Rain cancels NASCAR Cup qualifying at Dover; Kyle Busch on pole
The top seed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs will get the best start to the second round.
A late-afternoon rain shower forced the cancellation of Friday’s Cup Series qualifying session, and the lineup for Sunday’s Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway was set per the rulebook which is primarily by owner points.
Entering the Round of 12, Kyle Busch – who won this race one year ago – leads the owner points and will start from the pole in Sunday’s race.
Kevin Harvick will line up second, Martin Truex Jr third, Brad Keselowski fourth and Clint Bowyer will complete the top-five.
“I love (Dover). It’s fun to race there and it’s a place I’m looking forward to,” Busch said. “You carry so much speed at that race track and, for it to be a mile in length and for it to be concrete – concrete surfaces that we race on, anyway, are a little bit slick.
“It’s definitely a roller-coaster ride and you need to treat it like it’s fun and not to be scared of the place, I think, because you can get so much out of that place. There are two ways about it – you can probably be really, really good there, or really, really bad there.
“Some days you’re going to be better than others, obviously, with how you can get your car set up compared to the competition.”
Along with three wins in NASCAR’s top series, Busch has scored five Xfinity Series wins and four Camping World Truck Series wins at Dover.
Busch has led 1,188 laps in his previous 27 Cup Series starts at the track. He has also scored 12 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes.
The remainder of the playoff field will fill in the Top 12 positions of Sunday’s lineup: Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Aric Almirola and Alex Bowman.
The four drivers (of the 12) lowest in points without a victory at the conclusion of the Kansas race later this month will be eliminated from further title contention.
Take a virtual lap around the 'Monster Mile' with the No. 18 Toyota Camry of Kyle Busch, courtesy of NASCAR Heat 3, which you can order now.
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