Cup Qualifying Canceled, Busch On Dover Pole

DOVER, Del. — Despite a minor light drizzle at Dover Motor Speedway, NASCAR made the call to cancel NASCAR Cup Series qualifying ahead of Sunday’s Wurth 400.

Per NASCAR’s metric system, last week’s winner Kyle Busch will lead the field to the green flag aboard the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Click here for qualifying results.

Behind Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell will start second, followed by a trio of Ford Mustang’s in Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher.

Hectic Practice Session

The Cup Series had a two-group practice session prior to the rain, with Keselowski’s No. 6 RFK Racing Ford leading the way.

Keselowski had a fastest speed of 158.66 mph. 

Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson, William Byron and Chase Elliott followed suit, with Team Penske’s Austin Cindric rounding out the top five. 

The lone practice session for the series was plagued by tire degradation and spins. 

RCR’s Austin Dillon was the first to spin in the opening moments of practice, backing into the outside wall in turn four.

Dillon will move to a backup car for Sunday’s race. 

Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez went for a ride in same corner shortly after, though he was able to keep his No. 99 Chevrolet off the wall. 

Erik Jones found himself in a similar situation to Suarez, nearly drifting through turns three and four. Jones’ No. 43 Chevrolet avoided contact with the wall as well. 

While the conditions were unforgiving in the morning session, Keselowski understands that teams won’t fully know the severity until the event begins on Sunday. 

“It was really bad obviously in practice, but in the same token it’s rainy, the track is super abrasive, it hasn’t rubbered in at all,” Keselowski told SPEED SPORT. “We don’t necessarily get a good answer until about lap 100 in the race. It’s either good or bad at that point. (I) wish we could know sooner, but that’s how it goes.”