Rain cancels Coke 600 qualifying; William Byron on pole

NASCAR officials were still trying to get Saturday’s Xfinity Series race started when it pulled the plug on all track activity around 3:45 p.m. ET.

With no qualifying, the lineup for Sunday night’s 600 was set based on NASCAR’s performance metric.

William Byron, who won the series’ most recent points-paying race two weeks ago at Darlington, S.C., had the lowest metric score and will start Sunday’s race on the pole.

In six career starts on Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval track, Byron’s best finish is fourth in 2021. He wrecked out of last year’s race after 191 of 413 laps.

“This is one of my favorite races of the season. Not only are we racing at home, but it’s my home track,” said Byron, a Charlotte native. “I usually have family here and the race just has so much history behind it.

“I remember going to Charlotte as a kid to watch races and how memorable the weekend was. Not only that, but it’s literally right by the (Hendrick Motorsports) shop, so I know winning at Charlotte is a big deal to (owner Rick) Hendrick and all of Hendrick Motorsports.

“Hopefully, we keep up the good runs we’ve been having this year and can add another one on Sunday.”

Byron is off to a remarkable start this season.

In 13 races, he has three wins, two poles six top-five and seven top-10 finishes. He leads the series in wins laps led (596) and stage wins (six).

Joining Byron on the front row Sunday night will be Kevin Harvick with Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch filling out the top five.

Completing the top-10 starters are Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Kyle Larson, who won last weekend’s All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway, will line up 12th.

The weather forecast for Sunday also remains in doubt. Right now, there is an 80 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.