Denny Hamlin will start from the pole position for the second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series race, leading the starting lineup to the green flag Sunday in the Round of 12 cutoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval road course
Chase Elliott, who rebounded from a crash to win this race a year ago, will start second with Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick on the second row.
Here are the starting positions for the rest of the 12 playoff drivers (in order): Alex Bowman (fifth), Austin Dillon (sixth), Martin Truex Jr. (seventh), Joey Logano (eighth), Kyle Busch (ninth), Kurt Busch (10th), Clint Bowyer (11th) and Aric Almirola (12th).
STARTING LINEUP: Where everyone will start in the Bank of America 400
Hamlin, Sunday’s winner at Talladega Superspeedway who will be starting first for the third time this season, was awarded the Busch Pole Award using a formula based on four statistical categories: owner points position, the driver’s finish, team owner’s finish and fastest lap from the most recently completed race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led a race-high 121 laps and finished third Sunday at Las Vegas.
Since the end of the regular season, playoff cars now fill the top starting positions, according to how many remain eligible for the championship. In the Round of 12, the top 12 starting positions will be playoff cars; in the Round of 8, the top eight starting positions will be playoff cars, etc.
NASCAR previously had used a random draw to set most of its lineups since returning in May during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has eliminated practice and qualifying on nearly all race weekends.
Click here for the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval Cup starting lineup for Sunday.
NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte Roval
Race time: 2:30 p.m. ET, Sunday
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval; Concord, North Carolina (2.28-mile course)
Length: 109 laps (252.88 miles)
Stages: Stage 1 ends Lap 25. Stage 2 ends Lap 50.
TV coverage: NBC
Radio: Performance Racing Network (also SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Streaming: NBC Sports app (subscription required); goprn.com and SiriusXM for audio (subscription required)
Lineup: Click here for the Roval Cup starting lineup
Next Xfinity race: Saturday at Charlotte Roval (67 laps, 155.44 miles), 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC
Next Truck race: Oct. 17 at Kansas (134 laps, 201 miles), 1 p.m. ET on Fox