Steady rains force cancellation of Sprint Cup qualifying at Dover

DOVER, DE - OCTOBER 02: A view of the start/finish line on the track in the rain before practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway on October 2, 2015 in Dover, Delaware. (Photo by Sean Gardner/NASCAR via Getty Images)

Steady rains Friday afternoon forced the cancellation of qualifying for the AAA 400 Drive For Autism NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway (FOX, Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ET).

As a result, that means the 40-car field for the 12th Cup race of the season will be set by speeds from Friday's lone round of practice.

Starting on the pole will be the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick, who ran 165.145 miles per hour in practice. Harvick, the 2014 Sprint Cup champion, will be flanked by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy.

Harvick was excellent at Dover last year, where he finished second in this race and won the fall elimination race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint cup.

Row 2 will be a pair of Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas, with reigning Cup champ Kyle Busch third ahead of Carl Edwards.

The first Ford will be the Roush Fenway Racing entry of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who will roll off fifth. On the outside of Row 3 will be Denny Hamlin in a third JGR Toyota.

The big loser in he rainout is SHR's Tony Stewart, who missed most of practice after crashing with teammate Danica Patrick in practice. Stewart will start 34th, three spots back of Patrick in Sunday's race.

Ten-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson will start 21st.

"We only made three runs," said Johnson of the morning practice. "Things didn't go as we had hoped in qualifying trim, just those three quick runs we made we were looking for some more balance and comfort in the car."

With the weather looking better for the remainder of the weekend, Johnson was optimistic about his chances.

"Once we get into race trim here and get into a rhythm we will get a better understanding of the aero balance, the tire combination that goes with that and ideally -- hopefully -- the smaller spoilers will allow the cars to get closer to one another," said Johnson.