NASCAR: Coca-Cola 600 starting lineup if qualifying is canceled

With rain in the forecast for Saturday evening, there is a chance that NASCAR Cup Series qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway gets canceled.

Rain and qualifying have gone rather well together so far in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, with three qualifying sessions having been canceled due to wet weather through just 13 races on the schedule.

According to The Weather Channel, that number could very well grow to four ahead of the season’s 14th race this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with a 68% chance of rain on Saturday.

Qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600 at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Concord, North Carolina oval is scheduled to take place on Saturday evening at 7:50 p.m. ET.

Based on the metric, which includes the driver’s finish in the most recent points race (25%), the car owner’s finish in the most recent points race (25%), the team’s rank in the owner standings (35%), and the rank of the driver’s fastest lap in the most recent points race (15%), here is what the Coca-Cola 600 starting lineup will look like if qualifying is indeed rained out.

Provisional Starting Lineup
1st – William Byron
2nd – Kevin Harvick
3rd – Brad Keselowski
4th – Denny Hamlin
5th – Kyle Busch
6th – Chase Elliott
7th – Bubba Wallace
8th – Ryan Blaney
9th – Christopher Bell
10th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
11th – Chris Buescher
12th – Kyle Larson
13th – Harrison Burton
14th – Ross Chastain
15th – Tyler Reddick
16th – Justin Haley
17th – Joey Logano
18th – Martin Truex Jr.
19th – Ty Gibbs
20th – Chase Briscoe
21st – Austin Cindric
22nd – Ryan Preece
23rd – Aric Almirola
24th – Daniel Suarez
25th – Corey LaJoie
26th – Erik Jones
27th – A.J. Allmendinger
28th – Noah Gragson
29th – Zane Smith
30th – Michael McDowell
31st – Alex Bowman
32nd – Ty Dillon
33rd – Austin Dillon
34th – B.J. McLeod
35th – Todd Gilliland
36th – J.J. Yeley
37th – Jimmie Johnson

If qualifying isn’t rained out, this NASCAR metric is still used to determine the qualifying order.

Simply take the drivers listed in the even positions, put them in group one, and reverse the order, and then take the drivers listed in the odd positions, put them in group two, and reverse the order. The fastest five drivers in each group over a single lap advance to the shootout for the pole position.

Unfortunately for race fans, there is also a 68% chance of rain on Sunday night for NASCAR’s longest race of the year. This is definitely worth monitoring more so than it is for qualifying, as NASCAR can easily set the starting lineup without qualifying if it comes down to it.

The Coca-Cola 600 is scheduled to take place this Sunday, May 28, and it is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Charlotte Motor Speedway beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. If you haven’t yet started a free trial of FuboTV, do so now!