GEICO 500 qualifying at Talladega shouldn't be affected by weather
A big storm blew through Talladega Superspeedway on Friday night, but the good news is the track should be clear for qualifying today, which is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Weather.com is calling for just a 15 percent chance of rain during the allotted qualifying window this afternoon.
Friday, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams got two rounds of practice in to prepare for Sunday's GEICO 500 (FOX, 12:30 p.m. ET), and today they will set the field for the race.
In 93 prior Talladega Cup races, the pole-winner went on to victory just 13 times.
Hendrick Motorsports has won the pole at the four most recent restrictor-plate races, with Jeff Gordon sweeping Talladega and the Daytona 500 last year, and rookie Chase Elliott winning the Daytona 500 pole earlier this season. Qualifying was rained out at last July's Daytona race.
Six-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains the favorite to win on Sunday, although Joe Gibbs Racing comes in on a hot streak, having won the past four Cup races.
Denny Hamlin won the season-opening Daytona 500, as the Toyota contingent of JGR and Furniture Row Racing took four of the five top spots.
Ty Dillon will qualify the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet today. Tony Stewart, who is still rehabbing his injured back, will start the race in the car and then turn it over to Dillon on the first caution-flag pit stop.
Should Dillon win on Sunday, it would count as a victory for Stewart, since the three-time Cup champion will start the race. If Dillon wins and Stewart gets into the top 30 in points by the end of the NASCAR regular season, Stewart would be eligible to compete in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.
