Sprint Cup starting lineup: Chicagoland qualifying washed; Kyle Busch on pole

UPDATE: Jimmie Johnson dominates first half of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400.

Rain forced NASCAR to cancel qualifying for its first 2016 race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. So, Kyle Busch will have pole position on Sunday.

Friday was expected to be the only day this weekend in which rain would have an impact. Sunday's forecast was for a near-perfect day.

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Sunday's race at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., will start about 2:45 p.m. ET, with its lineup set according to NASCAR rules. That puts Chase drivers in the first 16 places, followed by the 24 other competitors.

Busch also gets first pick of pit stalls. Combining pole position with the best available pit position is a plus for Busch against the rest of the Chase competitors.

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Cup teams will practice about 6:45 p.m. ET Friday, weather permitting, rather than qualify without the benefit of track work. Two more practices are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday.

Rain arrived about 1 p.m. ET at Chicagoland, jumbling the day's events and leaving drivers in all three national series to wait for decisions. The Truck Series was scheduled to run its last race on Friday night before its initial Chase begins. Xfinity teams will drive their pre-Chase finale on Saturday.

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Maybe the washout shouldn't be a surprise. This marks the third consecutive year rain forced cancellation of qualifying at the track. That coincides with the current Chase format of 16 drivers in 10 races, lopping off four drivers after every three races until the final four compete for the championship.

Denny Hamlin won last year's Chase opener; Brad Keselowski won in 2014.

Stacking the field by points is a huge benefit for Busch's teammates with Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin starts third, Carl Edwards fifth, ally Martin Truex Jr. sixth and Matt Kenseth seventh. In addition to Keselowski, interloper Kevin Harvick will go off fourth.

In an oddity of scheduling, Chicagoland is the first 1.5-mile track Chase drivers have competed on since July 9 at Kentucky. So acclimating to track size as well as the worn asphalt surface will be a challenge.

UPDATE: Ty Dillon replaces Regan Smith in Tommy Baldwin Racing's No. 7 car. Smith remains home in North Carolina awaing the birth of his second child.