Cup Qualifying canceled by rain at Bristol

Rain washed out Friday’s qualifying for the Food City 500 Sprint Cup race, putting Jimmie Johnson on the pole for the 500-lap event at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Qualifying was slated to begin at 3:40 p.m. EDT, but steady rain forced NASCAR to cancel it just before 5 p.m.

It’s the second time in five races this season that qualifying has been rained out, as poor weather wiped out the session at Auto Club Speedway last month.

Three drivers failed to make the race: Jeff Green (Wood Brothers Racing), John Andretti (Front Row Motorsports) and Patrick Carpentier (Gillett Evernham Motorsports). The Wood Brothers’ No. 21 Ford would have made the race if regular driver Bill Elliott had been in the seat, but Elliott asked to drive next week at Martinsville instead of Bristol.