RAIN WASHES OUT ON-TRACK ACTION AT CHARLOTTE

The effects of Hurricane Matthew reached far into North Carolina on Friday as rain from the storm forced the cancellation of on-track activity at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including the postponement of the NASCAR XFINITY Series race.

The Drive for the Cure 300 Presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC, which is the final race in the XFINITY Series Chase's Round of 12, has been rescheduled for 11 a.m. ET Sunday. TV coverage remains on NBCSN, with radio broadcast on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Two Sprint Cup Series practices were slated for Friday, and the NASCAR XFINITY Series was slated to have Coors Light Pole Qualifying as well. Those three events have been canceled.

The starting lineup for Sunday's rescheduled race will be determined by the XFINITY Series rule book, which sets the field by fastest-to-slowest practice speeds from both of Thursday's sessions. During final practice, Kyle Larson turned the fastest practice lap (185.198 mph) of the day and will start on the pole.

Erik Jones, who currently sits outside the top 8 cut-off line for advancement into the next round, will start second on Sunday.

As of 8 a.m. ET Friday, Matthew was a Category 3 hurricane (downgraded from a Category 4 storm on Thursday) with the hurricane expected to move over the east coast of Florida on Friday and over the coasts of Georgia and South Carolina on Saturday. Hurricane warnings stretched from just north of Miami to southern South Carolina.

There's an 80 percent chance of rain throughout Friday afternoon, which increases to 90 percent in the evening. Rain started at the track Friday morning and didn't let up. According to the National Weather Service, heavy rain is expected early Saturday before dropping to a 20 percent chance late Saturday afternoon and into the evening.

Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race, the Bank of America 500, is still on for 7 p.m. ET (NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

*Contributing: NASCAR Wire Service

BUSCH,EDWARDS SEEK CHARLOTTE WIN AHEAD OF LOOMING 'DEGA

MORE: Live radar | Friday on-track action canceled due to weather

CONCORD, N.C. -- Kyle Busch has celebrated in Victory Lane at 21 different race tracks in the Sprint Cup Series, from superspeedways to short tracks to road courses.

But in his 13-year Sprint Cup Series career, two tracks have eluded the No. 18 driver: Pocono Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway, site of Saturday's Bank of America 500 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

"It would certainly mean a lot," Busch said on reaching Charlotte's Victory Lane on Thursday at the 1.5-mile speedway. "We've been trying here for a long, long time and we've been close a few times and it just hasn't all quite worked out the way we would have wanted it to I guess at the end of some of the races. So certainly we feel as though there's no better opportunity to win a Charlotte race than in the Chase."

A win at Charlotte would do more than check a box off Busch's lengthy list of racing accomplishments: It would punch his ticket to the Round of 8 drivers in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

With wildcard Talladega looming at the end of the three-race round, that security is especially coveted.

"Somebody's going to leave here really happy and I hope it's me," Carl Edwards said Friday at Charlotte. "This round I believe is probably the toughest one just with Talladega out there and these mile-and-a-halves. It's so competitive right now. We saw it with the first round. You'd think that making the 12-out-of-16 would be easy. It's actually -- it was a pretty good battle there, so we hope to get a victory here."

One of the biggest competitors for the Joe Gibbs Racing duo? The JGR-affiliated car of Martin Truex Jr., who has won three of the last five Sprint Cup races. His three recent trips to Victory Lane equal the four-car JGR's total Sprint Cup wins in the last 10 races.

For Edwards, the No. 78 success foreshadows Joe Gibbs Racing's performances to come in the Chase.

"If we didn't know what engines and chassis and setups those guys had, it'd be really easy to say they've got something (that) they've got something special that we don't have," Edwards said.

"But knowing what they have and knowing what they're able to do with it, that's a motivator and I've been telling people this week I really believe you're going to see … the four JGR cars really step it up because Martin (Truex Jr.) is … that rabbit out there that we're all chasing and we know it can be done and I think in the end that's a gift to have somebody in your camp or close to you that can do that."

The four Joe Gibbs Racing cars also have access to the No. 78 team's notes from their dominant Coca-Cola 600 win, something Busch believes is an advantage with limited practice time due to inclement weather.

"They were really, really good," Busch said on the No. 78's winning Coca-Cola 600 run. "So we feel like we've got a good baseline to base ourselves off of."

"If we could get Cole (Pearn, crew chief for Truex Jr.) to tell us everything, that would help," Edwards said with a smile. "But I mean seriously those guys are so good that it gives us a lot of optimism, because there's no -- everybody's looking up, looking forward."

Atlanta Motor Speedway opens campgrounds to Hurricane Matthew evacuees

With Hurricane Matthew, a Category 4 storm nearing the Florida coast and expected to move up the East Coast over the next two days, Atlanta Motor Speedway has opened its “Family Campgrounds” to evacuees for free.

Evacuees also will have access to the Hampton, Georgia, track’s camper bathhouse facility for hot showers and restrooms.

From an Atlanta Motor Speedway release:

Those interested in RV or tent camping at Atlanta Motor Speedway should enter the facility at Entrance “A” off Hwy 19/41 at Speedway Boulevard and take the first left at entrance N. The Family Campgrounds will be on the left. From I-75 and GA Highway 20, campers should see signs to AMS and follow Lower Woolsey Road to Speedway Boulevard. Turn right on Speedway Boulevard and follow to entrance N.

For on-site assistance or directions, visit the ticket office/gift store building. Atlanta Motor Speedway is located approximately 25 miles south of Atlanta on Hwy 19/41 and approximately eight miles west of I-75 off of GA Highway 20.

