Rain Forces Chicago NASCAR Race to Monday

Rain on Sunday forced NASCAR to postpone the opening race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship.
NASCAR rescheduled the Chicago race for Monday at noon Eastern.

The forecast didn't look good from the start, but because the facility has lights, NASCAR waited all day for a window to dry the track. Officials got the window and had the track almost dry, but the sky opened again roughly six hours after the scheduled start.

"We appreciate the fans hanging in there with us and we know that rain presents an issue that nobody has much control over and it's uncomfortable," NASCAR president Mike Helton said earlier Sunday. "But I think it's in everybody's best interest to try to get it in and we've got time to wait and see."

Matt Kenseth will start from the pole at Chicagoland when the race goes off on Monday, and he said he didn't think the full day of rain would present many problems for drivers.