After three of the first four qualifying sessions of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series postseason were canceled due to rain, qualifying went on as planned at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this past weekend.
But that streak might well end at just one week.
Rain from Tropical Rainstorm Isaias is expected to impact Concord, North Carolina on both Saturday and Sunday this coming weekend, which could very well impact the Bank of America 400 race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
According to AccuWeather, there is a 56% chance of rain on Saturday and a 98% chance on Sunday, with an additional chance of thunderstorms, flooding, and tornadoes.
NASCAR has notably not yet postponed a race this year, despite an abundance of canceled qualifying sessions, although the start times of three races were moved up due to the threat of bad weather later on. There is only an 18% chance of rain on Monday.
After just four qualifying sessions were canceled across the 2024 and 2025 seasons combined, the Cup Series might well see its fourth canceled qualifying session in six weeks to begin the 10-race Chase.
In the event that Saturday's qualifying session, which is scheduled to begin at 2:05 p.m. ET after practice at 1:00 p.m. ET, for Sunday's 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval does indeed become the ninth to be canceled in 2026, the qualifying metric would determine the full 39-car starting lineup.
Note that this would not simply mean that the qualifying order is inverted from the qualifying order, like it is during the regular season. When it comes to the qualifying order, non-playoff drivers are all slotted in first, and only then are the playoff drivers lined up, to ensure that they are the last 16 to qualify.
When the metric sets the starting lineup, however, it doesn't matter whether a driver is a playoff driver or not; what matters are the owner standings (30%) and the results of the most recent race (70%).
Here's what the starting lineup would look like for the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway if qualifying is indeed canceled, with two playoff drivers outside of the top 16.
NASCAR starting lineup at Charlotte if qualifying is canceled
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
2 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
3 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
4 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
5 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
6 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
7 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
8 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
9 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
10 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
11 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
12 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
13 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
14 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
15 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
16 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
17 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
18 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
19 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
20 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
21 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
22 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
23 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
24 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
25 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
26 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
27 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
28 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
29 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
30 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
31 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
32 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
33 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
34 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
35 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
36 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
37 | Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota |
38 | Gray Gaulding, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
39 | J.J. Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet |
USA Network is set to provide live coverage of the Bank of America 400 from Charlotte Motor Speedway starting at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 11. Don't miss any of the action from the Charlotte oval's first playoff race since 2017!
Add us as a preferred source on Google