Rain delays Daytona 500 until Monday

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR has raced on the beach at Daytona, under the lights and even around a pesky pothole.

But never on a Monday -- until now.

The Daytona 500 was postponed Sunday for the first time in its 54-year history after persistent rain saturated Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR officials spent more than four hours waiting for a window to dry the famed track, but it never came. When the latest storm cell passed over the speedway around 5 p.m., they had little choice but to call it a day.

The 500-mile race was rescheduled for noon today.

"This is one of the toughest things for us drivers," pole-sitter Carl Edwards said. "It's now who can really stay focused. That's not just the drivers, that's the pit crews, the crew chiefs, everyone, the officials. But I think we'll be just fine."

But today might be another test for both drivers and fans. The forecast calls for more rain, and officials are prepared to wait all day and into the night to avoid a Tuesday race, which would strain teams that must get to Phoenix for next week's race.

"The longer runway we have tomorrow to get in the Daytona 500, the greater the likelihood for us to start and finish the event on Monday," NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said. "There are certainly a lot of considerations that go into the start-time decision, and we believe scheduling it for noon gives us the best opportunity for us to get the race in tomorrow."

Eight previous Daytona 500s have endured rain delays, the latest in 2009. But never before had storms forced NASCAR's premier event to be moved.

"I think that's a pretty good record for NASCAR," Edwards said. "They've been living right to have 53 of these and never have one postponed. That's pretty spectacular . . . I think NASCAR, they're doing the right thing, you know, not dragging this out."

Noontime showers sent fans scattering for cover and leaving everyone in wait-and-see mode. Many fans got drenched as they tried to make the best of a less-than-ideal situation.

Drivers retreated to their motor homes, relaxing while keeping an eye on developments. Edwards, Brad Keselowski and others took naps.

"I guess I'm gonna have to win the first Monday Daytona 500," driver Greg Biffle said. "As you can tell, I'm still in my uniform because I was optimistic that this weather was gonna get out of here and we were going to get this thing going. But I'll have to save my energy for tomorrow.

"I know a lot of race fans are disappointed and a lot of people at home on TV, but we just hope they tune in tomorrow."

The last shortened Daytona 500 was Matt Kenseth's victory three years ago, when rain stopped the event 48 laps from the finish. He was declared the winner while the cars were parked on pit road.