Stop me if you've heard this one about every week throughout the summer: it wouldn't be a NASCAR Cup Series race weekend if the weather forecast didn't call for rain on qualifying day.
Qualifying was able to take place for this past weekend's race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, after it was canceled for the playoff opener at Darlington Raceway one week prior. But this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, there is once again rain in the forecast.
According to AccuWeather, there is an 88% chance of thunderstorms throughout the afternoon on Friday in Bristol, Tennessee. Practice at the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked oval is scheduled to take place at 4:30 p.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 5:40 p.m. ET.
In the event that qualifying is canceled, which has already happened six times in 2026, NASCAR would use the qualifying metric (30% owner standings, 70% result of most recent race) to determine the full 37-car starting lineup. All drivers are grouped together, regardless of whether or not they qualified for the playoffs.
Note that this means the qualifying order is not simply reversed like it is during the regular season, as drivers are effectively split up into two groups to determine the qualifying order. When it comes to determine postseason qualifying orders, the same metric is used, but the non-playoff drivers are lined up first, followed by the 16 championship contenders.
If qualifying is canceled on Friday, here's what the starting lineup would look like for Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
NASCAR starting lineup at Bristol if qualifying is canceled
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
2 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
3 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
4 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
5 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
6 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
7 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
8 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
9 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
10 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
11 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
12 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
13 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
14 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
15 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
16 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
17 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
18 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
19 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
20 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
21 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
22 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
23 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
24 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
25 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
26 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
27 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
28 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
29 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
30 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
31 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
32 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
33 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
34 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
35 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
36 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race itself is set to be shown live on USA Network from Bristol Motor Speedway starting at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, September 19.
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