Engines fired in rain-delayed Pocono 500 Ryan Newman Leads The Field to Green

LONG POND, Pa. - The track is dry and the rain-delayed Pocono 500 is about to start. The race was delayed by a rain shower that hit the track about a 90 minutes before the scheduled start.

The engines were scheduled to be fired at 2:09 p.m. EDT for the race on the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway, but track personnel were still drying the racing surface at that time. Because the track is 2.5 miles, it takes 90 minutes to two hours to dry the track. With rain continuing throughout the afternoon, it was 4:40 p.m. EDT before the engines were actually started and drivers pulled onto the track.

According to the National Weather Service's Web site, there is a 30 percent chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms for the remainder of the day.