Rain fell on the Nashville Superspeedway early Saturday, washing out the scheduled qualifying session for the NASCAR Cup Series. With the track still soaked, officials announced that the starting lineup would be set by points standings rather than on‑track performance.
Rain‑Soaked Qualifying Reshapes the Grid
Under the new arrangement, Denny Hamlin, who sits second in the championship standings, will lead the field when the green flag drops. He will share the front row with championship leader Tyler Reddick, giving the two drivers a prime spot at the start.
Daniel Suarez, the recent Coca‑Cola 600 winner, will line up third on the grid. Behind them, Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson will occupy fourth and fifth positions respectively, rounding out the top five.
The top ten also includes Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Joey Logano and Shane van Gisbergen, each of whom will look to capitalize on the shuffled order. Among the drivers starting further back, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Connor Zilisch are notable names that will need to fight through the field.
Chase Elliott, the 2022 race winner, is slated to start 29th, while Ross Chastain, the 2023 victor, will begin 35th. Adding to the intrigue, Corey Heim will take the green flag in 24th place as part of a fourth entry for the 23XI Racing team.