NASCAR Sets Charlotte Starting Grid After Rain Cancels Qualifying

Rain from Hurricane Isaias forced NASCAR to determine the starting positions for Sunday's Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, using its established performance-based formula after qualifying was canceled on October 10. Kyle Larson secured the pole position for the October 11 Bank of America 400, while the weather also postponed the O'Reilly Series race to Sunday evening.

According to the Oklahoma-based newspaper The Oklahoman, the Cup Series field includes 39 drivers for the 267-lap event covering 400.5 miles on the 1.5-mile oval. The green flag is scheduled for approximately 2:20 p.m. Central Time, with USA Network carrying the national television broadcast.

The starting formula assigns 70 percent of its calculation to a car's finishing position in the previous race and 30 percent to its team's position in the owner standings. According to Fox Sports, qualifying cancellations have affected four of the first six races in the 2026 Chase, bringing renewed attention to the system during the championship's 10-race postseason.

Christopher Bell, who drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, will start 17th after finishing 23rd at Las Vegas the previous week amid power steering problems. He questioned NASCAR's approach to qualifying when speaking with reporters Saturday.

"That sucks," Bell said.

Bell argued that NASCAR should make greater efforts to hold qualifying sessions when weather disrupts the schedule, including potentially conducting them in the hours before a race. He said he accepts using the formula to establish an order when necessary but wants the series to prioritize actual qualifying sessions.

"Not good. ... We're the top level of auto racing in America. You’re not going to see other top forms of motorsports line a race up without qualifying.

I think that we should put more effort into qualifying [at some point]. And I'm OK with the metric of lining up the qualifying order. I just think we need to qualify."

Bell said.

Larson will lead the field ahead of Chase Briscoe, who won the Las Vegas race, while Tyler Reddick starts third. Denny Hamlin, another Joe Gibbs Racing driver and a contender trailing Larson by 40 points in the standings, begins from 12th.

Hamlin identified pit-road positioning as one potential disadvantage of starting farther back. Larson has the first choice of pit stalls because of his pole position, a benefit Hamlin said could matter during the race.

"It'll be more challenging in the first stage, but I don't think it'll be a challenge to win the race as much," Hamlin said. "I think the No. 1 pit stall is going to be very beneficial [for Larson, who gets first pick]. Because of no qualifying, we won't have the opportunity to get an opening out [from our pit].

Most likely, have an opening in, which is a little disadvantage. But nothing that speed can’t overcome."

Larson also credited the starting formula with helping him maximize points at Kansas earlier in the Chase. He said maintaining the lead at Charlotte can be more difficult because the track surface offers less grip and allows competitors to pass more readily than at Kansas.

"This is a harder track to maintain the lead, just because the grip and the surface is a lot less," Larson said. "Kansas, you can kind of maintain the lead pretty easily for three-quarters of the run, and then they start coming at you. But from the 600 [in May at Charlotte], I got out to lead a couple different times, and the Gibbs cars were just faster and passing with no problem.

Kansas, you're just at max velocity a lot of the run. Here, there's a lot more off-throttle time, and it just, you know, shapes up for easier passes. But if our car is good, we're going to try our best to get the lead and maintain it."

Fox Sports reported that NASCAR expects to reassess the starting-grid formula during the offseason rather than change the rules in the middle of the postseason. The O'Reilly Series race, originally scheduled for Saturday, is set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time Sunday, following the weather disruption.

The race is scheduled for 267 laps divided into three stages of 80, 85 and 102 laps. In addition to the USA Network television broadcast, NASCAR.com and SiriusXM Channel 90 will provide audio coverage, while HBO Max offers in-car camera streams to subscribers.