NASCAR starting lineup at Pocono: William Byron to start on pole for 3rd time this season

Chelsea Howard

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NASCAR starting lineup at Pocono: William Byron to start on pole for 3rd time this season image

William Byron will start on pole for the third time this season in Sunday's NASCAR Cup race at Pocono Raceway.

Kyle Busch and Clint Bowyer qualified second and third, respectively, on Saturday. Busch and Martin Truex Jr. won last year’s two Pocono races.

Other drivers to watch Sunday are Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman. Blaney, who is looking for his first victory of the year, won at the “Tricky Triangle” in 2017 for his first Cup win. Bowman has rocketed to 10th in the standings in the past month, up from 21st. Bowman, who has yet to win in the Cup series, posted second-place finishes in three consecutive races before finishing seventh last week at Charlotte. Blaney qualified 17th and Bowman 15th.

Drivers participated in a slightly different format Saturday to determine the starting lineup for the Pocono 400. Cars were released in groups of three, and each car was separated by 15 seconds for single-car qualifying. When all three of those cars got through Turn 2, NASCAR released the next group of cars.

Teams were informed before qualifying started that drafting would not be allowed, and any attempt would result in their qualifying times being disallowed. The change was made in an effort to speed up the process because it's a big race track.  

It took the fastest cars 52 seconds to make it around the 2.5-mile course. 

The Pocono 400 is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET Sunday (FS1).

Pocono 400 Starting Lineup

Here's the full starting lineup for Sunday's Pocono 400:

Starting    Driver  Car  
No. 1 William Byron 24
No. 2 Kyle Busch 18
No. 3 Clint Bowyer 14
No. 4 Erik Jones 20
No. 5 Brad Keselowski 2
No. 6 Denny Hamlin 11
No. 7 Kyle Larson 42
No. 8 Jimmie Johnson 48
No. 9 Daniel Suarez 41
No. 10 Austin Dillon 3
No. 11 Kevin Harvick 4
No. 12 Chase Elliott 9
No. 13 Aric Almirola 10
No. 14 Paul Menard 21
No. 15 Alex Bowman 88
No. 16  Joey Logano 22
No. 17 Ryan Blaney 12
No. 18 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  17
No. 19  Ryan Newman 6
No. 20 Martin Truex Jr.  19
No. 21 Kurt Busch 1
No. 22 Matt DiBenedetto 95
No. 23 Daniel Hemric 8
No. 24 Chris Buescher 37
No. 25 Ty Dillon  13
No. 26  Bubba Wallace  43
No. 27 David Ragan 38
No. 28  Michael McDowell  34
No. 29  Ryan Preece 47
No. 30 Matt Tifft  36
No. 31 Landon Cassill  00
No. 32 Ross Chastain 15
No. 33  Corey Lajoie 32
No. 34 Bayley Currey 51
No. 35 Reed Sorenson 27
No. 36 Quin Houff 77
No. 37 JJ Yeley 52

What time does the Pocono 400 start?

The Pocono 400 will take place Sunday, June 2. Live coverage begins at 2 p.m. ET.

What channel is the Pocono 400 on?

The Pocono 400 will be televised nationally on FS1. The race can also be live-streamed on the Fox Sports Go App or by subscribing to fuboTV, which offers a seven-day free trial.

Sunday's Pocono 400 schedule

9 a.m. ET: Garage opens

Noon: Driver/Crew Chief meeting

1:20 p.m.: Driver Introductions

2 p.m.: Race, Pocono 400 (Stages 50/100/160 laps = 400 miles)

Chelsea Howard