NASCAR lineup at Daytona: Starting order, pole for Saturday night race without qualifying

Tadd Haislop

NASCAR lineup at Daytona: Starting order, pole for Saturday night race without qualifying image

The starting lineup and pole for Saturday night's NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway, the last before the start of the Cup Series playoffs, were not set by the random-draw procedure that determined the starting order for most of the races in 2020 that ran without qualifying sessions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The starting grid for Saturday night's race at Daytona, scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET and broadcast live on NBC, features some of this season's top drivers at the front of the field. It is the result of a new formula that takes into account finishing position from the previous race, team owner points standings and the fastest lap from the previous race to set the lineup.

MORE: Updated 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule

As for pit stall selection for the NASCAR Cup Series races being run without qualifying, it is ordered based on the same formula. Which means the pole sitter for Saturday night's race (more on him below) also had the first pit stall selection.

Below is the starting lineup for Saturday night's NASCAR race at Daytona and how it was set.

Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Daytona?

The formula to determine the starting lineup takes into account points standings and results from the previous race, so of course Kevin Harvick is on the pole for Saturday night's race at Daytona after dominating last weekend's Sunday race at Dover. Harvick, the Cup Series points leader, both won the race and posted the fastest lap of the race.

Martin Truex Jr., who finished second in both Dover races, will join Harvick on the front row to start Saturday night's race at Daytona. Behind them will be Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski in third and fourth, respectively.

Below is the formula for how the Cup Series field was set at Daytona:

  • 50 percent: Finishing position from previous race
  • 35 percent: Ranking in team owner points
  • 15 percent: Fastest lap from previous race

NASCAR starting lineup at Daytona

Saturday night's race at Daytona is just the third to use NASCAR's new formula for setting the starting lineup without qualifying. The same procedure will be used through the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

As for the starting lineup for Saturday night's NASCAR race at Daytona, below is the field the formula created:

Pos. Driver Car No. Team
1 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
2 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
3 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
4 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
5 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
6 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
7 Jimmie Johnson 48 Hendrick Motorsports
8 Alex Bowman 88 Hendrick Motorsports
9 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
10 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
11 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
12 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
13 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
14 Clint Bowyer 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
15 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
16 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
17 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
18 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
19 Matt Kenseth 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
20 Erik Jones 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
21 Bubba Wallace 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
22 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
23 Christopher Bell 95 Leavine Family Racing
24 John Hunter Nemechek 38 Front Row Motorsports
25 Corey LaJoie 32 GoFas Racing
26 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
27 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
28 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
29 Ty Dillon 13 Germain Racing
30 Daniel Suarez 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
31 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
32 Brennan Poole 15 Premium Motorsports
33 JJ Yeley 27 Rick Ware Racing
34 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
35 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
36 Ross Chastain 77 Spire Motorsports
37 Joey Gase 53 Rick Ware Racing
38 James Davison 51 Petty Ware Racing
39 Josh Bilicki 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing
40 Brendan Gaughan 62 BeardMotorsports

Tadd Haislop

Tadd Haislop is the Associate NFL Editor at SportingNews.com.