The order is set for the final qualifying session of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season ahead of Sunday afternoon's Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
As usual, it was set by the qualifying metric (30% owner standings, 70% most recent race results), although during the Chase, the playoff drivers are not factored into the equation until all of the other drivers are lined up, guaranteeing that they are the last 16 to qualify. This remains the case even though 13 of the 16 are eliminated from championship contention.
Because Homestead-Miami Speedway is an intermediate track, qualifying is set to consist of just one round at the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Homestead, Florida, and each driver is set to make a single-lap attempt.
There have been five changes to the entry list since the race at Martinsville Speedway one week ago, including three additions and two driver changes. Back for the first time since the race at Talladega Superspeedway two weeks ago are the No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet and the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet. J.J. Yeley is set to drive the No. 44 car after Joey Gase drove it at Talladega, while Casey Mears is once again set to drive the No. 62 car.
Back for the first time since the race at Phoenix Raceway three weeks ago is the No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota, which is once again set to be driven by Corey Heim. Heim is set to become a full-time driver in 2027, so he hopes that this race will mark the beginning of a lengthy streak of starts.
The first driver change from Martinsville involves the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford, which was driven by Josh Bilicki one week ago but is set to be driven by Chad Finchum this weekend.
And the other involves a mid-week suspension, with Carson Hocevar set to be replaced by Justin Haley behind the wheel of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Haley notably retains all of Hocevar's statistics for the qualifying metric, since both variables are technically based on the car, rather than the driver.
Here's a look at the full qualifying order.
NASCAR Cup qualifying order at Homestead-Miami
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Casey Mears, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet |
2 | J.J. Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet |
3 | Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota |
4 | Chad Finchum, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
5 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
6 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
7 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
8 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
9 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
10 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
11 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
12 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
13 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
14 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
15 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
16 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
17 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
18 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
19 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
20 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
21 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
22 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
23 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
24 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
25 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
26 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
27 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
28 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
29 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
30 | Justin Haley, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
31 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
32 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
33 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
34 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
35 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
36 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
37 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
38 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
39 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
40 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
Saturday's Straight Talk Wireless 400 qualifying session is scheduled to take place at 2:30 p.m. ET, with live coverage from Homestead-Miami Speedway set to be provided by TruTV. The race itself is set to be shown live live on NBC beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don't miss it!
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