Rain delays Charlotte Trucks; NASCAR sets lineup amid Busch tribute

Rain forced the postponement of Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte, and officials set the starting lineup by NASCAR’s rule book amid pre-race tributes to Kyle Busch. Practice and qualifying were washed out, and an emotional memorial for Busch preceded the operational decision to park the trucks just after 7 p.m. EST with no laps completed. Several drivers remained on site and shared personal stories about Busch while NASCAR assessed the weather, then formally called off the night’s efforts about an hour after the trucks were parked.

With on-track qualifying canceled, NASCAR used its qualifying metric and rule-book procedures to determine the field. Officials credited 20-year-old Corey Day in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet with the top starting spot, a position tied in the rule book to Kyle Busch’s dominant Dover victory the previous weekend, though NASCAR said the placement would not be officially scored as a pole. The No. 7 had been slated to be driven by Busch before his death, and for the event it will carry his signature on the name rails and his last name on the rear window. Shane van Gisbergen, whose planned Truck Series return had been expected at Charlotte, was placed 36th on the starting grid, second-to-last, under the metric.

NASCAR rescheduled the race for 8 a.m. Saturday, May 23, with FS1 set to televise the event and additional coverage listed for NRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The postponement combined the practical impact of persistent rain with the emotional tone of Busch’s memorial, leaving final running order changes and any on-track attempts to improve starting positions dependent on how the schedule and weather allowed.