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Food City 500 qualifying rained out at Bristol, field set by owners points

By Nick Tylwalk

BRISTOL, TN - APRIL 21: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet, poses with the pole award for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 21, 2017 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, TN - APRIL 21: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet, poses with the pole award for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 21, 2017 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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Kyle Larson will start up front again at Bristol thanks to a helping hand from Mother Nature.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series points leader has won just one pole this season, yet he’ll be leading the field to the checkered flag for the third time on Sunday during the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Such are the perks of being atop the standings. For the second time in three weeks, rain had canceled Cup Series qualifying, meaning the field is set by owners points. Larson and his No. 42 thus get to start in first again, something he also got to do at Martinsville (the other weather-affected starting lineup) and Fontana.

This year’s breakout NASCAR star will certainly take the good fortune as he searches for his third career victory. Yet starting up front and finishing there are very different propositions at Bristol, especially since drivers like Kyle and Kurt Busch — who have seven career Food City 500 victories between the two of them — will both have top 15 spots on the grid.

A bigger question might be whether the race even gets run as scheduled on Sunday. Weather forecasts for the weekend are not good, raising the very real possibility that the Cup Series (and possibly the XFINITY Series race as well, for that matter) might not take place until Monday. That’ll be a long wait for Larson and company, but probably worth it considering how well things have gone in the Chip Ganassi Racing camp so far.

Next: Could Danica Patrick already be thinking about retirement?

Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway – starting lineup

  1. Kyle Larson
  2. Chase Elliott
  3. Martin Truex Jr.
  4. Brad Keselowski
  5. Joey Logano
  6. Ryan Blaney
  7. Kyle Busch
  8. Jamie McMurray
  9. Clint Bowyer
  10. Kevin Harvick
  11. Jimmie Johnson
  12. Trevor Bayne
  13. Ryan Newman
  14. Erik Jones
  15. Kurt Busch
  16. Denny Hamlin
  17. Kasey Kahne
  18. Aric Almirola
  19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  20. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  21. Austin Dillon
  22. Matt Kenseth
  23. Daniel Suarez
  24. Ty Dillon
  25. A.J. Allmendinger
  26. Paul Menard
  27. Chris Buescher
  28. Michael McDowell
  29. Danica Patrick
  30. Landon Cassill
  31. Cole Whitt
  32. Matt DiBenedetto
  33. David Ragan
  34. Reed Sorensen
  35. Corey LaJoie
  36. Gray Gaulding
  37. Jeffrey Earnhardt
  38. Timmy Hill
  39. Derrike Cope
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