Over the years, many NASCAR races have ended early because of the weather. In those cases, the driver leading at the time of the caution and eventual red flag is declared the winner. Nearly 60 races in the Modern Era of NASCAR have ended like this. For some drivers, it helped pad stats; Jeff Gordon, for example, won 5 times thanks to the rain.
Seven drivers got an even bigger shock thanks to the weather: their first race wins.
Ryan Newman – 2002 New Hampshire
In just his 35th career start, Rocket Man Ryan Newman would dominate the New Hampshire 300 until the race was shortened due to darkness, not rain, at lap 207. Newman would lead 143 of those 207 laps that afternoon.
Joey Logano – 2009 New Hampshire
Sticking with the flat track in the Northeast, 3x Cup Champion Joey Logano would win the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire after starting 24th thanks to rain. Logano was declared the winner after Ryan Newman pit for fuel and rain began to fall. He became the youngest driver to ever win a NASCAR Cup Series Race at 19 years, 1 month, and 4 days old. Fellow list member David Reutimann would say, “Now … you have to listen to people say how you lucked into the whole deal. In the end, I hope he enjoys it because a win is a win, and I don’t think any less of mine because it’s a rain-shortened race, so he shouldn’t (either).”
Bubba Wallace – 2021 Talladega
Bubba Wallace would survive restarts and hold off some of the best in the business, including Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, to score his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory. After rain and a lengthy drying process, another batch of rain hindered the restart shortly after. At lap 117 of 188, with Darkness coming and no track lighting, Bubba Wallace was deemed the winner of the 2021 YellaWood 500.
David Reutimann – 2009 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte
Racing for Michael Waltrip Racing, David would lead five laps before poor weather ended the 400-lap race on lap 227 after hours of red-flag conditions and no sign of the rain stopping. David’s win was not only his first, but also the first for Waltrip’s team and the 00 in NASCAR Cup Series competition.
Justin Haley – 2019 Daytona
Justin Haley took the green flag at the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona for just the third start of his Cup career. Kaulig’s full-time Xfinity driver had yet to win in that series, but a few hours into that afternoon, he was about to make history. With a yellow for weather and the unknown of a restart, leader Kurt Busch would pull off for fuel, leaving young Mr. Haley leading in the NASCAR Cup Series. Not long later, on lap 127, rain and lightning would put an end to the race, giving Mr. Haley his fourth NASCAR victory and his first in the Cup Series. It was also Spire Motorsports’ first.
Chris Buescher – 2016 Pocono
After rain delays and thick fog rolled into the Poconos, Chris Buescher and the No. 34 team kept rolling around the tricky triangle, despite being low on fuel. But after just 138 of the 160 scheduled laps were completed, Buescher would be deemed the winner of the 2016 Pennsylvania 400. Buescher’s win would become the first for Front Row Motorsports.
Aric Almirola – 2014 Daytona
The last win for Richard Petty Motorsports would come at the place of the king’s final win, Daytona. Aric Almirola, in his 3rd full season racing for Petty, would play the weather game to win for the first time and lock himself into the Playoffs. Lap 98 saw a massive pileup on the backstretch, and after a short red flag, the race went green again. After a 5-lap green-flag run, Almirola would remain out front when the rain came. He was declared the winner of the 2014 Coke Zero 400 after the red flag was shown for the third time during the race.
Image Credit: Patrick Vallely
