Nascar Race Today: Lightning Cancels Atlanta Qualifying, Metric Sets Lineup with Chase Elliott Fourth
Qualifying for the nascar race today at Atlanta Motor Speedway was canceled when lightning moved into the area, prompting officials to set the starting lineup by the governing body's metric. The change alters Sunday afternoon’s preparation and leaves Chase Elliott positioned fourth on the grid.
Atlanta Motor Speedway: Weather Halts Saturday Plans
Mother Nature interrupted the Cup Series schedule on Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga., when lightning in the vicinity led officials to cancel Cup Series qualifying. That decision removed the usual on-track session for drivers and teams and produced an administrative restart: the grid would be determined by the sport’s metric rather than lap times from qualifying.
Chase Elliott and No. 9 team: Fourth After Daytona Momentum
Chase Elliott, piloting the No. 9 car, will line up fourth on Sunday afternoon. Elliott arrives off a fourth-place finish in last week’s DAYTONA 500, and the metric set by the governing body preserved that standing into the Atlanta starting order. The placement keeps Elliott near the front of the field without the team turning a single qualifying lap at the track.
Hendrick Motorsports starting spots: Byron 13th, Larson 16th, Bowman 36th
Hendrick Motorsports will field multiple starters at varying positions after the metric was applied: William Byron drew 13th, Kyle Larson 16th and Alex Bowman 36th. Those specific starting positions reflect the governing body’s formula and will influence each crew’s race strategy, pit sequencing and early-race decisions.
Race logistics: 3 p. m. start time and FOX telecast
The Cup Series race is scheduled to begin at 3 p. m. on Sunday and will air on FOX. Teams and fans will use that fixed start time to plan final preparations and broadcast viewing, even as the qualifying cancellation compresses the pre-race timeline for setup and strategy work.
Nascar Race Today: Broader context and related content
Officials posted a full starting grid after applying the metric, creating a complete lineup for the event. Related pieces of coverage available include reflections on "The Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus dynasty, part one" and a look at "More on Elliott and Gustafson's 10-year pairing. " What makes this notable is that the metric preserves recent performance and standings in lieu of on-track qualifying, locking in advantages and disadvantages before any laps are run at Atlanta.
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The cancellation of qualifying had a direct cause-and-effect arc: lightning in the area led officials to cancel the session, the governing body’s metric was applied as the alternative method, and the result fixed the starting positions that teams will carry into the 3 p. m. race that will be broadcast on FOX. Unclear in the provided context is the exact composition of the full starting grid beyond the Hendrick Motorsports entries and Elliott’s placement.
