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Sunday’s postponement of the Martinsville Cup race brought about a "green" track for teams to contend with. This term is coined from the condition of rain washing away tire rubber buildup from a speedway’s surface.

Any paved racetrack is susceptible to the same conditions that affect highways and streets we drive our personal vehicles on. That includes the weather. And this year’s Daytona 500 pothole was a perfect example of that.

At Martinsville, or any track that has been sitting inactive for a time period, the surface is clean from tire compounds that were laid down from the previous year. As soon as practice opens and cars start turning laps, rubber from the tires begin to work its way into the speedway.

Driving with a torn ACL and surgery scheduled as early as late Monday evening, Denny Hamlin was looking for relief before embarking on a tough rest of the season ahead of him. With many questioning his abilities and chances with his injury and upcoming surgery, Hamlin proved them wrong the only way he knew how – dominating Monday’s race in Martinsville.

The Sprint Cup race scheduled for Sunday in Martinsville has been postponed until Monday because of rain. 

From the Associated Press:

"Showers lingered over the track in southwest Virginia on Sunday, and the absence of lights for night racing meant the window for racing was closing quickly. NASCAR does not allow a race to start unless it's feasible for the entire event to be run, and races on the shortest, oldest track in the Sprint Cup Series can take up to four hours. The call to postpone was made about 90 minutes after the scheduled 1 p.m. start."

Fox says it will televise the race at noon on Monday.

In the meantime, enjoy these great moments in rain delay history. 

As we look to this weekend and Martinsville’s hosting of the Cup and Truck Series, an old friend will be making a return. The rear wing will be removed from the Cup car’s deck lid and be replaced with a spoiler.

This move was originally announced in January at NASCAR’s stop on the annual media tour. The intent was for aesthetics. A large group of race fans have complained that they did not care for the look of the current car. One detail that was common among complaints was the rear wing’s appearance.

Both spoiler and wing variations were tested aerodynamically during the car’s development period. A decision was made by NASCAR to go with the wing. After three years on the tour, the spoiler is back.