Brad Keselowski has won the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Instacart 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Phoenix Raceway.
Series officials released the starting lineup Wednesday morning. Keselowski will drive his No. 2 Team Penske Ford from the pole position with Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sharing the front row. It marks Keselowski’s first pole start of the 2021 season.
Additionally, Daniel Hemric will start his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota from the pole in Saturday’s Call 811 Before You Dig 200 presented by Arizona 811 (5:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) for the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
RELATED: Phoenix weekend 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 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
2 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
3 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
4 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
5 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
6 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
7 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
8 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
9 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
10 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
11 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
12 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
13 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
14 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
15 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
16 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
17 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
18 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
19 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
20 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
21 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
22 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
23 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
24 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
25 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
26 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
27 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
28 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
29 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
30 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
31 | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing |
32 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
33 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
34 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
35 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
36 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
37 | Timmy Hill | 66 | MBM Motorsports |
38 | James Davison | 15 | Rick Ware 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.