad.com for further updates on the Verizon IndyCar Series.
