NASCAR All-Star lineup: Starting order, pole for Bristol race & All-Star Open through random draws

Tom Gatto

NASCAR All-Star lineup: Starting order, pole for Bristol race & All-Star Open through random draws image

The starting lineup and pole for Wednesday's NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway were set by a procedure similar to the one that has been used for most Cup Series races since NASCAR's return in May from its COVID-19 pause.

The starting grid for Wednesday's race at Bristol, scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET and be broadcast live on FS1, will be led by a Toyota and a Chevrolet as a result of the fully random draw held to determine the first 16 spots in the 20-car field.

MORE: Updated 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule

Three of the final four spots in the All-Star Race field will be determined by the results of the All-Star Open, which will be run prior to the All-Star Race (7 p.m. ET, FS1). The last spot in the All-Star Race will go to the winner of an online fan vote.

Below is the starting lineup for Wednesday's NASCAR All-Star Race and All-Star Open at Bristol and how the Open field was set.

Who won the pole for the NASCAR All-Star Race at Bristol?

NASCAR held a random draw of the 16 drivers who were already eligible for the All-Star Race. Joe Gibbs Racing's Martin Truex Jr. drew the pole position; Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman drew the other spot on the front row.  

Truex, with one win this season, is seventh in the 2020 Cup Series points standings. Bowman, also with one win, is ninth.

Bristol is one of Truex's worst tracks, however; he has yet to win there in 29 career Cup Series starts. Bowman likewise is winless in Thunder Valley, although in just nine races.

The second row is Ryan Blaney in the third position and Justin Haley in the fourth spot.

NASCAR All-Star Race starting lineup at Bristol

Drivers earned All-Star Race eligibility in three ways:

— Win a Cup Series points-paying race in 2019 or 2020. Cup Series rookie Cole Custer became eligible with his upset win Sunday at Kentucky. Justin Haley, a full-time driver in the Xfinity Series, gained entry with his win at Daytona last July.

— Win a Cup Series championship. Truex, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Jimmie Johnson are the Cup champions in the All-Star Race field. 

— Win a past All-Star Race. Ryan Newman got in this way.

The draw for the starting lineup took place Monday. Below are the results:

Start Driver Car No. Team
1 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
2 Alex Bowman 88 Hendrick Motorsports
3 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
4 Justin Haley 77 Spire Motorsports
5 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
6 Matt Kenseth 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
7 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
8 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
9 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
10 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
11 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
12 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
13 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
14 Jimmie Johnson 48 Hendrick Motorsports
15 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
16 Erik Jones 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
17 Winner of Open Stage 1
18 Winner of Open Stage 2
19 Winner of Open Stage 3
20 Fan Vote winner

NASCAR All-Star Open lineup at Bristol

The All-Star Open starting grid was determined similiarly to how lineups for Cup Series races have been set since NASCAR's return from its coronavirus pause. NASCAR is mostly using random draws while it proceeds without qualifying and practice sessions prior to races to limit time spent at the track amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Below is the protocol for how the All-Star Open field was set at Bristol:

  • Positions 1-12: Random draw from the top 12 teams in owner points.
  • Positions 13-22: Random draw from the remaining teams.

The draw for the starting lineup took place Monday. Below are the results:

Start Driver Car No. Team
1 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
2 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
3 Christopher Bell 95 Leavine Family Racing
4 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
5 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
6 Bubba Wallace 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
7 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
8 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
9 Clint Bowyer 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
10 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
11 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
12 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
13 JJ Yeley 27 Rick Ware Racing
14 Garrett Smithley 53 Rick Ware Racing
15 Brennan Poole 15 Premium Motorsports
16 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
17 Timmy Hill * 66 Motorsports Business Management
18 Joey Gase 51 Petty Ware Racing
19 Daniel Suarez 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
20 John Hunter Nemechek 38 Front Row Motorsports
21 Ty Dillon 13 Germain Racing
22 Corey LaJoie 32 Go Fas Racing

* Withdrawn from race.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.