CONCORD, N.C., Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Heavy rain disrupted qualifying runs Thursday night for the NASCAR UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowes Motor Speedway.
With 18 cars already making qualifying runs, the session will resume Friday at 8 a.m. EDT.
Jerry Nadeau had the fastest speed of the 18 drivers with a lap at 184.666 miles per hour in a Dodge Intrepid. Michael Waltrip was next at 184.112 mph in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo and was followed by four-time Winston Cup champion Jeff Gordon at 183.499 mph in a Chevrolet.
Bill Elliott ran fourth at 183.449 mph in a Dodge and Kevin Harvick fifth at 183.418 mph in a Chevrolet.
Matt Kenseth and Elliott Sadler will be the first two drivers to make qualification attempts when the session resumes, although rain is predicted all day Friday in the North Carolina area.
Last week, qualifying was canceled at Talladega Superspeedway when a 30-minute shower delayed the schedule enough that series officials concluded it would be took dark for the entire field to make qualifying runs.
NASCAR officials decided to set last week's starting grid based on the Winston Cup standings. That ultimately may happen Friday if the rain does not stop.
Other top names that have yet to qualify include Ryan Newman, Jeff Burton and Winston Cup points leader Tony Stewart and his closest pursuer, Mark Martin.
Stewart has a 72-point lead over Martin with six races remaining.
Other races affected by rain in the past month included the Southern 500, with rain washing out qualifying over Labor Day weekend, and the New Hampshire 300, which was cut short by nearly 100 miles due to rain on Sept. 15.
