Denny Hamlin has won the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Hamlin, the NASCAR Cup Series points leader, will start his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from the pole position with Joey Logano in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford sharing the front row in the field.
Additionally, Austin Cindric won the pole for Saturday’s Contender Boats 250 (4:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) for the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
RELATED: Homestead-Miami schedule | 2021 Cup Series standings
As NASCAR adapted to COVID-19 protocols last season, practice and qualifying were eliminated at a majority of national-series events to limit at-track time, exposure and to cut race weekend costs. To determine starting lineups, competition officials used grouped draws, added inversions for weekend doubleheaders, and eventually adopted a performance-metrics formula. That metrics format remains in place this season, drawing on performance from both individual races and season-long results.
NASCAR’s metrics formula for 2021 weighs:
- 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
- 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
- 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
- 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race
See the full lineup for Sunday’s Cup Series race below.
| Start pos. |
Driver | Car # | Team |
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 3 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 5 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 6 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 7 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 8 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 9 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 10 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 11 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 12 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 13 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 14 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 15 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 16 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 17 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 18 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 19 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 20 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 21 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 22 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 23 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 24 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 25 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 26 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 27 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 28 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 29 | James Davison | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 30 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 31 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 32 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 33 | Timmy Hill | 66 | MBM Motorsports |
| 34 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 35 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 36 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 37 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 38 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Busch Pole Qualifying was held for the season-opening Daytona 500; the next race with time trials scheduled is the March 28 event at Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track.