NASCAR sets Bristol lineup, Larson on pole after rain cancels qualifying

NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 19, 2026

Bristol lineup

Rain and lightning canceled Cup qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday, so NASCAR used its metric formula to set the starting lineup for Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Kyle Larson comes away with the pole, and Joey Logano will start beside him on the front row. Denny Hamlin will roll off third and William Byron fourth, giving the race a strong first two rows before the field even reaches the green flag. The top 10 also includes Carson Hocevar in fifth, Alex Bowman sixth, Ross Chastain seventh, Austin Cindric eighth, Austin Dillon ninth and Bubba Wallace 10th. That full group gives Bristol a front end built by the formula rather than a timed lap, a change that came after the weather shut down the qualifying session. The rest of the lineup stretches well back from there. Tyler Reddick will start 20th, Chase Elliott 27th, Daniel Suarez 28th and Ryan Blaney 29th. NASCAR had no qualifying order to sort through once the rain and lightning hit, so the metric chart became the only path to the starting grid.

Larson pole

Larson earned the pole after winning last Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway. That victory fed directly into Bristol, where he now gets the top starting spot for one of the Cup Series playoff races. He enters the third NASCAR Cup Series postseason race nine points behind the championship lead, so the pole gives him a clean opening after a strong run through the opening part of the playoffs. Larson also finished fifth at Darlington in the prior postseason race, another solid result that kept him within range of the top of the standings. He will start from the pole with Logano to his outside, Hamlin in third and Byron in fourth, so the front of the field features four drivers who will have the first shot at control when the race starts. The lineup gives Larson a chance to build on the momentum from World Wide Technology Raceway and Darlington, and it puts him in the first row after the weather changed the way Bristol’s grid was set.

Midfield starters

The lower half of the Bristol lineup carries several notable names and one important backup plan. Reddick will start 20th, Elliott 27th and Blaney 29th, leaving each of them with work to do once the race gets underway. Suarez will line up 28th and is on baby watch for his first child. Justin Allgaier is on standby as a possible relief driver for Suarez, giving the team an option if it needs one during the race. Those spots come after NASCAR set the field by metric because qualifying never happened Friday. The formula changed the shape of the lineup and pushed a number of familiar names deep into the grid. Larson, Logano, Hamlin and Byron will start up front, but the rest of the order is spread across the field, from Hocevar in fifth through Wallace in 10th and on back to the group at 20th and lower. Bristol now opens with a lineup that reflects weather, timing and recent performance, and the race begins with several drivers starting far from the front after a Friday washout ended their shot at qualifying.