Chase Elliott claims Busch Pole for Atlanta; see starting lineup

Chase Elliott has won the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Elliott, the series’ most recent winner last Sunday at Road America, will start his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from the pole position at the 1.54-mile track in his home state of Georgia.

RELATED: Atlanta, Knoxville schedule | Cup Series standings

Cup Series regular Kyle Busch won the pole for Saturday’s Credit Karma Money 250 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The Camping World Truck Series is also in action this weekend, making its debut at Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway. That event will use qualifying heats to determine the starting lineup for Friday’s Corn Belt 150 (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

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.

Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Two races remain with Busch Pole Qualifying on the schedule — Aug. 15 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course and the season-ending championship race Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway.