NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. -- Two days of rain that resulted in a flash flood warning for sections of North Carolina forced postponement Sunday of the Holly 400 NASCAR Winston Cup race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
The 400-lap race at the 0.625-mile track was rescheduled for Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. NASCAR officials said the track would open Oct. 14 for practice.
The 32-car field as determined prior to the postponement will remain unchanged.
Officials announced postponement of the event prior to 10 a.m. Sunday after an inspection of the track and parking areas. Weather forecasters predicted the rain wouldn't end before Monday.
The Winston Cup teams are scheduled to report to Charlotte Motor Speedway Tuesday to begin preparations for the Oct. 8 All Pro 500.
This is the second straight year the Holly 400 has been delayed by two weeks because of rain. In 1988, qualifying was completed for the event before rain on Sunday forced postponement of the race until the following day. However, the rain continued Monday and since the teams had to report to Charlotte on Tuesday, the race was postponed until the weekend after the Charlotteevent.
This year, rain began falling Friday afternoon, shortening the first qualifying round. Five drivers still had to make their timed runs when the rain began, and since the round could never be completed all the speeds were erased and the lineup was determined by the Winston Cup car owner standings.
When the race is held, Dale Earnhardt will be in the pole position and Rusty Wallace in second. With five races remaining, Wallace trails Earnhardt by 75 points in the battle for the Winston Cup title.
