Thunderstorms force Dover NASCAR Cup race to be postponed until Monday

With rain set in for the remainder of the day, NASCAR called the event off early on Sunday morning and the 400-mile race has instead been postponed until noon ET on Monday. 

With qualifying also rained out on Saturday, Kyle Busch’s opportunistic win last week at Talladega helped him land the pole for this week’s race as the line-up was set by NASCAR’s performance metric.

Busch claimed his second win of the season last Sunday when he was ruled ahead of Ryan Blaney when the caution came out in the final lap of overtime.

“It was nice to finally get a Cup Series speedway win for me and to have that be a part of RCR and their legacy and history at Talladega – was really cool,” Busch said.  

“I know all the guys are pumped up, and the guys at the shop are excited. That’s two wins on the year so far and we are hoping for more obviously.”

With the line-up set by NASCAR’s performance metric, Busch landed the Dover pole with Christopher Bell lining up alongside him on the front row for Sunday’s 400-lap race.

Blaney will line up third, Brad Keselowski – who was fastest in practice on Saturday – will start fourth and Chris Buescher fifth.

Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing, Wyndham Rewards Ford Mustang

Photo by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images

Completing the top 10 are due to be Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chase Elliott.

Xfinity Series regular Josh Berry, in his first week substituting for the injured Alex Bowman in Hendrick’s No. 48 Chevrolet, will start 23rd.

Bowman sustained a fractured vertebra in his back in a wreck earlier this week while competing in a sprint car race. He is expected to miss three to four races.

Austin Dillon, who crashed in practice and had to move to a back-up car, will have to start Monday’s race from the rear of the field.