Larson lands NASCAR pole after Bristol qualifying rainout

Rain and lightning has kept the NASCAR Cup Series field grounded for qualifying in Thunder Valley.

NASCAR has canceled qualifying for third race of the Chase at Bristol Motor Speedway due to inclement weather. The series will try to complete a 40-minute practice session at 6 p.m. ET.

The track was dry for the scheduled start of practice, but lightning in the area kept activities on hold until rain ultimately arrived. Track drying procedures were underway at the scheduled qualifying time.

Saturday’s starting lineup has been set by the qualifying metric, giving the pole to World Wide Technology Raceway winner Kyle Larson.

Larson is a three-time winner at Bristol, including a pair of wins in the Next Gen era. He currently sits second in the championship standings, nine points back from frontrunner Denny Hamlin.

Joey Logano will join Larson on the front row, with Hamlin, William Byron and Carson Hocevar completing the top five. Alex Bowman, Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon and Bubba Wallace will wrap up the top 10.

The metric will leave many Chase contenders starting deeper in the field than they’d like after a chaotic prior race at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Christopher Bell will roll off 12th, with teammate Ty Gibbs following in 13th. Ryan Preece will start 16th and Tyler Reddick will fire off four spots back in 20th. Chris Buescher is starting a distant 23rd.

The final slate of Chase contenders including Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Blaney will take the green flag in 26th through 29th, respectively.

There were no issues in pre-race inspection, so the field will roll off as designated by the metric.

Saturday’s race is set to go live on USA at 7:30 p.m. ET.