NASCAR opted to cancel O’Reilly Auto Parts Series qualifying and instead allow the series to run a practice session on Saturday ahead of Saturday’s race at Chicagoland Speedway, the first series race at the track since 2019, since Friday’s practice session was canceled due to rain.

If weather is a factor on Saturday when it comes to Cup Series qualifying, there is little reason to believe that NASCAR will hesitate to cancel that as well, with the priority being practice since Sunday night’s 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Joliet, Illinois oval is also set to be the first Cup race at the track in seven years.

Cup practice was able to be run on Friday night without issue, so NASCAR would not have to worry about fitting in a practice session on Saturday either way.

And as of now, it looks like bad weather very well might become a factor on Saturday as well.

According to AccuWeather, there is a 99% chance of heavy thunderstorms, including “flooding downpours, hail, and damaging wind gusts” throughout Saturday in Joliet.

If qualifying is indeed canceled, which has been the case for four oval races already in 2026, NASCAR would set the starting lineup the same way they determine qualifying orders, but in reverse order.

The drivers with the lower (better) metric scores would start toward the front, while the drivers with the higher (better) metric scores would start toward the back. The current metric, which factors in each car’s finish in the most recent race and its position in the owner standings, was introduced in 2025 as the replacement for the more complicated formula that was used from 2020 to 2024.

Here’s how the 38-car field is set to line up for Sunday’s eero 400 if Saturday’s qualifying session is canceled.

Full Chicagoland NASCAR Cup lineup if qualifying is canceled

Order

Driver

1

Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

3

Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

4

Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

5

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

6

Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

7

Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

8

Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

9

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

10

Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

11

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

12

Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

13

Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

14

Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

15

Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

16

Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

17

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

18

A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

19

Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

20

Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

21

Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

22

Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

23

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

24

Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

25

Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet

26

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

27

John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

28

Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

29

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

30

Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

31

Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota

32

Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

33

Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford

34

Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

35

Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet

36

Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

37

Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota

38

J.J. Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet

There is also a 55% chance of thunderstorms on Sunday, but those storms, if present, are not expected to be as severe as Saturday’s. As of now, the eero 400 is set to be shown live on TNT from Chicagoland Speedway starting at 6:00 p.m. ET. Don’t miss the first race of the second half of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, which is also race number two of the second annual In-Season Challenge tournament!

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