Rain cancels NASCAR Cup qualifying at Charlotte. Coke 600 starting lineup now set
A driver for Michael Jordan’s race team will start on the pole in North Carolina’s biggest race.
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Rain canceled NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying on Saturday afternoon at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and as a result, Sunday’s starting lineup was set by the rule book. That means that Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing will sit on the pole of the Coca-Cola 600. Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing will start next to him, in second.
O’Reilly Series star and Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Hill will run in the late Kyle Busch’s stead — not in the No. 8 car, but in the No. 33. Hill will start P13.
Overcast skies and precipitation started Friday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, and scattered showers continued through Saturday. The bad weather has wreaked havoc on the rest of the on-track schedule — postponing the Truck Series race and canceling aspects of the O’Reilly schedule weekend.
The bad weather isn’t expected to slow on Sunday. The latest forecasts provided by AccuWeather.com show a 55% probability of precipitation and a 33% probability of thunderstorms — starting around noon and staying steady through midnight.
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Still, at least for now, the Coca-Cola 600 will go on as planned at 6 p.m. Sunday.
The O’Reilly Series saw its qualifying session canceled on Saturday, too, and the Truck Series race was postponed from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Instead of a qualifying session, NASCAR weighs three competition-based metrics to set its starting lineup “by the rule book.” That inclueds owners points position, as well as the finish and the fastest lap from the most recently completed race.
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Sunday’s starting lineup will be as follows:
This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 2:02 PM.
