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Heavy Rain Shortens Auto Club 400 NASCAR Race In Fontana

FONTANA (CBS) — Heavy showers moved into the Inland Empire Sunday afternoon prompting officials to terminate the Auto Club 400 NASCAR race — the biggest Nascar event of the year in Southern California — due to the wet track.

A media representative at the Fontana race track confirmed to CBS2 that the race was initially delayed due to the rain.

Drivers were signaled at lap 129 of 200 laps to use caution, and were stopped completely shortly thereafter.

Around 2:30 p.m., the race was terminated altogether and Tony Stewart was declared the winner.

The crowd of around 90,000 people left the raceway to warm up in the parking lot.

"We weren't prepared with the ponchos and stuff," said one spectator. "We figured we'd ride the rain out."

David Talley of the Auto Club Speedway said the safety of the drivers is the top priority.

"The tires that they run right now are slick, trying to get a grip on the track," said Talley. "So any type of moisture is gonna be a dangerous situation."

According to Nascar rules, since drivers were able to complete half the race, plus one mile, Stewart was able to be declared the winner.

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