The starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was set by applying the statistical formula NASCAR is using for the majority of its 2021 races.
Drivers' starting positions for the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube (3:30 p.m. ET; Fox, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) were based on four factors:
- Driver's finishing position from the previous race (25 percent)
- Car owner's finishing position from the previous race (25 percent)
- Team owner points ranking (35 percent)
- Fastest lap from the previous race (15 percent)
Below is the starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR race on the 1.5-mile intermediate track at Las Vegas and how it was set without qualifying.
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Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Las Vegas?
Kevin Harvick earned the pole position for Sunday's race based on the formula NASCAR uses for races without qualifying. The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford finished fifth in last weekend's race, the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and is second in the Cup Series point standings after three races.
Joining him on the front row will be Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron, who drove off to victory at Homestead — his second career Cup Series win.
In fact, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers have spots in Vegas starting lineup's top 10: Byron, Kyle Larson (third), Chase Elliott (eighth) and Alex Bowman (ninth). The other drivers who will line up in the top 10 on Sunday: Martin Truex Jr. (fourth), Michael McDowell (fifth), Denny Hamlin (sixth), Kurt Busch (seventh) and Brad Keselowski (10th).
The next on-track qualifying session will be the heat races for the Bristol dirt race on March 28.
NASCAR starting lineup at Las Vegas
The starting lineup for Sunday's race at Las Vegas was determined through a mathematical formula NASCAR adopted late in the 2020 season. The same procedure for setting lineups without qualifying is being used for the majority of races in 2021.
The formula produced this starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube:
Driver | Car No. | Team |
Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
Alex Bowan | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
Daniel Suarez | 99 | TrackHouse Racing |
Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
Joey Gase | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
Timmy Hill | 66 | Motorsports Business Management |