CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Points leader Tyler Reddick will start on the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway after persistent rain washed out NASCAR Cup Series qualifying on Saturday.
Rain remains in the forecast for Sunday night's crown jewel event.
Reddick’s No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota will start first when the green flag falls on the 400-lap race and will be joined on the front row by the No. 54 Toyota of Ty Gibbs from Joe Gibbs Racing. Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen, Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Austin Hill will start 13th in the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, taking the place of Kyle Busch, who died Thursday after severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming complications, according to a statement released by his family.
Hill will be making his third Cup Series start on the 1 1/2-mile track.
Katherine Legge, who is becoming the first woman to attempt “The Double” by running both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, will start 37th based on points.
Rain has disrupted on-track activity for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series as well, forcing all three series to set their lineups according to the NASCAR rule book. The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series were scheduled for Saturday.
The Cup Series drivers were able to get some practice time on the track Saturday before the start of O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Craftsman Truck Series.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Tyler Reddick is introduced before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Watkins Glen, N.Y. (Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Tyler Reddick drives through Turn 2 during the NASCAR All-Star auto race at Dover Motor Speedway, Sunday, May 17, 2026, in Dover, Del. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
A damaged chemical storage tank that authorities fear is at risk of exploding or rupturing in Southern California is gradually getting warmer despite efforts to reduce its internal temperature, a fire chief said Saturday.
No injuries were reported after the pressurized tank overheated Thursday and began venting vapors at a company site in Garden Grove, according to the Orange County Fire Authority. Evacuation orders were issued for 40,000 people, and several shelters remained open Saturday, including at three high schools. Officials have no timeline on when residents can return to their homes.
Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey said Friday evening that efforts to cool the tank appeared to be working. But on Saturday he backtracked, saying a reading conducted by drones Friday showed the temperature on the outside of the tank, not the inside.
Cooling the tank is important because the liquid chemical's flashpoint is 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. If the chemical heats up, it can release a vapor that is harmful to people’s health. It can cause respiratory issues, itching and burning eyes, nausea and headaches, said Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, the Orange County health officer.
Covey said emergency crews were able to see the troubled tank’s temperature gauge in person late Friday.
“Unfortunately I do have to report that the temperature was 90 degrees," Covey said Saturday. “Yesterday morning it was 77 degrees when we backed down. It's been averaging about a degree an hour increasing.”
The concern is that the tank could fail and crack, releasing the liquid chemical onto the ground, or it could explode from pressure buildup, Covey said. If the contents spill, containment barriers have been set up to prevent the chemical from getting into storm drains or reaching creeks or the nearby ocean, he said.
Purdue University engineering professor Andrew Whelton, who gets called into emergencies and disasters where public safety and health is at risk, said the “best-case scenario is that the tank springs a leak and spills the chemicals on the ground and people are warned about what to do to protect themselves.”
The damaged tank is located at GKN Aerospace, which makes parts for commercial and military aircraft. The tank holds between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons (22,700 and 26,500 liters) of methyl methacrylate, used to make plastic parts.
“Letting this thing just fail and blow up is simply unacceptable to us,” Covey said.
He said the valves on the tank are broken or “gummed up” and prevented crews from removing the chemical or relieving the pressure on the tank.
In a statement, GKN Aerospace said it was focused on working to ensure the safety of the community, its employees and responding agencies.
Initially, residents in Garden Grove were ordered to leave. Evacuation orders were expanded Friday to some residents of five other Orange County cities — Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster. Some residents with pets said they planned to sleep in their cars.
Marco Solano, a 32-year-old resident, spent Friday night at his parents’ home. He said he was frustrated by the situation and was monitoring the news to see if he could go back to his home.
“I don’t think that they should have dangerous chemicals in a neighborhood area, especially that dangerous that they have to evacuate people,” Solano said. “But again, it's not up to me. I don’t make the laws. I don’t make the rules. We just have to do what is best I guess.”
Solano, who has multiple jobs, said he wasn’t feeling well Saturday, believing the stress of the chemical leak was exacerbating his anemia and ulcerative colitis.
“Right now I’m extremely tired. I have no energy. I’m super weak,” he said. “This has been affecting me quite a bit.”
He said he went to his apartment after work Friday to grab belongings and saw other residents who had not evacuated, and he was worried for them.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday declared a state of emergency in Orange County. The declaration will make state resources available to local agencies and allow the use of state-owned properties and fairgrounds as shelter for residents if necessary.
Garden Grove is about 38 miles (61 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles and next to Anaheim, home to Disneyland’s two theme parks, which were not under evacuation orders as the Memorial Day weekend got underway. Park officials said they are monitoring the chemical incident and supporting park employees impacted by the evacuations.
Associated Press writers Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this story.
Evacuees from an aerospace chemical plant tank leak move to another shelter after the Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center closed for the night in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is sprayed on a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Evacuees from an aerospace chemical plant tank leak move to another shelter after the Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center closed for the night in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
An aerial view of evacuated streets as water is sprayed on a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is sprayed on a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is sprayed on a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey speaks during a news conference at the Los Alamitos racetrack in Cypress, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026, about hazmat situation in Garden Grove, Calif. (Jeff Gritchen/The Orange County Register via AP)
Angie Mallon, an evacuee from an aerospace chemical plant tank leak, exits the Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center with her pet pigeon in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Firefighters work at the scene of a chemical tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Water is sprayed on a tank that overheated at an aerospace plant in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Evacuees from an aerospace chemical plant tank leak move to another shelter after the Garden Grove Sports and Recreation Center closed for the night in Garden Grove, Calif., Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
