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DARLINGTON, S.C. -- NASCAR tried hard, but Mother Nature and Winston Cup regular Jeff Burton won Saturday's Busch Series Gatorade 200 at Darlington Raceway when it was called at half distance by rain.
Jeff Burton and the rest of the field was held short of the finish line by a Busch Series official.
The red flag was displayed at about 6:21 p.m. ET with Burton's leading No. 9 Gain Ford and the rest of the field about 500 feet shy of completing the halfway lap.
After nearly two hours of trying to get ahead of rain that began falling under the race's fourth caution, at lap 68, NASCAR was forced to make a decision to pull the cars across the finish line, ending the race.
Burton, who won his third straight NASCAR Busch Series race at Darlington, endured a long rain delay and was out front when rain prematurely ended the scheduled 147-lap race with 73 laps of the 1.366-mile oval completed.
"Nature is making it extremely difficult to finish this race at the advertised distance, which we always try to do," NASCAR's Kevin Triplett said on MRN Radio. "It's tough to say we're simply going to crank 'em up and roll over the line, but we've tried real hard today (and) for those fans to hang in there with us is a tribute to them.
"With the whole Southeast needing rain it's hard for us to say 'Rain when we leave here.' It's difficult. Entire communities have been praying for rain (but) we've sure gone through a whole lot of jet fuel trying to dry the track."
Behind Burton, Jason Keller, Jeff Green, point leader Greg Biffle and Jack Sprague rounded out the top five. Bobby Hamilton Jr., Scott Wimmer, Mike McLaughlin, Tony Raines and Scott Riggs were sixth-10th as most of the top 10 in the point standings maintained their top-10 starting positions.
The field took a number of pace laps before the rain delayed the start. Credit: Autostock
Burton, the defending winner of the race, dominated the half of the event that was run under green, but the win was colored by the fact that only about two-thirds of the laps that were run were under green flag conditions.
"I can't believe we won two races in one year at Darlington Raceway," Burton's crew chief Brad Parrott said. "Give it all (credit) to Jeff Burton and this Gain Ford team -- they're great."
Burton was leading when Jamie McMurray's No. 27 Williams Travel Centers Chevrolet hit the wall in Turn 2, then hit it again and burst into flames before making it to pit road, where it was extinguished.
"I was just trying to stay up with the leaders and I got in the wall in Turn 2," McMurray said. "I must've cut the right front tire down and hit the wall again and I must've knocked the fuel pump off of it."
While the cars circulated under the race's fourth caution, raindrops -- which Friday canceled all Busch Series practice and Bud Pole Qualifying -- again began falling. Officials contemplated displaying the red flag three laps shy of halfway, but continued under caution.
About 500 feet shy of completing the halfway lap, the red flag was displayed for the second time and the race was halted at about 6:21 p.m. ET, with daylight beginning to dwindle.
"I think that 9 car is pretty stout," Keller's crew chief Steve Addington said. "I don't know if we'll get a chance to adjust on our race car but it would be pretty hard to beat him."
Although the Winston Cup cars were able to practice on the 1.366-mile oval for 105 minutes Saturday morning, the start of the Busch race was delayed by rain for nearly four-and-a-half hours -- with one false start that consisted of nearly 30 minutes of circulating under caution without the initial green flag ever being thrown.
On the fourth lap under a combined green and yellow flag, the rain became too heavy and the red flag was displayed at about 2:55 p.m. ET. The lap count reverted to zero, as the competitors had been told when the green and yellow were first displayed, and it was about 5:30 before the track was dry enough to begin.
The first nine laps were run under caution and, as scattered drops continued to fall in puddles in the infield, Biffle took the initial lead from his chosen outside of the front row starting spot. Biffle led until lap 32 but only 23 of those laps were under green.
Including the first nine laps, three cautions flew in the first 40 laps. The second was for Dan Pardus' single car spin in Turn 3, while the third flew when the cars of Kerry Earnhardt and Ricky Hendrick hit the wall in Turn 4.
1 33 #9 Jeff Burton Ford Gain 180/5 74 Running
2 2 #57 Jason Keller Ford Albertson's 170/0 74 Running
3 5 #21 Jeff Green Chevrolet Rockwell Automation 170/5 74 Running
4 1 #60 Greg Biffle Ford Grainger 170/10 74 Running
5 3 #24 Jack Sprague Chevrolet NetZero 155/0 74 Running
6 10 #25 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Ford U.S. Marine Corps 150/0 74 Running
7 4 #23 Scott Wimmer Pontiac Siemens 146/0 74 Running
8 7 #18 Mike McLaughlin Pontiac MBNA 142/0 74 Running
9 16 #33 Tony Raines Chevrolet TBA 138/0 74 Running
10 6 #10 Scott Riggs* Ford Nestle NesQuik 134/0 74 Running
11 8 #48 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Stacker 2 130/0 74 Running
12 26 #66 Casey Mears* Dodge Phillips 66 127/0 74 Running
13 13 #37 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet Timber Wolf 124/0 74 Running
14 20 #54 Kevin Grubb Chevrolet Toys R Us 121/0 74 Running
15 19 #36 Hank Parker, Jr Dodge GNC Live Well 118/0 74 Running
16 27 #63 Shane Hall Chevrolet Greased Lightning 115/0 74 Running
17 12 #92 Todd Bodine Chevrolet Excedrin 112/0 74 Running
18 38 #98 Kasey Kahne* Ford Channellock 109/0 74 Running
19 17 #19 Tim Sauter Chevrolet Unsponsored 106/0 74 Running
20 11 #7 Randy LaJoie Chevrolet Kleenex/ Scott Products 103/0 74 Running
21 14 #59 Stacy Compton Chevrolet Kingsford/ Johnsonville 100/0 74 Running
22 29 #1 Jimmy Spencer Chevrolet Yellow Transportation 102/5 73 Running
23 24 #46 Ashton Lewis Chevrolet Civil Air Patrol 94/0 73 Running
24 40 #291 Stanton Barrett Ford Bojangles/OdoBan 91/0 73 Running
25 15 #2 Johnny Sauter* Chevrolet ACDelco 88/0 73 Running
26 23 #14 Larry Foyt Chevrolet Harrah's 85/0 73 Running
27 30 #49 Derrike Cope Ford Petro Express/CITGO 82/0 73 Running
28 25 #12 Kerry Earnhardt* Chevrolet Hot Tamales 79/0 72 Running
29 22 #47 Shane Hmiel* Chevrolet mike's hard lemonade 76/0 71 Running
30 28 #77 Jimmy Kitchens Ford Moy Racing 73/0 70 Running
31 43 #0 Kertus Davis Chevrolet Broadway Motors 70/0 68 Running
32 9 #27 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Williams TravelCenters 67/0 65 Out of Race
33 21 #5 Ricky Hendrick* Chevrolet GMAC 64/0 56 Running
34 34 #144 Mike Harmon Chevrolet Race-Ready Communications 61/0 52 Out of Race
35 31 #94 Larry Gunselman Chevrolet Waterloo Tool Storage 63/5 44 Out of Race
36 36 #284 Brian Weber Chevrolet Enzyme Solutions 55/0 41 Out of Race
37 35 #40 Brian Vickers* Dodge EMP/U.S. Army 52/0 40 Out of Race
38 18 #26 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet Dr Pepper 49/0 32 Out of Race
39 39 #132 Dan Pardus * Chevrolet Outdoor Channel 46/0 30 Out of Race
40 32 #16 Chad Chaffin Chevrolet 31-W Insulation 43/0 30 Out of Race
41 42 #93 Bill Hoff Pontiac TBA 40/0 24 Out of Race
42 37 #152 Brad Teague Ford TBA 37/0 22 Out of Race
43 41 #134 Phil Bonifield Chevrolet Copperfield & Co. Realtors 34/0 13 Out of Race
* Denotes Rookie
Jeff Burton and the rest of the field was held short of the finish line by a Busch Series official.
The red flag was displayed at about 6:21 p.m. ET with Burton's leading No. 9 Gain Ford and the rest of the field about 500 feet shy of completing the halfway lap.
After nearly two hours of trying to get ahead of rain that began falling under the race's fourth caution, at lap 68, NASCAR was forced to make a decision to pull the cars across the finish line, ending the race.
Burton, who won his third straight NASCAR Busch Series race at Darlington, endured a long rain delay and was out front when rain prematurely ended the scheduled 147-lap race with 73 laps of the 1.366-mile oval completed.
"Nature is making it extremely difficult to finish this race at the advertised distance, which we always try to do," NASCAR's Kevin Triplett said on MRN Radio. "It's tough to say we're simply going to crank 'em up and roll over the line, but we've tried real hard today (and) for those fans to hang in there with us is a tribute to them.
"With the whole Southeast needing rain it's hard for us to say 'Rain when we leave here.' It's difficult. Entire communities have been praying for rain (but) we've sure gone through a whole lot of jet fuel trying to dry the track."
Behind Burton, Jason Keller, Jeff Green, point leader Greg Biffle and Jack Sprague rounded out the top five. Bobby Hamilton Jr., Scott Wimmer, Mike McLaughlin, Tony Raines and Scott Riggs were sixth-10th as most of the top 10 in the point standings maintained their top-10 starting positions.
The field took a number of pace laps before the rain delayed the start. Credit: Autostock
Burton, the defending winner of the race, dominated the half of the event that was run under green, but the win was colored by the fact that only about two-thirds of the laps that were run were under green flag conditions.
"I can't believe we won two races in one year at Darlington Raceway," Burton's crew chief Brad Parrott said. "Give it all (credit) to Jeff Burton and this Gain Ford team -- they're great."
Burton was leading when Jamie McMurray's No. 27 Williams Travel Centers Chevrolet hit the wall in Turn 2, then hit it again and burst into flames before making it to pit road, where it was extinguished.
"I was just trying to stay up with the leaders and I got in the wall in Turn 2," McMurray said. "I must've cut the right front tire down and hit the wall again and I must've knocked the fuel pump off of it."
While the cars circulated under the race's fourth caution, raindrops -- which Friday canceled all Busch Series practice and Bud Pole Qualifying -- again began falling. Officials contemplated displaying the red flag three laps shy of halfway, but continued under caution.
About 500 feet shy of completing the halfway lap, the red flag was displayed for the second time and the race was halted at about 6:21 p.m. ET, with daylight beginning to dwindle.
"I think that 9 car is pretty stout," Keller's crew chief Steve Addington said. "I don't know if we'll get a chance to adjust on our race car but it would be pretty hard to beat him."
Although the Winston Cup cars were able to practice on the 1.366-mile oval for 105 minutes Saturday morning, the start of the Busch race was delayed by rain for nearly four-and-a-half hours -- with one false start that consisted of nearly 30 minutes of circulating under caution without the initial green flag ever being thrown.
On the fourth lap under a combined green and yellow flag, the rain became too heavy and the red flag was displayed at about 2:55 p.m. ET. The lap count reverted to zero, as the competitors had been told when the green and yellow were first displayed, and it was about 5:30 before the track was dry enough to begin.
The first nine laps were run under caution and, as scattered drops continued to fall in puddles in the infield, Biffle took the initial lead from his chosen outside of the front row starting spot. Biffle led until lap 32 but only 23 of those laps were under green.
Including the first nine laps, three cautions flew in the first 40 laps. The second was for Dan Pardus' single car spin in Turn 3, while the third flew when the cars of Kerry Earnhardt and Ricky Hendrick hit the wall in Turn 4.
