Kyle Larson lands Busch Pole for Texas playoff race

Kyle Larson earned the Busch Pole Award for Sunday's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8. RELATED: Texas weekend schedule | Cup Series standings Larson, winner of last Sunday's race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, will start on pole for the ninth time in 2021 in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. AJ Allmendinger will start on pole in the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet for Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Andy's Frozen Custard 335 at Texas (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the first race in the Round of 8. 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	Kyle Larson	5	Hendrick Motorsports
2	Denny Hamlin	11	Joe Gibbs Racing
3	Kyle Busch	18	Joe Gibbs Racing
4	Ryan Blaney	12	Team Penske
5	Joey Logano	22	Team Penske
6	Chase Elliott	9	Hendrick Motorsports
7	Brad Keselowski	2	Team Penske
8	Martin Truex Jr.	19	Joe Gibbs Racing
9	Tyler Reddick	8	Richard Childress Racing
10	Chris Buescher	17	Roush Fenway Racing
11	Christopher Bell	20	Joe Gibbs Racing
12	William Byron	24	Hendrick Motorsports
13	Matt DiBenedetto	21	Wood Brothers Racing
14	Alex Bowman	48	Hendrick Motorsports
15	Austin Dillon	3	Richard Childress Racing
16	Michael McDowell	34	Front Row Motorsports
17	Kurt Busch	1	Chip Ganassi Racing
18	Bubba Wallace	23	23XI Racing
19	Daniel Suarez	99	TrackHouse Racing
20	Cole Custer	41	Stewart-Haas Racing
21	Erik Jones	43	Richard Petty Motorsports
22	Aric Almirola	10	Stewart-Haas Racing
23	Ryan Preece	37	JTG Daugherty Racing
24	Kevin Harvick	4	Stewart-Haas Racing
25	Ross Chastain	42	Chip Ganassi Racing
26	Chase Briscoe	14	Stewart-Haas Racing
27	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47	JTG Daugherty Racing
28	Anthony Alfredo	38	Front Row Motorsports
29	Corey LaJoie	7	Spire Motorsports
30	Quin Houff	00	StarCom Racing
31	Ryan Newman	6	Roush Fenway Racing
32	Justin Haley	77	Spire Motorsports
33	Josh Bilicki	52	Rick Ware Racing
34	Cody Ware	51	Petty Ware Racing
35	BJ McLeod	78	Live Fast Motorsports
36	Garrett Smithley	15	Rick Ware Racing
37	Joey Gase	53	Rick Ware Racing
38	David Starr	66	Motorsports Business Management
39	Timmy Hill	13	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.