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

Tadd Haislop

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

The starting lineup and pole for Saturday night's NASCAR race at Richmond Raceway, the second race of the 2020 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's race at Richmond, scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET and broadcast live on NBCSN, 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 Sunday'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 Richmond and how it was set.

Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Richmond?

The 10-race NASCAR playoffs began last week with the favorite to win the 2020 championship earning his eighth win of the season. So of course points leader Kevin Harvick is on the pole for Saturday night's race at Richmond.

Joey Logano, who finished third last week at Darlington and who is third in points, will join Harvick on the front row to start Saturday night's race at Richmond.

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

  • 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 Richmond

Saturday night's race at Richmond is just the fifth to use NASCAR's new formula for setting the starting lineup without qualifying (and the second to use it since NASCAR tweaked the finishing position portion of the formula). The same procedure will be used through the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

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

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

Tadd Haislop

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