Monsoon Mile: Qualifying Rained Out For The Sprint Cup Series At Dover

Kevin Harvick will start Sunday’s Sprint Cup race on the pole after qualifying was rained out at Dover International Speedway on Friday.

The field for Sunday’s race, as per the NASCAR rule book, was determined by the most recent practice session. Harvick was the fastest on Friday’s lone Sprint Cup practice session and will thus start on pole. Fellow Chevrolet driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will begin the race opposite Harvick on the front row. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top five.

Harvick returns to Dover for the first time since his dominating victory last fall. Going into the day all but needing to win to advance to the next round of the Chase, Harvick responded by leading 355 laps in route to a dominant first win at the “Monster Mile”. He also enters this race as the Sprint Cup Series points leader, with nine top 10s in the first 11 races this season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. comes into Sunday riding a streak of eight straight top twenties at Dover but only one win 15 years ago. Earnhardt Jr. currently sits ninth in Sprint Cup Series points, ridding off the strength of three second place finishes.

Practice was also marked by a massive wreck between Danica Patrick, Tony Stewart, and Jamie McMurray. Something broke on Patrick’s car while exiting turn 4 and she spun down the front stretch while the rear of her Chevrolet caught on fire. Stewart slammed the outside wall before getting caught in Patrick’s leaked oil and smacked the inside wall hard. Meanwhile McMurray also hit the wall hard but was able to avoid the oil. All three hit walls that were not protected by SAFER barriers. All three drivers were checked and released from the media center, but the session was delayed for half an hour for repairs.

Full starting lineup for the AAA 400 Drive For Autism at Dover International Speedway:
1^st Kevin Harvick
2^nd Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3^rd Kyle Busch
4^th Carl Edwards
5^th Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
6^thDenny Hamlin
7^th Martin Truex Jr.
8^th Ryan Newman
9^th Kurt Busch
10^th Matt Kenseth
11^th Kasey Kahne
12^th Austin Dillon
13^th Chase Elliott
14^th Brad Keselowski
15^th Aric Almirola
16^th Greg Biffle
17^th Brian Scott
18^th Ryan Blaney
19^th Paul Menard
20^th AJ Allmendinger
21^st Jimmie Johnson
22^nd Joey Logano
23^rd Kyle Larson
24^th Jamie McMurray
25^th Trevor Bayne
26^th Casey Mears
27^th David Ragan
28^th Michael McDowell
29^th Matt DiBenedetto
30^th Chris Buescher
31^st Danica Patrick
32^nd Clint Bowyer
33^rd Regan Smith
34^th Tony Stewart
35^th Landon Cassill
36^th Cole Whitt
37^th Michael Annett
38^th Reed Sorenson
39^th Jeffrey Earnhardt
40^th Josh Wise

Although McMurray, Patrick, and Stewart will be going to back-up cars, they will not go to the back as NASCAR rules dictate a team can go to a back-up car as long as they switch before qualifying.