NASCAR Cup qualifying cancelled due to lightning at Daytona

With 40 Cup cars and 38 Xfinity cars entered, there will be no teams sent home after Friday’s rainout. The field for both races will be set by NASCAR’s standard metric, an average that is calculated from four parts:

• 15% of fastest lap times from the previous race;
• 25% of the driver’s finishing position from the previous race;
• 25% of the owner’s final race finishing position from the previous race;
• 35% of the owner’s current points position

As a result, Ryan Blaney will lead the field to the green flag in No. 12 Team Penske Ford on Saturday night. He will be joined on the front row by Alex Bowman in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, who enters the regular season finale holding the 16th and final playoff spot.

Kyle Larson will start third, Joey Logano fourth, and Austin Cindric fifth. Denny Hamlin, Austin Dillon, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, and Brad Keselowski will fill out the remainder of the top ten.

Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

There was a genuine attempt to get Xfinity Series qualifying in with several cars taking runs, but another lightning strike near the track forced NASCAR to call it off. 

Connor Zilisch, who intends to start the Xfinity race with a broken collarbone and then “most likely” hop out during the first caution, is supposed to start first in that race. However, it would be a surprise if he actually chooses to start from the front of the field. Parker Kligerman is on standby for JR Motorsports to drive the No. 88.

Watch: Zilisch wins pole, ‘probably dropping to the back’ to preserve collarbone strength

Sam Mayer is scheduled to start second for the Daytona Xfinity race, while Sammy Smith is set to start third.

Inclement weather is a common issue at Daytona this time of year, and rain/lightning could impact the start of the Xfinity race on Friday night, as well as the Cup race on Saturday night.

Full NASCAR Cup lineup