Kyle Larson Secures Bristol Pole as Inclement Weather Cancels Qualifying
For the second time in the first three races of the 2026 Chase, severe weather has forced NASCAR officials to cancel qualifying, handing the pole position for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway to Kyle Larson. Heavy rain and lightning disrupted Friday’s schedule at the 0.533-mile concrete oval, forcing the starting grid to be determined strictly by NASCAR’s metric formula.
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The Metric System Decides the Bristol Grid
With lightning and rain canceling Friday afternoon’s qualifying sessions for both the Cup Series and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, NASCAR relied entirely on its established mathematical formula. According to reporting from Heavy.com, the metric calculates a weighted average combining a team’s position in the owner standings at 30 percent and the entry’s finishing position in the most recent race at 70 percent.
That math favored Larson heavily. The Hendrick Motorsports driver secured a victory the previous weekend at WWT Raceway in Gateway and sits second in the championship standings. Consequently, the driver of the No. 5 Chevrolet will lead the 37-car field to the green flag for Saturday night’s 500-lap showdown.
Joining Larson on the front row is Joey Logano, who finished third at Gateway and sits seventh in the championship points. Championship leader Denny Hamlin will roll off third, flanked by William Byron in fourth and Carson Hocevar rounding out the top five.
Playoff Contenders Face an Up-Hill Battle in Traffic
While the top five starting positions are entirely locked down by Chase drivers, the metric dealt a brutal hand to several other playoff contenders. Gateway was a race of extreme attrition, highlighted by a track-record 18 cautions and five Chase drivers failing to reach the checkered flag. Those poor finishes, combined with the canceled qualifying session, buried multiple title hopefuls deep in the starting order.
Ryan Blaney finds himself in the deepest hole among championship challengers, starting 29th. He is joined down-grid by Daniel Suarez in 28th, Chase Elliott in 27th, Chase Briscoe in 26th, Chris Buescher in 23rd, and Tyler Reddick in 20th.
| Grid Pos | Driver | Car/Team Status | Championship Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet) | Chase Driver (2nd in standings) |
| 2 | Joey Logano | Chase Driver (7th in standings) | |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | Championship Leader | |
| 20 | Tyler Reddick | Chase Driver | |
| 29 | Ryan Blaney | Chase Driver (Lowest among title challengers) |
Navigating Bristol’s Concrete Jungle
NASCAR managed to salvage a brief, forty-minute Cup practice session on Friday evening from 6:00 to 6:40 p.m. ET once the lightning hold was lifted, giving teams a narrow window to gather vital long-run telemetry. With qualifying permanently scrapped for the weekend, teams will rely heavily on those brief setup notes when the race goes green.
Race Day Logistics and Broadcast Information
The Bass Pro Shops Night Race is scheduled to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET at Bristol Motor Speedway. Live television coverage will be broadcast nationally on USA Network and HBO Max, with radio distribution managed through PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
