Rain cancels Cup qualifying at Indianapolis; Kyle Busch on pole

Persistent rain on Saturday forced the cancellation of qualifying for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, locking Busch into the top starting position for the race for the third consecutive season.

Additionally, the Xfinity Series race has been rescheduled to 10 a.m. ET Monday and the start of the Brickyard 400 on Sunday has been moved up to 1 p.m. ET.

Busch was awarded the pole when the lineup was set by the rulebook, which is primarily based on owner points. Busch won the pole for the race the past two seasons through traditional qualifying.

With victories in 2015 and 2016, Busch is only the second driver to win back-to-back Brickyard 400s (Jimmie Johnson is the other). If he were add a third win in the Brickyard on Sunday, he’d become just one of three drivers with three or more wins in the race (Jeff Gordon and Johnson are the others).

“It certainly was special winning both of the Brickyard races,” Busch said. “I think that, for myself and the No. 18 team, winning there (at IMS) two years in a row was thrilling.

“It was really special as a whole team, and they treat it very special there, as well, with the whole ceremony post-race and everything that goes on there with taking the ride around the track and the owner being with you. J.D. (Gibbs) was there a few years ago. That was pretty cool.

“It is a big deal. I feel like it is for us. For our team, we circle it on the calendar every year – that’s one we want to win.”

Based on owner points, Kevin Harvick will start second, Martin Truex Jr. third, Kurt Busch fourth and Joey Logano fifth.

Rounding out the Top 10 starters are Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin.

Kyle Busch is also looking to wrap up the regular season championship on Sunday. He leads Harvick by 39 points entering the race. The regular season title comes with an additional playoff points to be used in competing for this season’s series championship.

Sunday’s Brickyard 400 is also the last chance for a driver not already qualified for the playoffs to win their way in with a victory.

Take a virtual lap around Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet driven by Chase Elliott courtesy of NASCAR Heat 3. The game is available now and you can order it today:

Cla	#	Driver	4506
1	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota
2	4	Kevin Harvick	Ford
3	78	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota
4	41	Kurt Busch	Ford
5	22	Joey Logano	Ford
6	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford
7	42	Kyle Larson	Chevrolet
8	14	Clint Bowyer	Ford
9	12	Ryan Blaney	Ford
10	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota
11	9	Chase Elliott	Chevrolet
12	10	Aric Almirola	Ford
13	20	Erik Jones	Toyota
14	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet
15	88	Alex Bowman	Chevrolet
16	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford
17	31	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet
18	3	Austin Dillon	Chevrolet
19	21	Paul Menard	Ford
20	19	Daniel Suarez	Toyota
21	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet
22	24	William Byron	Chevrolet
23	37	Chris Buescher	Chevrolet
24	47	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet
25	38	David Ragan	Ford
26	34	Michael McDowell	Ford
27	95	Regan Smith	Chevrolet
28	43	Darrell Wallace Jr.	Chevrolet
29	6	Matt Kenseth	Ford
30	13	Ty Dillon	Chevrolet
31	32	Matt DiBenedetto	Ford
32	15	Ross Chastain	Chevrolet
33	72	Corey Lajoie	Chevrolet
34	00	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet
35	23	J.J. Yeley	Toyota
36	51	David Starr	Ford
37	96	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Toyota
38	7	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet
39	66	Timmy Hill	Toyota
40	52	B.J. McLeod	Ford