Instead, the starting grid for Sunday’s race at Charlotte, the Bank of America Roval 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC), was the result of a formula that took into account finishing position from the previous race, team owner points standings and the fastest lap from the previous race. This was the eighth time a version of the formula was used to determine the starting lineup for a race without qualifying.
Below is the starting lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR race at Charlotte and how it was set without qualifying.
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Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Charlotte?
Playoff standings leader Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole following winning the Yellawood 400 in Talladega last weekend.
Joining Hamlin on the front row will be Chase Elliott, who currently sits in fourth in the playoff standings.
The starting order for the other 13 playoff drivers in the current Round of 16: 3. Brad Keselowski; 4. Kevin Harvick; 5. Alex Bowman; 6. Austin Dillon; 7. Martin Truex Jr.; 8. Joey Logano; 9. Kyle Busch; 10. Kurt Busch; 11. Clint Bowyer; 12. Aric Almirola; 13. William Byron; 20. Matt DiBenedetto; 24. Ryan Blaney; 28. Cole Custer.
Kurt Busch, winner of the South Point 400 in the first playoff race in Las Vegas, has already clinched his spot of the round of eight along with Hamlin.
Below is the formula for how the Cup Series field was set at Charlotte:
35 percent: Ranking in team owner points 25 percent: Driver’s position from previous race 25 percent: Team owner’s position from previous race 15 percent: Fastest lap from previous race
NASCAR starting lineup at Charlotte
The starting lineup for Sunday’s race at Charlotte was determined by NASCAR’s new formula for setting lineups in races without qualifying. The same procedure will be used through the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
The formula produced this starting lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR race at Talladega:
