NASCAR Cup Darlington Southern 500 starting lineup after lightning cancels qualifying
Unfortunately, constant lightning on a very hot day in Darlington forced NASCAR to cancel Cup Series qualifying for the very first race of the 2026 Chase...even without a single drop of rain. As a result, the metric will set the starting lineup, which is a weighted average of a car's place in the owner standings (30%), and the entry's finish in the most recent race (70%). Tyler Reddick, who ...…
At the 2026 NASCAR Cup Southern 500 in Darlington, starting lineup for the race was determined due to the cancellation of qualifying caused by lightning on a hot day. Tyler Reddick, the No. 3 seed, started from pole position in the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. Daniel Suarez, the No. 11 seed, secured the second spot in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
Ryan Preece, who clinched his first career win, took the third position in the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford. Denny Hamlin, the No. 1 seed, began the race in fourth place. Michael McDowell, the highest-starting non-Chase driver, started fifth. Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, and Alex Bowman followed in the top ten.
Carson Hocevar and Chris Buescher occupied the 34th and 35th spots, respectively. The remaining drivers from 17th to 36th were ranked in order of their seedings.
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