NASCAR at Kentucky 2015 Qualifying Canceled: Updated Race Order and Reaction

For the second consecutive week, qualifying for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has been canceled due to inclement weather, NASCAR announced Friday afternoon:

In order to decide the race order for the Quaker State 400 on Saturday, July 11, NASCAR used drivers' practice times to sort out the lineup.

Continue below for the updated race order with the times for the top 20 drivers:

Position	Driver	Practice Time
1	Kyle Larson	29.583
2	Brad Keselowski	29.729
3	Jeff Gordon	29.983
4	Joey Logano	29.983
5	Martin Truex Jr.	30.007
6	Jimmie Johnson	30.035
7	Jamie McMurray	30.044
8	Denny Hamlin	30.073
9	Kyle Busch	30.075
10	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	30.097
11	Austin Dillon	30.143
12	Aric Almirola	30.167
13	Kurt Busch	30.173
14	Paul Menard	30.226
15	Kevin Harvick	30.234
16	Ryan Blaney	30.352
17	Matt Kenseth	30.404
18	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	30.483
19	Sam Hornish Jr.	30.542
20	Kasey Kahne	30.530

For the full lineup for Saturday's race, click here. 

Sprint Cup drivers were able to fit in one more practice session instead of qualifying before Friday night's Xfinity Series race.

Kyle Larson won his first pole of the 2015 season thanks to his fast practice times. The 22-year-old has won one pole before in his career, in 2014, as he searches for his first victory in the Cup Series.

With his place set in front, Larson could have been making some repairs to his car instead of just tuning it, as he almost ran into some trouble during the final practice of the day, as NASCAR on NBC shows:

The young driver has plenty of experience on his heels to start the race, as Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon will start from the second and third spots, respectively. 

Keselowski has two career wins at Kentucky Speedway and three top-10 finishes. In 17 races this season, he has one win and three top-five finishes. Gordon has never won a race at Kentucky in his career, but he does have one top-five finish.

Starting in sixth, Jimmie Johnson is in search of his fifth win of the season as he sits third in the Sprint Cup points standings. Of the top three drivers in the current standings, Johnson has the highest starting spot for Saturday's race. 

In second place in the points standings, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is coming off a win in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona last week, leading 96 laps in the process. He will be starting in 10th place despite his assertion that his car is not performing up to speed:

Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick has finished in the top 10 in 15 of 17 races this season, with two wins and eight second-place finishes. He will have to make up some ground Saturday, though, as he will start in 15th.

The Quaker State 400 is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET. While rain is due to dominate the forecast for the next week in Kentucky, NASCAR should be able to get the race in, with only a 20 percent chance of precipitation, according to Weather.com. 

Stats courtesy of NASCAR.com