An afternoon storm prevented NASCAR from holding Cup Series qualifying at North Wilkesboro Speedway, but they still managed to run practice later in the evening. As a result of this cancellation, the field will be set by the metric, with Ryan Blaney on pole for the race in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford.
The metric is an average, based on a weighted average of a car's place in the owner standings (30%), and the entry's finish in the most recent race (70%).
Blaney will share the front row with Ty Gibbs in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
Christopher Bell will start third, Carson Hocevar fourth, and Tyler Reddick fifth.
Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, and Chase Elliott fill out the remainder of the top ten.
Some notable drivers far deeper in the field include Brad Keselowski in 23rd, Bubba Wallace 26th, Kyle Larson 27th, and Chase Briscoe 30th.
In the practice session that followed, Bell led the way over Hamlin and Chastain on the speed charts. Bell also held the best ten-lap averages.
2026 NASCAR Cup North Wilkesboro Starting Lineup
| Pos. | Driver |
| 1 | Ryan Blaney |
| 2 | Ty Gibbs |
| 3 | Christopher Bell |
| 4 | Carson Hocevar |
| 5 | Tyler Reddick |
| 6 | Erik Jones |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin |
| 8 | Shane van Gisbergen |
| 9 | Chris Buescher |
| 10 | Chase Elliott |
| 11 | Joey Logano |
| 12 | Austin Dillon |
| 13 | Ross Chastain (must start from rear) |
| 14 | Austin Cindric |
| 15 | William Byron |
| 16 | Michael McDowell |
| 17 | Daniel Suarez |
| 18 | Todd Gilliland |
| 19 | John Hunter Nemechek |
| 20 | Cole Custer |
| 21 | Ryan Preece |
| 22 | Ty Dillon |
| 23 | Brad Keselowski |
| 24 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 25 | Alex Bowman |
| 26 | Bubba Wallace |
| 27 | Kyle Larson |
| 28 | Josh Berry |
| 29 | Zane Smith |
| 30 | Chase Briscoe |
| 31 | Noah Gragson |
| 32 | Connor Zilisch |
| 33 | Austin Hill |
| 34 | Riley Herbst |
| 35 | AJ Allmendinger |
| 36 | Cody Ware |
| 37 | Chad Finchum |
