The Dover Motor Speedway was poised for some action-packed mid-season showdown. With the NASCAR In-Season Challenge in full swing, including the road-course fatigue of fans and drivers, somehow Dover of all tracks became something that the NASCAR community was actually looking forward to. For the first time, drivers felt relieved of not being worried about SVG’s dominance. So much so that Chase Briscoe went on X to tweet “Did Dover turn into a road course?” on Dover Track’s post, which had a picture of the #88 car leading all the positions.

The Monster-Mile is a place where rubber meets concrete and legends write their next chapter. Last year, Denny Hamlin locked himself into the playoffs on this very challenging track. But this year, today, before a single Cup car could blaze down the front stretch, a familiar rival has rolled in uninvited. 

How did Chase Elliott get the pole at Dover amidst bad weather?

That good old rival is rain. Relentless and untimely. As clouds claimed the track on Saturday, NASCAR was left with no choice but to cancel both practice and qualifying races for Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400, a first for the venue’s July return since its inaugural 1969 race. That disruption was a shocker for the garages, drivers, fans, and fantasy leagues alike.

In the aftermath, Chase Elliott, the 2022 Dover winner, emerged as the one name in pole position; he became a beneficiary of NASCAR’s qualifying metric. Though he never turned a lap, Elliott will now lead the field at the iconic Monster Mile on Sunday.

Elliott’s front row start wasn’t decided on speed, but by NASCAR’s performance-based formula: 70% weighted from his finish at Sonoma Raceway (3rd), and 30% from his current owner points standing (2nd). With this mathematical advantage, Elliott slots in first, joined by Chase Briscoe in second place, who himself is riding high off a second-place finish at Sonoma.

But with no track time and a brand-new tire compound never tested before at Dover, Sunday’s green flag will serve more like a launch into the unknown. Elliott and Briscoe will be the first to test those tires at full race pace, sailing blindly into Turn 1 on a surface they’ve yet to feel. It’s a daunting task, especially at Dover’s high-banked concrete layout, which has punished the unprepared for decades.

Joining them at the front are Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron, rounding out a front five loaded with talent, but not necessarily experience, on this weekend’s unique setup. Shane van Gisbergen, winner at Sonoma, will roll off from sixth, while Joey Logano, poised to make his 600th Cup start, starts eighth. At just 35 years old, Logano broke Richard Petty’s age record for that milestone by six months.

Rain may have shuffled the deck, but it’s also heightened the stakes in NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge. Dover marks Round 4, with matchups between Tyler Reddick vs. Ty Gibbs and Ty Dillon vs. John Hunter Nemechek. While Reddick and Gibbs will fire from 4th and 9th, respectively, Dillon (21st) and Nemechek (28th) have a steeper hill to climb.

This unpredictable qualifying shake-up means playoff hopefuls like Brad Keselowski (15th), Alex Bowman (16th), and Bubba Wallace (22nd) start buried mid-pack, with traffic and tire wear becoming immediate threats in Sunday’s high-risk opener.

How do 23XI and FRM qualify at Dover after bad weather?

When qualifying is canceled due to weather, open teams without charters are admitted into the field based on NASCAR’s owner points standings. Since there are only 40 spots and a limited number of open slots (typically around 10), those with the highest owner points among the open entries secure their place on the grid. In the case of 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports (FRM), both are operating without charters from this point onwards; their strong performance in points ensured they still qualified for the Dover race despite the setback of losing their guaranteed entry. Their consistent results have kept them above the cutoff line, even in rain-affected weekends like this one.

Race-day NASCAR weather update

Sunday’s AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover is set to go green at 2:00 p.m. ET, following a TNT pre-race show at 1:30 p.m. ET, with coverage across TNT, TruTV, and Max. The race spans 120, 130, or 150 laps, depending on stage adjustments. Weather-wise, the forecast looks cautiously optimistic: a high of 88°F, partly sunny skies, and a 24% chance of rain could keep teams on edge. Winds from the west at 9 mph may factor into pit and handling strategies. Evening conditions are expected to cool to 71°F with partly cloudy skies and similar rain odds, as NNW winds settle at 7 mph.

Adding the unpredictable weather factor to that, forecasts suggest scattered storms could still hover around Dover during race day. Track officials, learning from past disasters of rain washouts, are on alert, working closely with meteorologists to manage safety protocols and drying operations if needed. With no lighting infrastructure at the Monster Mile, any delay will narrow the race window before sunset.