The starting lineup and pole for Sunday night's NASCAR race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the fourth 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 Sunday's race at Las Vegas, scheduled to start at 7 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 Sunday night's race (more on him below) also had the first pit stall selection.
Below is the starting lineup for Sunday night's NASCAR race at Las Vegas and how it was set.
Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Las Vegas?
As if he needed another advantage, NASCAR Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick won the pole for Sunday night's race at Las Vegas after winning last week's race at Bristol.
Kyle Busch, who finished second behind Harvick at Bristol, will join him on the front row to start the Vegas race. Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola will line up behind them in third and fourth, respectively.
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 Las Vegas
Sunday night's race at Las Vegas is just the seventh to use NASCAR's new formula for setting the starting lineup without qualifying (and the fourth 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 Sunday night's NASCAR race at Las Vegas, below is the field the formula created:
| Pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick (P) | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 2 | Kyle Busch (P) | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 3 | Chase Elliott (P) | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 4 | Aric Almirola (P) | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 5 | Joey Logano (P) | 22 | Team Penske |
| 6 | Clint Bowyer (P) | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 7 | Austin Dillon (P) | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 8 | Alex Bowman (P) | 88 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 9 | Kurt Busch (P) | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 10 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 11 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 12 | Brad Keselowski (P) | 2 | Team Penske |
| 13 | Erik Jones | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 14 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 15 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 16 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 17 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 18 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 19 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 20 | Matt Kenseth | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 21 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 22 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 24 | Ty Dillon | 13 | Germain Racing |
| 25 | John Hunter Nemechek | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 26 | Christopher Bell | 95 | Leavine Family Racing |
| 27 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 28 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 29 | Daniel Suarez | 96 | Gaunt Brothers Racing |
| 30 | Gray Gaulding | 27 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 31 | Corey LaJoie | 32 | Go Fas Racing |
| 32 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 33 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 34 | Joey Gase | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 35 | Brennan Poole | 15 | Premium Motorsports |
| 36 | Timmy Hill | 66 | Motorsports Business Management |
| 37 | JJ Yeley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 38 | Josh Bilicki | 7 | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 39 | Chad Finchum | 49 | Motorsports Business Management |