The NASCAR Cup Series teams will not take part in practice or qualifying at Dover Motor Speedway due to persistent rain. As a result, Chase Elliott will lead the field to the green flag for Sunday's race (2 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV, and Max).
The two-time Dover winner will start from the pole for the first time this season due to NASCAR's qualifying metric (70% the previous race, 30% owner points). Elliott's previous best starting position this season was second at Martinsville Speedway in March.
MORE: Full Dover starting lineup
Chase Briscoe will join Elliott on the front row for Sunday's race. He will make his sixth front row start this season. He won the pole for four different races and then started second at Sonoma Raceway.
The rest of the top 10 includes Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Shane van Gisbergen, Michael McDowell, Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs, and Kyle Busch.
Denny Hamlin, the defending Dover winner, will start 13th due to the rain. 2021 winner Alex Bowman will start 16th as he aims to join his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in the playoffs.
The rain canceling practice and qualifying at Dover creates a problem for Cup Series teams. They will have to take on a 400-lap race with brand-new tires, ones they have never tested before.
These are tires that Goodyear designed specifically for the concrete oval. They will not be in use at any other track this season.
"I believe it is a right side that we run at some of the intermediate style tracks, but yes, the left side is different," Tyler Reddick said on Saturday. "The trend with that has been softer tires that lay more rubber - something that goes along with that is marbling outside of the racing lane, but typically when there is more rubber going down on the race track, it is presenting us with more options on the racing surface, especially a place like this.
"Even last year, when we ran here, it was laying so much rubber down on the track that it was forcing you, late in the runs, to move around to get away from the rubber build up. I feel like we were having so much of it on corner exit, it reminds me of Martinsville. That would be exciting."