Ryan Blaney captured the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 16 opener at Darlington Raceway.
RELATED: Complete schedule for Darlington | Betting odds
Blaney will start his No. 12 Team Penske Ford from the first spot for the first time this season, in search of his first Darlington victory. Blaney, a playoff driver, is coming off back-to-back wins to close out the regular season.
Daniel Hemric claimed the pole for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM) in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, while Sheldon Creed, playoff driver of the No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet, earned the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series In It To Win It 200 (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and 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 night’s Cup Series race below.
| Start pos. |
Driver | Car # | Team |
| 1 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 3 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 4 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 5 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 7 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 8 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 9 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 10 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 11 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 12 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 13 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 14 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 15 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 16 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 17 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 18 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 19 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 20 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 21 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 22 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 23 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 24 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 25 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 26 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | TrackHouse Racing |
| 27 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 28 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 29 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 30 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 31 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 32 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 33 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 34 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 35 | Joey Gase | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 36 | James Davison | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 37 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
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.