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October 27, 2021

Kyle Larson wins Busch Pole Award for Martinsville playoff race


Kyle Larson earned the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App/Peacock, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8.

RELATED: Martinsville weekend schedule | Cup Series standings

Larson, winner of three straight races in the Cup Series, will start on pole for the 11th time in 2021 in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Austin Cindric will start on pole in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Dead On Tools 250 (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the final race in the Round of 8.

John Hunter Nemechek will start on pole in the No. 4 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota for Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series United Rentals 200 (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the final 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 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
3 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
4 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
6 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
7 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
8 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
9 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
10 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
11 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
12 Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
13 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
14 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
15 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
16 Ross Chastain 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
17 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
18 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
19 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
20 Daniel Suarez 99 TrackHouse Racing
21 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
22 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
23 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
24 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
25 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
26 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
27 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
28 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
29 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
30 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast Motorsports
31 Cody Ware 51 Petty Ware Racing
32 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row Motorsports
33 Josh Bilicki 52 Rick Ware Racing
34 Joey Gase 53 Rick Ware Racing
35 Justin Haley 77 Spire Motorsports
36 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
37 Garrett Smithley 15 Rick Ware Racing
38 Timmy Hill 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.

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