Three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series qualifying sessions have taken place as planned, after four of the first six were canceled to get the 2026 Chase postseason underway. The 2026 regular season also saw five cancelations, after the 2024 and 2025 seasons combined for only four total.
According to AccuWeather, there is a chance for a shower in the area of Homestead-Miami Speedway this Saturday afternoon. Qualifying for Sunday's 267-lap Straight Talk Wireless 400 at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Homestead, Florida oval is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The chance for rain is down from where it was earlier in the week, but it's still sitting at 49%. What happens if qualifying is canceled for the 2026 season finale?
In that case, NASCAR would use the qualifying metric (30% owner standings, 70% results of the most recent race) one final time, as the formula is set to change in some way next year.
While drivers are split up in the qualifying order based on whether or not they qualified for the postseason, that is not the case when qualifying is canceled; the order isn't simply inverted. It is based strictly on the metric, meaning that non-playoff drivers could start inside the top 16.
In the event that qualifying is canceled this weekend, six drivers who did not qualify for the playoffs would be in the top 16. Here's how the starting lineup would look.
Homestead-Miami starting lineup if NASCAR Cup qualifying is canceled
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
2 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
3 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
4 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
5 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
6 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
7 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
8 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
9 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
10 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
11 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
12 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
13 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
14 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
15 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
16 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
17 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
18 | Justin Haley, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
19 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
20 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
21 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
22 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
23 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
24 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
25 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
26 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
27 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
28 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
29 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
30 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
31 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
32 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
33 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
34 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
35 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
36 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
37 | Chad Finchum, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
38 | Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota |
39 | J.J. Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet |
40 | Casey Mears, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet |
TruTV is set to provide live coverage of Straight Talk Wireless 400 qualifying from Homestead-Miami Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET this afternoon, and the race itself is set to be shown live on NBC beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season finale!
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