Rain washes out qualifying for Sunday's Food City 500
http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/head...led/index.html
By NASCAR.COM - March 14, 2008 - 05:31 PM EDT
Persistent rain kept track time at a minimum on Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway, resulting in officials canceling qualifying for Sunday's Sprint Cup race.
The grid for the Food City 500 was set according to the NASCAR rulebook.
The first five races of the season rely on the previous year's owner points, thus Jimmie Johnson will start from the pole and teammate Jeff Gordon will line up second.
Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth and Casey Mears round out the top five qualifiers.
Current Sprint Cup points leader Kyle Busch will roll off 22nd based off of the No. 18 points from last season.
Cup drivers did manage to get in the first practice session on Friday as David Reutimann paced the field with a speed of 121.713 mph. But after the practice ended, rain began to fall at the track, washing out qualifying and two practices for the Nationwide Series.
Saturday's schedule calls for Nationwide Series qualifying and two Cup Series practices, in addition to the Sharpie Mini 300 scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. The forecast for Saturday calls for thunderstorms with highs reaching 58 degrees.
Complete Lineup
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2008/5/data/lineup.html
Food City 500 Lineup
Pos. Driver Make
1. Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet
2. Jeff Gordon Chevrolet
3. Clint Bowyer Chevrolet
4. Matt Kenseth Ford
5. Casey Mears Chevrolet
6. Tony Stewart Toyota
7. Sam Hornish Jr. Dodge
8. Jeff Burton Chevrolet
9. Carl Edwards Ford
10. Kevin Harvick Chevrolet