Kyle Larson has won the Busch Pole Award for Saturday’s Pocono Organics CBD 325 (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports Live, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the first NASCAR Cup Series event in a weekend doubleheader for the tour at Pocono Raceway.
RELATED: Pocono weekend schedule | Drivers to win three races in a row | Cup Series standings
Larson’s No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has started first in three of the last four points-paying Cup Series events. He also opened the NASCAR All-Star Race from the pole position, taking the No. 1 starting spot off a random draw. Larson will be vying for his fourth consecutive Cup Series points win in Saturday’s 325-miler.
The lineup for Sunday’s Cup Series’ Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports Live, MRN, SiriusXM) will be determined after the finishing order from Saturday’s event is official. The top 20 finishers from Saturday’s Cup race will be inverted for Sunday’s start, and Sunday’s starters from 21st place on back will grid in order of their Saturday finish.
Harrison Burton won the pole for Sunday’s Pocono Green 225 (noon ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports Live, MRN, SiriusXM) in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and Todd Gilliland is on the pole for Saturday’s CRC Brakleen 150 (noon ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) in the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford.
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 Saturday’s Cup Series race below.
| Start pos. |
Driver | Car # | Team |
| 1 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 3 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 5 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 6 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 7 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 8 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 9 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 10 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 11 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 12 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 13 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 14 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 15 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 16 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 17 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 18 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 19 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 20 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 22 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 23 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 24 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 25 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 26 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 27 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 28 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 29 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 30 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 31 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 32 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 33 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 34 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 35 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 36 | James Davison | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 37 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 38 | Timmy Hill | 66 | Motorsports Business Management |
Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Aric Almirola was the most recent Busch Pole Award winner through qualifying, taking his third career Cup Series pole for last weekend’s event at Nashville Superspeedway.
The next race with time trials scheduled is the July 4 event at Road America, which will host the Cup Series for the first time since 1956.