Kyle Larson has secured the Busch Pole Award for Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the NASCAR Cup Series’ regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
RELATED: Cup Series starting lineup | Xfinity Series starting lineup
Larson, the series points leader, will start his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet from the first spot for the sixth time this season, in search of his first Daytona victory. He leads Denny Hamlin by 28 points in the final battle for the series’ regular-season championship, which includes a 15-point bonus in the playoff-point tally.
AJ Allmendinger claimed the pole for Friday’s Wawa 250 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM) in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. Allmendinger is the Xfinity Series’ most recent winner, prevailing in triple overtime last weekend at Michigan International Speedway.
RELATED: Daytona weekend schedule | Buy tickets
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 night’s Cup Series race below.
| Start pos. |
Driver | Car # | Team |
| 1 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 7 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 8 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 9 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 11 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 12 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 13 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 14 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 15 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 16 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 17 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 18 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 19 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 20 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 21 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 22 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 23 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 24 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 25 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 26 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing |
| 27 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 28 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 29 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 30 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 31 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 32 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 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 | Joey Gase | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 38 | Kaz Grala | 16 | Kaulig Racing |
| 39 | Landon Cassill | 96 | Gaunt Brothers Racing |
| 40 | David Starr | 66 | Motorsports Business Management |
Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Just one race remains with Busch Pole Qualifying on the schedule — the season-ending championship race Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway.