Source: Jared C. Tilton / Getty
What was shaping up to be a historic day of racing stateside turned into a never-ending mess thanks to Mother Nature. The Indy 500 was delayed nearly 4 hours on the dot due to severe weather, while the Coke 600 was called off after 249 laps, marking the first time that the crown jewel race didn’t go the scheduled distance since David Reutiman got his first career win back in 2009.
The rain and lightning settled into Concord, NC at around 9:40 PM EST on Sunday with heavy winds and it seemed like the race was going to be called quickly, but NASCAR and the Charlotte Motor Speedway brought out the air titans and every single piece of drying equipment they could, but between the humidity and the proposed restart time of 1am at the earliest, it felt like a losing battle for the decision-makers and the race was officially called at 11:30 PM EST with many fans still at the track voicing their displeasure with near thunderous jeers.
Not everyone was mad about the rain as Christopher Bell came out on top as the winner, marking his 2nd win of the season, as well as his first crown jewel win in the Cup Series as he led 90 of the 249 laps run on Sunday. The strong run comes at a much-needed time for Bell, who had finished in the top 10 once in the last 6 races heading into this weekend.
The biggest story heading into this weekend was easily Kyle Larson trying to complete the Memorial Day Double (race both the Indy 500 and Coke 600 on the same day) but with the delay at Indy, Larson ultimately decided to run the 500 and not be in Charlotte in time for the start of the 600. Larson was in line to have a top-10 finish at the 500 before a speeding penalty put him a lap down where he finished 18th. To make matters worse, right as he got to Charlotte Motor Speedway to try and finish the race for his fill-in driver Justin Allgaier, the rain started to fall, making his hopes for the double end in disappointment, but Larson still has an option to try and complete the double again next year, let’s just hope Mother Nature deals him (and us) a better hand next year.