HAMPTON, Ga. – A persistent mist hanging in the air and a wet racing surface forced NASCAR officials to cancel NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying on Saturday morning at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With the starting lineup set by last year’s owner standings, the defending championship team – Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 00 Ford – will lead the field to green, with Cole Custer behind the wheel.
Motorsports Business Management, the team owned by journeyman Carl Long, purchased the owner points from Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 42 squad after it shut down at the end of 2018. As a result, Chad Finchum will line up alongside Custer on the front row for Saturday afternoon’s Rinnai 250.
Christopher Bell and rookie Noah Gragson will share the second row, while Austin Cindric completes the top five on the starting grid.
Ryan Preece, Justin Allgaier, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Brandon Jones and John Hunter Nemechek start sixth through 10th, respectively.
Defending Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick, who moved from JR Motorsports to Richard Childress Racing in the offseason, will roll off 12th when racing gets underway at 2 p.m. ET.
Notably, Custer had one the fastest car on the property in Friday’s two Xfinity Series practice sessions. He led the first round and was fastest overall at 178.218 mph before going third-quick in Happy Hour.
STARTING LINEUP: NASCAR Xfinity Series; Atlanta Motor Speedway; Feb. 23, 2019
- Cole Custer
- Chad Finchum
- Christopher Bell
- Noah Gragson
- Austin Cindric
- Ryan Preece
- Justin Allgaier
- Jeffrey Earnhardt
- Brandon Jones
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Brandon Brown
- Tyler Reddick
- Justin Haley
- Vinnie Miller
- Ross Chastain
- Michael Annett
- Jeremy Clements
- Ryan Sieg
- Josh Williams
- Ray Black II
- Bayley Currey
- Garrett Smithley
- Alex Labbe
- Tommy Joe Martins
- Matt Mills
- Josh Bilicki
- David Starr
- Chase Briscoe
- BJ McLeod
- Stephen Leicht
- Jeff Green
- Joey Gase
- Timmy Hill
- John Jackson
- Gray Gaulding
- Mike Harmon
- Morgan Shepherd
