NASCAR: Richmond starting lineup if qualifying is canceled

The weather forecast at Richmond Raceway is questionable for this weekend. What will the starting lineup look like for the NASCAR Cup Series race if qualifying is canceled?

Richmond Raceway is scheduled to become the second track to host two NASCAR Cup Series races in 2023 this weekend. Atlanta Motor Speedway became the first, three weekends ago.

Sunday’s Cook Out 400 is scheduled to be a 400-lap race around the four-turn, 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond, Virginia oval.

After NASCAR ran the first Cup Series race without any interference from bad weather since mid-June at Pocono Raceway last weekend, rain could end up playing a role during this coming race weekend.

Specifically, The Weather Channel notes that there is a possibility of afternoon thunderstorms on Saturday, July 29. Qualifying for Sunday’s race is scheduled to take place at 1:20 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon, meaning that the session could be in jeopardy.

A handful of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying sessions have already been canceled in 2023.

Should another one be canceled on Saturday, here is what the starting lineup will look like for Sunday afternoon’s race.

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

This lineup was generated using four categories: the driver’s finish in the most recent race, the car owner’s finish in the most recent race, the owner’s rank in the owner standings, and the rank of the driver’s fastest lap in the most recent race.

These categories are weighted at 25%, 25%, 35%, and 15%, respectively, with the first two categories combined into one category weighted at 50% for drivers who drive the same cars every race.

This metric was introduced in 2020 in the absence of practice and qualifying, and it has been kept around ever since. When practice and qualifying returned on a regular basis in 2022, this metric became used set the qualifying order. When qualifying is canceled, it is used for its original purpose: to set the starting lineup.

Should the single-car qualifying session take place as scheduled on Saturday afternoon, the drivers listed in the even positions are set to qualify in group one (in reverse order), and the drivers listed in the odd positions are set to qualify in group two (also in reverse order). The fastest five drivers in each group are set to advance to the second round shootout for the pole position.

FanDuel Sportsbook, which is offering fans an instant $100 just for signing up and placing a single $5 bet, lists Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. as the +400 favorite to win Sunday’s race.

Odds and availability are subject to change, so lock in your $100 now before this offer passes you by!

Unfortunately, the weather forecast for Sunday does not look promising. There is currently a 60% chance of thunderstorms during the day, which could result in yet another race weekend schedule change.

Richmond Raceway is scheduled to host the Cook Out 400 this Sunday, July 30 beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. USA Network is set to broadcast the race live, so begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss it!