ROCKINGHAM, N.C., Feb. 25 -- Persistent rains forced postponement of the NASCAR Dura Lube 400 Sunday but not before a crash knocked Dale Earnhardt, Jr. out of the race -- a wreck that came seven days after his father's death plunged the world of motor sports into mourning.
Fifty-one laps, most of them run under caution, were completed before heavy rains forced the postponement.
The race was scheduled to resume Monday at 11 a.m. EST at North Carolina Motor Speedway. Stacy Compton was leading when the red flag was displayed, followed by pole-sitter Jeff Gordon, Steve Park, Tony Stewart and Ricky Rudd.
The start of the race was delayed 91 minutes due to rain. A near-capacity crowd attended with a chance to honor Dale Earnhardt, the seven-time Winston Cup champion who was killed in last week's Daytona 500.
When the green flag finally waved, a horrifying irony occurred when Earnhardt, Jr. crashed in the third turn on the first lap after Ron Hornaday ran into the back of his Chevrolet. Earnhardt climbed out of his car and walked with a limp down the banking of the track.
"I got piled up there getting into Turn 3 and somebody got into the back end of me and I couldn't keep it under control once that happened," Earnhardt said. "Robby Gordon's car slid down in front of me and everybody kind of backed off. And then we were sliding and suddenly we were going in the wrong direction.
"I got into the wall a little too hard, but we're doing all right. I was just really ready to get back to racing, but now I guess I'll just have to get ready for Las Vegas (next week). I want everybody back home to know we're feeling OK."
Asked why he was limping, Earnhardt said, "The lap belt was a little too tight, so I'm a little bruised up. We'll be OK."
It was a broken lap belt that contributed to his father's death in the Daytona 500.
During the caution period following the accident, it began to rain and the field circled behind the pace car until the 32nd lap, when racing resumed.
Gordon was in the lead at the restart, followed by Stewart, Rudd and Bobby Labonte. But 19 laps later, it began to rain again and the race was postponed.
