After a long delay, NASCAR postpones the race at Michigan because of rain
The break in NASCAR’s Cup Series schedule will have to wait at least an extra day.
Sunday’s race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn was postponed because of rain. It was rescheduled for Monday at 5 p.m. Eastern time, the second time in just over a month that a Cup race has been pushed past the weekend because of the weather.
The race at Dover early last month was also pushed to Monday. That left a quick turnaround before the following Saturday’s race in Kansas. That’s not an issue this time. The Cup schedule has an open date next weekend before resuming June 23 at Sonoma. Of course, that means this delay eats into that time off.
Sunday’s race never began. The postponement was announced after a delay of about 21/2 hours from the scheduled start time.
There was a brief moment, about 90 minutes before the postponement, when a start seemed imminent. Detroit Lions Coach Matt Patricia, the Grand Marshal, even gave the command for drivers to start their engines. Cars were on the track, but rain quickly forced them to pit road.
Last year’s June race at Michigan was shortened by rain, but it ended on Sunday as planned. Clint Bowyer won that one. Kevin Harvick won the August Cup race at MIS.
FORMULA ONE: Defending champion Lewis Hamilton won the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal to extend his overall lead after Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel committed yet another error under pressure.
It was Hamilton’s fifth win in seven races and 78th overall for the five-time F1 champion. His seventh win in Canada moved him level all-time with Michael Schumacher.
Vettel’s car crossed the line first but Hamilton won after a time penalty was imposed on Vettel. The German driver reacted angrily after the race, including replacing a No. 1 sign in front of Hamilton’s car with a No. 2 sign.
“Obviously I’m angry, as you can imagine,” Vettel said. “I gave everything I had today and more.”
Vettel finished in second place with teammate Charles Leclerc third ahead of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas, who secured a bonus point for the fastest lap.
In the standings, Hamilton is 29 points clear of Bottas and 62 ahead of Vettel heading into the French GP in two weeks.
Vettel was leading the race from pole position with a little more than 20 laps remaining. But with Hamilton closing in, Vettel veered onto the grass before swerving back onto the track and forcing Hamilton to slam on his brakes.
Race stewards handed Vettel a five-second time penalty for unsafe reentry.