Here is a map of the area around AMS provided by the track.

Kyle Larson fastest in final Xfinity Series practice at Charlotte

Kyle Larson was fastest in final Xfinity Series practice Thursday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a lap of 185.198 mph.

Erik Jones, looking to avoid Chase elimination in the Charlotte cutoff race, was second at 184.995 mph with Joey Logano third (184.856 mph), Daniel Suarez (184.332 mph) fourth, and Brandon Jones (184.150 mph) fifth. Larson and Logano are two of five Sprint Cup Series drivers entered in Friday night’s Drive for the Cure 300.

Rounding out the top 10 were Blake Koch (183.830 mph), Justin Allgaier (183.592 mph), Ty Dillon (183.411 mph), Ryan Sieg (182.803 mph), and Austin Dillon (182.636 mph).

There was a brief red flag during the session when Brandon Hightower got loose and crashed off Turn 4.

NASCAR’s Friday schedule for Charlotte

Both Sprint Cup and Xfinity Series teams are scheduled to be in action today at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with Xfinity teams competing in the Drive for the Cure 300.

Rain from Hurricane Matthew could impact today’s schedule.

Here is today’s schedule with TV and Radio times.

All times are Eastern.

11 a.m. – Xfinity garage opens

1:30 – 10 p.m. – Sprint Cup garage open

3:30 – 4:25 p.m. – Sprint Cup practice (NBCSN)

4:45 p.m.  – Xfinity qualifying; three rounds/multi-car (NBCSN)

6:15 p.m. – Xfinity driver-crew chief meeting

6:30 – 7:20 p.m. – Final Sprint Cup practice (NBCSN)

7:30 p.m. – Xfinity driver introductions

8 p.m. – Drive for the Cure 300; 200 laps, 300 miles (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Kevin Harvick fastest in first Bank of America 500 practice

Kevin Harvick had the fastest speed in the first Sprint Cup practice session for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Harvick posted a speed of 193.757 mph around the 1.5-mile track. He was the only driver to top 193 mph.

The No. 4 team was followed by Alex Bowman (192.885), Coke 600 winner Martin Truex Jr. (192.623), Kyle Busch (192.548) and Denny Hamlin (192.219).

Danica Patrick (45) and Kyle Larson (42) recorded the most laps in the session.

Kasey Kahne had the best 10-lap average at 188.561 mph.

HARVICK EARNS FIRST POLE AWARD OF YEAR AT CHARLOTTE

CONCORD, N.C. – Kevin Harvick may have won the pole for Saturday night's Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (7 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), but Alex Bowman continued to open eyes as a substitute driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Touring the 1.5-mile speedway in 27.547 seconds (196.029 mph), Harvick knocked Bowman (196.000 mph) off the pole by a scant .004 seconds in the final round of Thursday evening’s knockout qualifying.

The pole was Harvick's first at Charlotte, his first of the 2016 season and the 16th of his career.

"It was good in (Turns) 1 and 2, but I felt like I gave up a little something in (Turns) 3 and 4 coming to the checkered," Harvick said of his lap in the money round. "This has just been a fun car to drive today. Hopefully we can get it dialed in race trim."

Where Harvick gave up speed in the final two corners, Bowman likely lost the pole in the first two turns, where he drifted up the track slightly and scrubbed off just enough speed to fall short of Harvick by the minute fraction of a second.

Nevertheless, driving in place of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in six of the last seven races of the season while Earnhardt recovers from a concussion, Bowman stole the show.

"The Showman Bowman was fast tonight," Earnhardt tweeted after the final round. "Great job @AlexBRacing and @AxaltaRacing gang. P2 @CLTMotorSpdwy."

Bowman, the fastest of the non-Chase drivers in time trials, recently posted his career-best NASCAR Sprint Cup Series finish, a 10th at Chicagoland Speedway. Though Bowman continues to show excellent speed as a substitute, he has no definite plans for next year.

But he came tantalizingly close to a monumental achievement on Thursday night.

"Honestly, we didn't put the greatest lap together," said Bowman, who ran the fastest lap of the day in the second round (196.200 mph). "In (Turns) 1 and 2, we were a little free in (into the corner) and didn't really keep it on the bottom like I needed to.

"Turns 3 and 4 were really good. It means so much for Hendrick Motorsports to take a chance on me for these races. I'm really thankful to be here. I hate that we didn’t get the pole. We were so close. It's definitely my best starting spot by a bunch, but you'd always like that pole."

Chase drivers claimed eight of the top-12 starting positions, with Chase Elliott qualifying third, Kyle Busch fourth, Martin Truex Jr., seventh, Carl Edwards eighth, Denny Hamlin ninth, Joey Logano 10th and Jimmie Johnson 11th.

Chase drivers Matt Kenseth (17th), Austin Dillon (19th), Brad Keselowski (20th) and Kurt Busch (23rd) failed to advance to the final round.

"I don't think anybody knew that we could go as fast as Bowman went in that second round," Edwards said. "That kind of raised the stakes for everyone."

Notes: Danica Patrick will start 13th, her second-best effort this year after qualifying 11th at Sonoma in June. Patrick just missed advancing to the final round; Johnson edged her for the 12th and final position by .012 seconds… Hendrick Motorsports continued to show improved speed, putting all four of its cars in the top 12 (with Kasey Kahne in 12th joining Bowman, Elliott and Johnson). Hendrick-powered cars claimed four of the top five spots on the grid, with Harvick on the pole and Tony Stewart fifth.