NASCAR News: Weather cancels Daytona Cup Qualifying, Blaney on pole
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying for Saturday night’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway was canceled Friday evening due to continuous lightning in the area.
Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney will lead the field to green for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC). The field will be set per the NASCAR Rule Book.
Starting alongside Blaney on the front row is Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, who enters Daytona 60 points above the elimination line and the last driver currently in a provisional playoff spot.
Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric complete the top five on the starting grid behind Blaney. Denny Hamlin, Richmond winner Austin Dillon, William Byron, Chase Briscoe and Brad Keselowski round out the top 10 behind Blaney.
RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher (minus-60) and Ryan Preece (minus-94) are the first two drivers out of the postseason for now, but a win for them and many others below the line would change the trajectory of their season with a playoff berth.
Starting Lineup for Coke Zero Sugar 400
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Advance Auto Parts Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 5 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Menards/Maytag Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 6 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | King’s Hawaiian Toyota | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Breztri Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 8 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 9 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 10 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Consumer Cellular Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 11 | 21 | Josh Berry | DEX Imaging Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 12 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Coca-Cola Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 13 | 38 | Zane Smith | Aaron’s Rent To Own Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 14 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 15 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Rheem Toyota | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 16 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Modo Casino Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 17 | 88 | Shane Van Gisbergen # | Red Bull Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 18 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Monster Energy Toyota | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 19 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Safety Culture Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 20 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Fly Alliance Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 21 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Celsius Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 22 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Columbia Toyota | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 23 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Sea Best Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 24 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fifth Third Bank Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 25 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Jack Link’s Duos Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 26 | 43 | Erik Jones | Dollar Tree Toyota | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 27 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | McDonald’s Toyota | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 28 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Grillo’s Pickles Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 29 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas/Bonanza Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 30 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 31 | 60 | Ryan Preece | Kroger/Little Bites/Capri Sun Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 32 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Zep Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 33 | 35 | Riley Herbst # | Chumba Casino Toyota | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 34 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 35 | 51 | Cody Ware | Arby’s Jamocha Shake Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 36 | 33 | Austin Hill(i) | United Rentals Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 37 | 7 | Justin Haley | Gainbridge Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 38 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | Pigeon Forge Racing Coaster Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 39 | 66 | Casey Mears | SI Yachts Ford | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 40 | 44 | Joey Gase(i) | NFPA Chevrolet | 0.000 | 0.000 |