The starting lineup and pole for Saturday night's NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third 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 Bristol, 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 relatively 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 Bristol and how it was set.
Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Bristol?
Brad Keslowski won last week's race at Richmond in relatively dominating fashion. That, in addition to his second-place standing in points, is why he earned the pole position for Saturday's Bristol night race.
Keselowski will be joined on the front row by his Team Penske teammate, Joey Logano, who finished third last week and sits fourth in points. Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick will line up behind the Penske drivers in Row 2.
Below is the formula for how the Cup Series field was set at Bristol:
- 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 Bristol
Saturday night's race at Bristol is just the sixth to use NASCAR's new formula for setting the starting lineup without qualifying (and the third 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 Bristol, below is the field the formula created:
| Pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski (P) | 2 | Team Penske |
| 2 | Joey Logano (P) | 22 | Team Penske |
| 3 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick (P) | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 5 | Austin Dillon (P) | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 6 | Chase Elliott (P) | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 8 | Alex Bowman (P) | 88 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 9 | Kyle Busch (P) | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 10 | Aric Almirola (P) | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 11 | Clint Bowyer (P) | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 12 | Cole Custer (P) | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 13 | Kurt Busch (P) | 1 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 14 | Ryan Blaney (P) | 12 | Team Penske |
| 15 | William Byron (P) | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 16 | Matt DiBenedetto (P) | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 17 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 18 | Christopher Bell | 95 | Leavine Family Racing |
| 19 | Matt Kenseth | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 20 | Erik Jones | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 21 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 22 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 23 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 24 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 25 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 26 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 27 | Bubba Wallace | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 28 | Ty Dillon | 13 | Germain Racing |
| 29 | Daniel Suarez | 96 | Gaunt Brothers Racing |
| 30 | Corey LaJoie | 32 | Go Fas Racing |
| 31 | John Hunter Nemechek | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 32 | Brennan Poole | 15 | Premium Motorsports |
| 33 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 34 | Reed Sorenson | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 35 | James Davison | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 36 | Joey Gase | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 37 | Gray Gaulding | 27 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 38 | Timmy Hill | 66 | Motorsports Business Management |
| 39 | Josh Bilicki | 7 | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 40 | Garrett Smithley | 78 | B.J. McLeod Motorsports |