Matt Kenseth couldn’t understand why NASCAR decided to call the Coca-Cola 600 short of its advertised distance. Bobby Labonte wondered the same thing. Even winner Jimmie Johnson was surprised when NASCAR ended the race 124 laps early. Johnson was walking to the sanctioning body’s hauler in the garage area when NASCAR officials started shaking his hand. “You know, I’m happy finishing second, but I’m certainly not happy calling the race at 9:30 at night,” said Kenseth, who finished second. Bill Wilburn, Rusty Wallace’s crew chief, went a step further. “We can spend an extra day to get qualified,” Wilburn said, “but we can’t wait another 15 minutes to see if we can get this race in? I feel like I’ve been cheated.” NASCAR spokesman Mike Zizzo said that even though it wasn’t raining when the race was called, rain was on the way. Plus, the track would have taken three hours to dry, Zizzo said, which would have put the race restarting at 12:30am/et Monday morning.( NASCAR.com ) AND The decision to close the show did not go over well with fans, who booed and jeered loudly, and a number of drivers who never had a chance to chase down Johnson.( Orlando Sentinel )(5-26-2003)
