Overview

• Persistent rain at Dover Motor Speedway canceled all Saturday Cup Series practice and qualifying sessions, forcing NASCAR to fall back on contingency procedures.
• NASCAR invoked its performance-based metric—combining fastest laps, driver and owner race finishes, and owner points—to establish the starting grid for Sunday’s race.
• Chase Elliott secured the pole position alongside Chase Briscoe on the front row, with Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and William Byron rounding out the top five.
• Teams must debut a new Goodyear tire compound on Dover’s high-banked concrete surface without any on-track data, heightening setup uncertainties.
• Sunday’s race represents the penultimate round of NASCAR’s inaugural In-Season Challenge, where starting positions could be decisive for the $1 million prize.