NASCAR lineup at Nashville: Starting order, pole for 2026 Cracker Barrel 400 based on qualifying results

NASCAR lineup at Nashville: Starting order, pole for 2026 Cracker Barrel 400 based on qualifying results originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The NASCAR Cup Series will be in Tennessee this weekend for the 2026 Cracker Barrel 400.

Due to a rainout at the Nashville Speedway, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota’s Denny Hamlin will take pole position for Sunday’s bout at the Cracker Barrel 400.

Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney took the victory at last year’s race for his first win at the Nashville race. He prevailed by 2.830 seconds over Carson Hocevar, with Blaney giving away his checkered flag to a young fan in the crowd.

Hamlin earned the pole position for Sunday’s race, with Tyler Reddick starting alongside him on the first row. Coca-Cola 600 winner Daniel Suarez will begin his day in the No. 3 spot.

Here is how the drivers will line up for the start of the 2026 Cracker Barrel 400 at the Nashville Speedway on Sunday.

MORE: Updated NASCAR Cup Series standings

Who won the Cracker Barrel 400 pole for 2026?

Qualifying for the Cracker Barrel 400 would have taken place on Saturday, but was ultimately rained out after precipitation touched down roughly a half hour before Cup Series practice began. Denny Hamlin earned the pole position with the rain cancellation. The Nashville Speedway would have utilized a single-car, single-lap qualifying format, meaning each driver would have had one chance to set their fastest lap possible, and the results determined the starting lineup.

With Hamlin on pole for Sunday’s race, 23XI Racing Toyota’s Tyler Reddick will join him on the first row.

The rest of the top five for Sunday’s race will be Daniel Suarez, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson. Ryan Blaney won last year’s Cracker Barrel 400, beating Carson Hocevar by 2.830 seconds. This was Blaney’s first win in Nashville, but he will be starting at the No. 7 spot this year.

MORE: Dates, times, TV channels for every 2026 NASCAR Cup Series race

Cracker Barrel 400 starting lineup 2026

Pos.	Driver	Car No.
1	Denny Hamlin	11
2	Tyler Reddick	45
3	Daniel Suarez	7
4	Christopher Bell	20
5	Kyle Larson	5
6	Ty Gibbs	54
7	Ryan Blaney	12
8	William Byron	24
9	Joey Logano	22
10	Shane van Gisbergen	97
11	Zane Smith	38
12	Brad Keselowski	6
13	Erik Jones	43
14	Michael McDowell	71
15	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47
16	AJ Allmendinger	16
17	Carson Hocevar	77
18	Bubba Wallace	23
19	Alex Bowman	48
20	Cole Custer	41
21	Todd Gilliland	34
22	Chris Buescher	17
23	Riley Herbst	35
24	Corey Heim	67
25	Austin Hill	33
26	Noah Gragson	4
27	John H. Nemechek	42
28	Ryan Preece	60
29	Chase Elliott	9
30	Ty Dillon	10
31	Chase Briscoe	19
32	Austin Dillon	3
33	Josh Berry	21
34	Cody Ware	51
35	Ross Chastain	1
36	Austin Cindric	2
37	Chad Finchum	66
38	Connor Zilisch	88