Las Vegas Motor Speedway's South Point 400 is set to mark the halfway point of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series postseason this Sunday, and for the first time in three weeks, there is actually scheduled to be a qualifying session to determine the starting lineup for a playoff race.
Three of the first four scheduled qualifying sessions to open up the 2026 Chase were canceled due to bad weather, including the two most recent sessions at Bristol Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway.
The weather forecast for the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas, Nevada oval is much more favorable, however, so NASCAR will not be relying on the qualifying metric to determine the starting lineup. Instead, it has been used to determine this weekend's qualifying order. NASCAR hasn't run a qualifying session since Saturday, September 12 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Because Las Vegas is considered an intermediate oval, NASCAR is set to utilize its regular qualifying format. Each of the 36 drivers on the entry list is set to make a single-lap qualifying attempt in the single-car session, and there will not be a second round shootout for the pole position.
Follow along with our South Point 400 qualifying updates from Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup at Las Vegas
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
2 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
3 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
4 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
5 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
6 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
7 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
8 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
9 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
10 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
11 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
12 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
13 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
14 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
15 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
16 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
17 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
18 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
19 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
20 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
21 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
22 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
23 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
24 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
25 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
26 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
27 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
28 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
29 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
30 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
31 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
32 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
33 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
34 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
35 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
36 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is scheduled to host the South Point 400 this Sunday, October 4, with live coverage set to be provided by USA Network starting at 5:30 p.m. ET. Don't miss playoff race number five on the 2026 schedule!
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