CONCORD, N.C. — David Reutimann stared at the gray sky and silently prayed for one more heavy rain.

A gamble had put the journeyman driver in position for his first Sprint Cup Series victory, and so long as the clouds lingered over Lowe’s Motor Speedway, it would come in the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600.

Reutimann didn’t like his chances.

‘‘These things don’t ever go our way,’’ the 39-year-old thought. ‘‘I don’t know why it should now.’’

For most of his nondescript career, Reutimann never got the lucky break.

It finally came Monday after 75 races, three rain delays, a moment of silence, a spat with Tony Stewart and a 2-hour wait.

NASCAR declared Reutimann the winner when an ominous weather forecast indicated it would be impossible to run the longest race of the season to its conclusion. The drivers had figured that out a day earlier, when the race was postponed and carried over to Memorial Day for the first time in its 50-year history.

‘‘It wasn’t the prettiest win, but somebody has to win,’’ he said. ‘‘When you envision yourself winning your first Sprint Cup race, you envision it different. But it’s so hard to win these deals, we’ll take it any way we can.’’

NASCAR Sprint Cup-Coca-Cola 600

Monday

At Lowe’s Motor Speedway

Concord, N.C.

Lap length: 1.5 miles

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (21) David Reutimann, Toyota, 227 laps, 101.3 rating, 190 points, $403,998.

2. (1) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 227, 91.1, 175, $326,754.

3. (37) Robby Gordon, Toyota, 227, 65.4, 170, $208,985.

4. (19) Carl Edwards, Ford, 227, 104, 160, $207,531.

5. (8) Brian Vickers, Toyota, 227, 121.6, 160, $177,898.

6. (2) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 227, 139.4, 160, $200,198.

7. (6) Kasey Kahne, Dodge, 227, 115.2, 146, $159,998.

8. (9) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 227, 106.2, 142, $151,773.

9. (14) Joey Logano, Toyota, 227, 106, 143, $163,351.

10. (30) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 227, 94.1, 134, $160,965.

11. (13) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 227, 95.7, 130, $122,655.

12. (20) Bobby Labonte, Ford, 227, 76.9, 127, $135,829.

13. (5) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 227, 112.7, 129, $158,751.

14. (3) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 227, 82.9, 121, $145,951.

15. (10) Bill Elliott, Ford, 227, 68, 118, $106,000.

16. (26) Sam Hornish Jr., Dodge, 227, 76, 115, $121,610.

17. (4) Mark Martin, Chevrolet, 227, 89, 112, $111,785.

18. (18) Scott Speed, Toyota, 227, 69.2, 109, $116,648.

19. (28) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 227, 84.9, 106, $109,973.

20. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 227, 76.4, 103, $116,175.

21. (33) Jamie McMurray, Ford, 227, 76.8, 100, $105,050.

22. (35) David Stremme, Dodge, 227, 60.9, 97, $128,615.

23. (12) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 227, 73.8, 94, $131,140.

24. (34) David Ragan, Ford, 227, 61.1, 91, $102,325.

25. (40) Jeff Burton, Chevrolet, 227, 61.2, 88, $137,731.

26. (23) Marcos Ambrose, Toyota, 227, 58, 85, $104,898.

27. (29) David Gilliland, Chevrolet, 226, 67.4, 82, $89,200.

28. (25) Dave Blaney, Toyota, 226, 54.6, 84, $91,175.

29. (31) Paul Menard, Ford, 226, 53.4, 76, $121,956.

30. (39) Michael Waltrip, Toyota, 226, 37.7, 78, $99,925.

31. (15) Elliott Sadler, Dodge, 226, 49.3, 70, $98,775.

32. (38) AJ Allmendinger, Dodge, 226, 46.6, 67, $88,150.

33. (36) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 226, 41.6, 64, $106,975.

34. (17) Kurt Busch, Dodge, 226, 84.1, 61, $106,900.

35. (42) Reed Sorenson, Dodge, 226, 39.5, 58, $125,101.

36. (24) Clint Bowyer, Chevrolet, 226, 40.6, 55, $95,625.

37. (11) Joe Nemechek, Toyota, 226, 41.4, 52, $87,400.

38. (43) Scott Riggs, Toyota, 225, 31.4, 54, $87,285.

39. (41) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 225, 31.3, 46, $95,175.

40. (27) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 225, 32.7, 43, $105,065.

41. (22) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 224, 31.5, 40, $124,283.

42. (32) Max Papis, Toyota, 219, 26.6, 37, $86,850.

43. (7) Mike Bliss, Dodge, vibration, 42, 24.4, 34, $87,817.

———

Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 120.899 mph.

Time of Race: 2 hours, 48 minutes, 59 seconds.

Margin of Victory: Under Caution.

Caution Flags: 6 for 40 laps.

Lead Changes: 14 among 10 drivers.

Lap Leaders: R.Newman 1-2; Ky.Busch 3-42; J.Johnson 43-48; Ky.Busch 49-72; R.Gordon 73; M.Waltrip 74; S.Riggs 75-77; Ky.Busch 78-119; B.Vickers 120-130; J.Logano 131; D.Blaney 132-133; Ky.Busch 134-144; B.Vickers 145-166; Ky.Busch 167-222; D.Reutimann 223-227.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): Ky.Busch, 5 times for 173 laps; B.Vickers, 2 times for 33 laps; J.Johnson, 1 time for 6 laps; D.Reutimann, 1 time for 5 laps; S.Riggs, 1 time for 3 laps; R.Newman, 1 time for 2 laps; D.Blaney, 1 time for 2 laps; R.Gordon, 1 time for 1 lap; J.Logano, 1 time for 1 lap; M.Waltrip, 1 time for 1 lap.

Top 12 in Points: 1. J.Gordon, 1,722; 2. T.Stewart, 1,678; 3. Ku.Busch, 1,607; 4. J.Johnson, 1,594; 5. D.Hamlin, 1,575; 6. Ky.Busch, 1,540; 7. R.Newman, 1,538; 8. J.Burton, 1,472; 9. M.Kenseth, 1,460; 10. G.Biffle, 1,448; 11. C.Edwards, 1,431; 12. M.Martin, 1,428.