HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Mother Nature washed out all on-track activity for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, forcing a major change to Saturday’s schedule.
As a result of the lack of track time for Cup Series teams, NASCAR officials have elected to replace qualifying – scheduled for Saturday at 2:05 p.m. ET – with a 50-minute practice session.
That means the starting lineup for Sunday’s title-deciding Ford EcoBoost 400 will be set by the rule book, with Denny Hamlin leading the field to green at the 1.5-mile South Florida oval in the No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota Camry.
Hamlin earned the top starting spot by virtue of his victory at ISM Raceway and fourth-place finish in the Round of 8 opener at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Oct. 27.
With three of the four title contenders winning during the Round of 8, the tiebreaker went to the best finish besides their respective victories over the races at Martinsville, Texas Motor Speedway and ISM.
Kevin Harvick joins Hamlin on the front row in the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang, with a second-best finish of fifth at ISM last weekend slotting him second among the quartet of championship contenders.
Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch will share the second row of the grid Sunday, with the four title combatants starting in the first four positions as they battle for the Cup Series championship trophy.
Joey Logano will roll off fifth, followed by Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, William Byron and Clint Bowyer.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship race will take the green flag shortly after 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, with live coverage on NBC, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.
LINEUP: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series; Homestead-Miami Speedway; Nov. 15, 2019
- Denny Hamlin (P)
- Kevin Harvick (P)
- Martin Truex Jr. (P)
- Kyle Busch (P)
- Joey Logano
- Kyle Larson
- Ryan Blaney
- Brad Keselowski
- William Byron
- Clint Bowyer
- Chase Elliott
- Alex Bowman
- Kurt Busch
- Aric Almirola
- Ryan Newman
- Erik Jones
- Daniel Suarez
- Jimmie Johnson
- Paul Menard
- Chris Buescher
- Matt DiBenedetto
- Austin Dillon
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Ty Dillon
- Daniel Hemric
- Ryan Preece
- Bubba Wallace
- Michael McDowell
- Corey LaJoie
- John Hunter Nemechek
- David Ragan
- Joe Nemechek
- Landon Cassill
- JJ Yeley
- Reed Sorenson
- Ross Chastain
- Drew Herring
- Josh Bilicki
- BJ McLeod
- Timmy Hill