Water then began seeping through the cracks, starting a rumor that the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] would be brought in because residue from a nearby refinery had leaked onto the track.
Michael Waltrip forced an already-delayed race start on Sunday to be delayed even further when he dropped a ton of oil on the parade lap.
The race was red flagged 21 laps in when Casey Mears’ car, which had already crashed with teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr., wound up on its side after being flipped by Sam Hornish Jr. ‘s car.
Then Hornish’s car caught on fire.
The crash was blamed on the seeping water, which forced NASCAR to spend an hour and four minutes redrying the track and cutting lines in it with circular saws to allow water out.
That led drivers to question whether the race should have started at all.
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