NASCAR canceled Cup Series practice and qualifying on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway after heavy rain from Hurricane Isaias forced the field into curfew limits.
Rain‑Assisted Lineup Creation
Cup Series qualifying, which normally determines starting positions after a run on track, was replaced by a weighted‑average metric: 30 % from owner standings and 70 % from the previous race finish. That system will now set the field for the sixth of ten Chase races.
Kyle Larson, leading the championship, headed the field from pole, with Chase Briscoe lining up alongside him. Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric completed the top five. Denny Hamlin secured 12th place, 40 points shy of Larson, while Christopher Bell and Ryan Preece slotted 17th and 24th, respectively.
Full Starting Lineup (2026‑Charlotte II)
| Pos | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Larson |
| 2 | Chase Briscoe |
| 3 | Tyler Reddick |
| 4 | Ryan Blaney |
| 5 | Austin Cindric |
| 6 | William Byron |
| 7 | Joey Logano |
| 8 | Bubba Wallace |
| 9 | Chase Elliott |
| 10 | Carson Hocevar |
| 11 | Shane van Gisbergen |
| 12 | Denny Hamlin |
| 13 | Chris Buescher |
| 14 | Ty Gibbs |
| 15 | Daniel Suarez |
| 16 | Alex Bowman |
| 17 | Christopher Bell |
| 18 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 19 | Michael McDowell |
| 20 | Austin Dillon |
| 21 | Riley Herbst |
| 22 | Brad Keselowski |
| 23 | Noah Gragson |
| 24 | Ryan Preece |
| 25 | Erik Jones |
| 26 | Austin Hill |
| 27 | Josh Berry |
| 28 | Ross Chastain |
| 29 | John Hunter Nemechek |
| 30 | Cole Custer |
| 31 | Todd Gilliland |
| 32 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 33 | Ty Dillon |
| 34 | Zane Smith |
| 35 | Cody Ware |
| 36 | Connor Zilisch |
| 37 | Corey Heim |
| 38 | Gray Gaulding |
| 39 | BJ McLeod |
The NOD Series event followed a postponed schedule, moving to Sunday night after inclement weather halted its qualifying session.
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With the lineup locked by metrics instead of track time, fans will focus on how quickly drivers can adapt once the track clears and competition resumes.
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