Joe Gibbs was ready to continue Coca-Cola 600 when Christopher Bell was named winner

Last night it looked like NASCAR and SMI were going to get the rest of the Coca-Cola 600 finished. Joe Gibbs thought so. Mother Nature and the power that be had different ideas.

Joe Gibbs got the win. Christopher Bell was leading at the time of the red flag. Even when the rain and lightning came through, it felt like this race was going to get going again. They were drying the track and it looked promising.

Then, just before midnight, the race was called. NASCAR claims that high humidity kept the track from fully drying. Meanwhile, reporters and fans who stuck around for another hour or so noted how dry the track appeared to be.

In the winning press conference, Joe Gibbs talked about the moment right before the race was called. He won another Coca-Cola 600, but fans were left out to…dry.

“I think, too, for me, I was in the motor home, and I was told that they’re going to call the drivers in 15 minutes, so I got my jacket on, I was going out the door,” Gibbs explained. “But you’re never quite sure, too. I’d be willing to bet on the part of the track there was either weeping and a lot of things — that was a heavy rain, and I’d be willing to bet they reached the conclusion they weren’t going to be able to get it dry.

“Also the other thing is lightning. Anyway, I didn’t know what all took place, but we were thrilled to go to the winner’s circle, I’ll put it that way.”

So, how did we get here? How did we manage to not finish the Coca-Cola 600 despite so much promise and optimism?

Coca-Cola 600 ends early, puts a cap on Disappointing Double

One weather cell was able to absolutely derail Kyle Larson’s plans for racing 1100 miles. A four-hour delay at the Indy 500. Then there was the speeding penalty that took him from P6 to P18. But he finished on the lead lap!

Then at the Coca-Cola 600, the rain showed up just as Larson landed in the helicopter. Yellow comes out and then the red flag comes out after lightning. At that point, it still felt like NASCAR was going to dry the track and get going again. Drivers were drinking coffee and taking naps to prepare!

Folks were ready to go into the early morning hours of Monday. Then, nothing. It was called. Finalized. Christopher Bell walked away with the win. I’ve never had to dry a 1.5-mile speedway before, but random wet spots on the track can be catastrophic at 180 MPH.

What could have been one of the greatest days in motorsports, ended with a massive pit in everyone’s stomachs. Fans were robbed. Kyle Larson was robbed. Everyone lost on Sunday.