Mother Nature has thrown a wrench into the NASCAR Xfinity Series weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, as Saturday morning’s qualifying session was canceled due to weather. With the field set by NASCAR’s performance metric, a handful of teams find themselves on the outside looking in—most notably, Scott McLaughlin, who had put down a strong lap before the session was called off.
Who Misses the Race?
With the rain forcing NASCAR to use its pre-determined metric for setting the lineup, three teams failed to make the field for tonight’s United Rentals 300:
• #92 Scott McLaughlin – The Team Penske IndyCar driver was looking to make his NASCAR oval debut.
• #29 J.J. Yeley – A veteran who has made a career of racing into events with smaller teams.
• #74 C.J. McLaughlin – No relation to Scott, but another driver who had hoped to compete.
Tough Break for McLaughlin
For Scott McLaughlin, this is an especially tough blow. The IndyCar standout was set for a rare NASCAR appearance, getting valuable experience in stock cars. While he showed speed, the qualifying rainout ultimately cost him the chance to race.
Looking Ahead
Despite the frustrating start to the day, the focus now shifts to tonight’s Xfinity Series race at 5:10 PM ET on The CW. With a full field set and superspeedway-style racing expected, it’s still shaping up to be a wild show under the Atlanta lights.