1 33 #9 Jeff Burton Ford Gain 180/5 74 Running
2 2 #57 Jason Keller Ford Albertson's 170/0 74 Running
3 5 #21 Jeff Green Chevrolet Rockwell Automation 170/5 74 Running
4 1 #60 Greg Biffle Ford Grainger 170/10 74 Running
5 3 #24 Jack Sprague Chevrolet NetZero 155/0 74 Running
6 10 #25 Bobby Hamilton Jr. Ford U.S. Marine Corps 150/0 74 Running
7 4 #23 Scott Wimmer Pontiac Siemens 146/0 74 Running
8 7 #18 Mike McLaughlin Pontiac MBNA 142/0 74 Running
9 16 #33 Tony Raines Chevrolet TBA 138/0 74 Running
10 6 #10 Scott Riggs* Ford Nestle NesQuik 134/0 74 Running
11 8 #48 Kenny Wallace Chevrolet Stacker 2 130/0 74 Running
12 26 #66 Casey Mears* Dodge Phillips 66 127/0 74 Running
13 13 #37 Kevin Lepage Chevrolet Timber Wolf 124/0 74 Running
14 20 #54 Kevin Grubb Chevrolet Toys R Us 121/0 74 Running
15 19 #36 Hank Parker, Jr Dodge GNC Live Well 118/0 74 Running
16 27 #63 Shane Hall Chevrolet Greased Lightning 115/0 74 Running
17 12 #92 Todd Bodine Chevrolet Excedrin 112/0 74 Running
18 38 #98 Kasey Kahne* Ford Channellock 109/0 74 Running
19 17 #19 Tim Sauter Chevrolet Unsponsored 106/0 74 Running
20 11 #7 Randy LaJoie Chevrolet Kleenex/ Scott Products 103/0 74 Running
21 14 #59 Stacy Compton Chevrolet Kingsford/ Johnsonville 100/0 74 Running
22 29 #1 Jimmy Spencer Chevrolet Yellow Transportation 102/5 73 Running
23 24 #46 Ashton Lewis Chevrolet Civil Air Patrol 94/0 73 Running
24 40 #291 Stanton Barrett Ford Bojangles/OdoBan 91/0 73 Running
25 15 #2 Johnny Sauter* Chevrolet ACDelco 88/0 73 Running
26 23 #14 Larry Foyt Chevrolet Harrah's 85/0 73 Running
27 30 #49 Derrike Cope Ford Petro Express/CITGO 82/0 73 Running
28 25 #12 Kerry Earnhardt* Chevrolet Hot Tamales 79/0 72 Running
29 22 #47 Shane Hmiel* Chevrolet mike's hard lemonade 76/0 71 Running
30 28 #77 Jimmy Kitchens Ford Moy Racing 73/0 70 Running
31 43 #0 Kertus Davis Chevrolet Broadway Motors 70/0 68 Running
32 9 #27 Jamie McMurray Chevrolet Williams TravelCenters 67/0 65 Out of Race
33 21 #5 Ricky Hendrick* Chevrolet GMAC 64/0 56 Running
34 34 #144 Mike Harmon Chevrolet Race-Ready Communications 61/0 52 Out of Race
35 31 #94 Larry Gunselman Chevrolet Waterloo Tool Storage 63/5 44 Out of Race
36 36 #284 Brian Weber Chevrolet Enzyme Solutions 55/0 41 Out of Race
37 35 #40 Brian Vickers* Dodge EMP/U.S. Army 52/0 40 Out of Race
38 18 #26 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet Dr Pepper 49/0 32 Out of Race
39 39 #132 Dan Pardus * Chevrolet Outdoor Channel 46/0 30 Out of Race
40 32 #16 Chad Chaffin Chevrolet 31-W Insulation 43/0 30 Out of Race
41 42 #93 Bill Hoff Pontiac TBA 40/0 24 Out of Race
42 37 #152 Brad Teague Ford TBA 37/0 22 Out of Race
43 41 #134 Phil Bonifield Chevrolet Copperfield & Co. Realtors 34/0 13 Out of Race
* Denotes Rookie
