NASCAR Cup Series qualifying canceled, Ryan Blaney on pole at Daytona

The qualifying session at Daytona for the NASCAR Cup Series has been canceled. Ryan Blaney will take the pole position. The starting lineup is set by the metric, and that puts the 12 team on the front row with Alex Bowman right behind.

Starting position doesn’t matter much at Daytona. But there are a few drivers who are not going to be thrilled with having to race through the field on Saturday night.

Lightning and rain canceled both Xfinity and Cup qualifying today. Ryan Blaney on the pole for the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Who do you have winning it all tomorrow night?

Drivers like Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Tyler Reddick, and Chase Elliott are all starting deep in the field. Daytona is ready to give one lucky driver a playoff spot and/or crush the hopes and dreams of others at the same time.

Ryan Blaney is on the NASCAR Cup Series pole after qualifying was canceled due to lightning at Daytona. pic.twitter.com/B3OxusVQUY

— Jonathan Howard (@Jondean25) August 22, 2025

Seeing Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Austin Cindric in the first three rows should concern the field. The Team Penske group knows how to work well together on these drafting tracks. Josh Berry isn’t far away in P11.

Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson will be able to work together early on. If William Byron can move up from the fourth row, Hendrick can have a three-car pack working together to go up against Penske.

Ryan Blaney on pole after lightning cancels Daytona qualifying

Giving Ryan Blaney track position at a superspeedway is risky for the field. We have seen Blaney win at Daytona and Talladega in some of the closest finishes ever. He has a knack for pulling out these races at the last minute.

So, the weather is going to be a major factor this weekend. The Xfinity Series had issues with lightning. NASCAR is hoping that Mother Nature is kind enough to let the race happen later tonight. It could be a late one at Daytona, depending on how the weather plays out.

I really think that Penske is going to benefit from this starting lineup. We usually see teams qualify around the same times because the cars are so similar. But without an actual qualifying session, there are many teammates who are spread out through the field to start. Not Penske.

Tonight and tomorrow night in Daytona, we are going to see wild racing. Playoff spots are up for grabs, and time is running out for those on the outside looking in.