This Coke is watered down, and postponed

Racing’s biggest day went from three marquee races to two on Sunday.

While Formula One’s Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy Racing League’s Indianapolis 500 started and finished uninterrupted, weather disrupted NASCAR’s contribution.

The 50th Coca-Cola 600 will run on Memorial Day, with the green flag at 9:01 a.m. PDT today. The National Weather Service lists a 40% chance of rain this morning and a 60% chance of rain in the afternoon. If all-day rain postpones the race again, NASCAR will run it Tuesday.

Ryan Newman will start from the pole with Kyle Busch on his outside and Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top five.

Rain clouds ominously blanketed Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon but through pre-race festivities the weather stayed mostly dry.

Then minutes before the race’s planned start time, a heavy downpour soaked the track’s grounds. It was the start of a weather pattern that led to NASCAR’s first rain-postponed race of the season.

“We have a ton of family members and friends in town this weekend,” said Kurt Busch, who will start 17th in an attempt to get team owner Roger Penske his second win of the holiday weekend. “Of course the big plan was for us all to be here tonight and playing around by the lake tomorrow. Now they’ll have to make a choice for tomorrow, I guess.”

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tganguli@orlandosentinel.com