Catchfence

David Reutimann chats with his father Buzzie during a rain delay at Lap 227. Reutimann was leading the field at the time and looking for his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. (Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images)

Mother Nature forces NASCAR officials to shorten the Coca-Cola 600 to 227 laps instead of the scheduled 400 laps, giving David Reutimann (who elected not to pit with the leaders to take over the lead) his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory.

NASCAR tried their best to get the track dried, but with the intermittent rain showers (four of them forcing red flags); as well as, the threat of heavier/longer lasting rains approaching, NASCAR decided to call it a race with 173 laps remaining.

Ryan Newman and Robby Gordon followed Reutimann’s example with staying out while the leaders pitted, and finished second and third respectfully. They were followed by Carl Edwards in fourth, Brian Vickers fifth, Kyle Busch sixth, Kasey Kahne seventh, Juan Pablo Montoya eighth, Joe Logano ninth, and Matt Kenseth rounds out the top-ten finishers.

NASCAR conducts a tribute to the United States military:  At 3:00pm Sunday, NASCAR had all of the cars stopped, and all the race team’s crew members lined up on pit road  in front of their pits, to give a moment of silence in remembrance of the sacrifices of the United States military. To quote most: “It was awesome!”

2009 Coca-Cola 600 Race Results