NASCAR: Full Michigan starting lineup if qualifying gets canceled

Through the first 23 races of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, on only one occasion has a qualifying session been rained out. That happened two months ago at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, resulting in the starting lineup being set by a metric that NASCAR introduced back in 2020.

According to The Weather Channel, there is a chance that Saturday's qualifying session at Michigan International Speedway could get rained out as well, meaning that the metric could very well set the starting lineup for Sunday afternoon's 200-lap FireKeepers Casino 400 at the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) Brooklyn, Michigan oval.

Qualifying is scheduled to get underway at 1:20 p.m. ET, and The Weather Channel is calling for a 60% chance of afternoon thunderstorms in the area of the track, lasting from around 12:00 p.m. ET to 4:00 p.m. ET.

Should qualifying be canceled, it would be Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin who starts Sunday afternoon's race from the pole position behind the wheel of his No. 11 Toyota.

The qualifying metric, which is explained in more detail here, takes into account four variables: the car owner's rank in the owner standings (35%), the driver's finish in the most recent race (25%), the car owner's finish in the most recent race (25%), and the rank of the driver's fastest lap in the most recent race (15%).

Here is the full starting lineup for the FireKeepers Casino 400 in the event that qualifying gets rained out.

Full Michigan starting lineup (with qualifying rainout)

1st - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2nd - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

3rd - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

4th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

5th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

6th - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

7th - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet

8th - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

9th - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

10th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

11th - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

12th - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet

13th - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

14th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

15th - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

16th - Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

17th - Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

18th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

19th - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

20th - Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

21st - Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

22nd - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

23rd - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

24th - Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

25th - Noah Gragson, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

26th - Ryan Preece, No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

27th - Zane Smith, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

28th - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

29th - Justin Haley, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

30th - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

31st - Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

32nd - Daniel Hemric, No. 31 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

33rd - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

34th - Harrison Burton, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

35th - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

36th - Cody Ware, No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Ford

Tune in to USA Network at 2:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, August 18 for the live broadcast of the FireKeepers Casino 400 from Michigan International Speedway. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!