NASCAR lineup at Charlotte: Starting order, pole for Sunday's ROVAL race without qualifying

Tom Gatto

NASCAR lineup at Charlotte: Starting order, pole for Sunday's ROVAL race without qualifying image

The starting lineup and pole for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway were not set by qualifying runs or by the random draws that were held earlier in the 2020 season as NASCAR moved to reduce time spent at the track because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead, the starting grid for Sunday's race at Charlotte, the Bank of America Roval 400 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC), was the result of a formula that took into account finishing position from the previous race, team owner points standings and the fastest lap from the previous race. This was the eighth time a version of the formula was used to determine the starting lineup for a race without qualifying. 

Below is the starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR race at Charlotte and how it was set without qualifying.

MORE: Weather updates for NASCAR race at Charlotte

Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Charlotte?

Playoff standings leader Denny Hamlin was awarded the pole following winning the Yellawood 400 in Talladega last weekend. 

Joining Hamlin on the front row will be Chase Elliott, who currently sits in fourth in the playoff standings. 

The starting order for the other 13 playoff drivers in the current Round of 16: 3. Brad Keselowski; 4. Kevin Harvick; 5. Alex Bowman; 6. Austin Dillon; 7. Martin Truex Jr.; 8. Joey Logano; 9. Kyle Busch; 10. Kurt Busch; 11. Clint Bowyer; 12. Aric Almirola; 13. William Byron; 20. Matt DiBenedetto; 24. Ryan Blaney; 28. Cole Custer.

Kurt Busch, winner of the South Point 400 in the first playoff race in Las Vegas, has already clinched his spot of the round of eight along with Hamlin.

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

  • 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 Charlotte

The starting lineup for Sunday's race at Charlotte was determined by NASCAR's new formula for setting lineups in races without qualifying. The same procedure will be used through the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

The formula produced this starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR race at Talladega:

Starting spot Driver Car No. Team
1 Denny Hamlin (P) 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
2 Chase Elliott (P) 9 Hendrick Motorsports
3 Brad Keselowski (P) 2 Team Penske
4 Kevin Harvick (P) 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
5 Alex Bowman (P) 88 Hendrick Motorsports
6 Austin Dillon (P) 3 Richard Childress Racing
7 Martin Truex Jr. (P) 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
8 Joey Logano (P) 22 Team Penske
9 Kyle Busch (P) 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
10 Kurt Busch (P) 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
11 Clint Bowyer (P) 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
12 Aric Almirola (P) 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
13 William Byron (P) 24 Hendrick Motorsports
14 Erik Jones 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
15 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
16 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
17 Ty Dillon 13 Germain Racing
18 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daughtery Racing
19 John Hunter Nemechek 38 Front Row Motorsports
20 Matt DiBenedetto (P) 21 Wood Brothers Racing
21 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
22 Brennan Poole 15 Premium Motorsports
23 Matt Kenseth 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
24 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
25 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
26 Bubba Wallace 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
27 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
28 Cole Custer (P) 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
29 Joey Gase 51 Petty Ware Racing
30 Jimmy Johnson 48 Hendrick Motorsports
31 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
32 Corey LaJoie 32 Go Fas Racing
33 JJ Yeley 27 Rick Ware Racing
34 Daniel Suarez 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
35 Christopher Bell 95 Leavine Family Racing
36 Gray Gaulding 127 Rick Ware Racing
37 James Davison 53 Rick Ware Racing
38 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daughtery Racing
(P) Playoff driver.

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.