NASCAR: Chicago starting lineup if qualifying is canceled

After much anticipation, the NASCAR Cup Series is set for its first ever street course race this weekend at the Chicago Street Course.

Four NASCAR Cup Series qualifying sessions have been rained out already in the 2023 season, and there is a slight chance that a fifth could be added to that list this weekend.

According to The Weather Channel, there is a 55% of scattered thunderstorms throughout the day on Saturday in Chicago, Illinois, and air quality has also been a serious concern as of late.

The qualifying session for the first ever race at the new Chicago Street Course, which is set to be the first street race in Cup Series history, is scheduled to take place on Saturday afternoon beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

If the qualifying session for Sunday’s 100-lap Grant Park 220 around the 12-turn, 2.2-mile (3.541-kilometer) temporary street course does end up being canceled, here is what the starting lineup will look like for the 18th race on the 36-race 2023 schedule.

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

This provisional starting lineup was generated using the four variables included in the qualifying metric.

NASCAR typically uses this metric to determine qualifying groups and qualifying order.

This metric, which was introduced in the absence of regular qualifying sessions in 2020, remains the fallback option to set the starting lineup in the event that a qualifying session is canceled.

The four variables include the driver’s finish in the most recent race (weighted at 25%), the car owner’s finish in the most recent race (25%), the car owner’s rank in the owner standings (35%), and the rank of the driver’s fastest lap in the most recent race (15%).

For drivers in the same car from one race to the next, the first two categories are combined into a single category weighted at 50%. In the event that an entry does not qualify for all four variables, any vacant variable receives the equivalent of 41st place.

DraftKings Sportsbook, which is offering NASCAR fans an instant $150 just for placing a single $5 bet, lists Chase Elliott as the +500 favorite to win Sunday’s race.

The Grant Park 220 is set to be broadcast live on NBC from the Chicago Street Course beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, July 2. If you have not already done so, start a free trial of FuboTV now!