Kyle Larson earned the Busch Pole Award for Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8.
RELATED: Kansas weekend schedule | Cup Series standings
Larson,
winner of last Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway, will start on pole for the 10th time in 2021 in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Daniel Hemric will start on pole in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the second 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 |
Ryan Blaney |
12 |
Team Penske |
| 3 |
Brad Keselowski |
2 |
Team Penske |
| 4 |
Kyle Busch |
18 |
Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5 |
Chase Elliott |
9 |
Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 |
Denny Hamlin |
11 |
Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 7 |
Martin Truex Jr. |
19 |
Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 8 |
Joey Logano |
22 |
Team Penske |
| 9 |
William Byron |
24 |
Hendrick Motorsports |
| 10 |
Christopher Bell |
20 |
Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 11 |
Kevin Harvick |
4 |
Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 12 |
Tyler Reddick |
8 |
Richard Childress Racing |
| 13 |
Kurt Busch |
1 |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 14 |
Austin Dillon |
3 |
Richard Childress Racing |
| 15 |
Matt DiBenedetto |
21 |
Wood Brothers Racing |
| 16 |
Daniel Suarez |
99 |
Trackhouse Racing |
| 17 |
Erik Jones |
43 |
Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 18 |
Michael McDowell |
34 |
Front Row Motorsports |
| 19 |
Chase Briscoe |
14 |
Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 20 |
Aric Almirola |
10 |
Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 21 |
Chris Buescher |
17 |
Roush Fenway Racing |
| 22 |
Cole Custer |
41 |
Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 23 |
Corey LaJoie |
7 |
Spire Motorsports |
| 24 |
Ross Chastain |
42 |
Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 25 |
Alex Bowman |
48 |
Hendrick Motorsports |
| 26 |
BJ McLeod |
78 |
Live Fast Motorsports |
| 27 |
Bubba Wallace |
23 |
23XI Racing |
| 28 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
47 |
JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 29 |
Anthony Alfredo |
38 |
Front Row Motorsports |
| 30 |
Josh Bilicki |
52 |
Rick Ware Racing |
| 31 |
Ryan Newman |
6 |
Roush Fenway Racing |
| 32 |
Ryan Preece |
37 |
JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 33 |
Justin Haley |
77 |
Spire Motorsports |
| 34 |
Ryan Ellis |
15 |
Rick Ware Racing |
| 35 |
Quin Houff |
00 |
StarCom Racing |
| 36 |
Cody Ware |
51 |
Petty Ware Racing |
| 37 |
Chad Finchum |
66 |
Motorsports Business Management |
| 38 |
David Starr |
13 |
Motorsports Business Management |
| 39 |
Joey Gase |
53 |
Rick Ware Racing |
| 40 |
Parker Kilgerman |
96 |
Gaunt Brothers 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.