NASCAR postpones Friday events at Darlington due to Hurricane Hermine

Hurricane Hermine forced NASCAR to postpone the opening day of Darlington Raceway's Southern 500 weekend, washing out Friday's practice sessions and canceling Saturday's qualifying as a result.

NASCAR opted to give teams additional practice on Saturday, which took precedence over the scheduled qualifying on Saturday afternoon. That means Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski will start on the front row for the Bojangles Southern 500 on Sunday night, since the lineup is set by owner points.

Paul Menard and Denny Hamlin will be on the front row for Saturday afternoon's Xfinity Series race.

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The path of Hermine is scheduled to pass nearby the Darlington area. NASCAR said the weather forecast for the remainder of the weekend "looks very good" after Hermine leaves.

Saturday's on-track activity begins at 9 a.m. ET with a 55-minute practice for Xfinity cars. Sprint Cup cars then get two sessions; an 85-minute practice at 11 a.m. and an 80-minute practice at 1:30 p.m.

Green flag for the Xfinity race is scheduled for shortly after 3:30 p.m. (NBC). The Southern 500 is scheduled to take place Sunday at 6 p.m. ET (NBC).