NASCAR lineup at Martinsville: Starting order, pole for Sunday's playoff race without qualifying

Dan Bernstein

•
NASCAR lineup at Martinsville: Starting order, pole for Sunday's playoff race without qualifying image

The NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup for Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville has been determined by a formula that combines owner and driver points for the season and performance in the previous race (in this case at Texas on Wednesday).

There are no qualifiers during the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing NASCAR to get creative in figuring out where each driver starts, This was the ninth time a version of the formula was used to determine the starting lineup for a race.

The Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBCS) is the final race of the Round of 8 and will set the Championship 4 field for Phoenix.

MORE: Updated 2020 NASCAR Cup Series standings

The current formula was also used to determine pit stall selections, which means the pole sitter for Sunday's race made the first pit stall selection.

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

Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Martinsville?

Brad Keselowski holds the pole position for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville. He's the first driver above the elimination cut-line, so his early advantage could provide an important boost in his quest to hold off the likes of Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch. 

Next to the No. 2 car on the front row will be Truex Jr., who enters desperate for a season-saving victory. The remaining playoff drivers will line up in this order: 3. Alex Bowman; 4. Denny Hamlin; 5. Kurt Busch; 6. Kevin Harvick; 7. Joey Logano; 8. Chase Elliott.

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

  • 35 percent: Owner's points position after previous race
  • 25 percent: Driver's final race position in previous race
  • 25 percent: Owner's finish position in previous race
  • 15 percent: Driver's fastest lap time in previous race

NASCAR starting lineup at Martinsville

The starting lineup for Sunday's race at Martinsville 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 Martinsville:

Pos. Driver Car Team
1 Brad Keselowski (P) 2 Team Penske
2 Martin Truex Jr. (P) 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
3 Alex Bowman (P) 88 Hendrick Motorsports
4 Denny Hamlin (P) 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 Kurt Busch (P) 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
6 Kevin Harvick (P) 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
7 Joey Logano (P) 22 Team Penske
8 Chase Elliott (P) 9 Hendrick Motorsports
9 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
10 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
11 Christopher Bell 95 Leavine Family Racing
12 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
13 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
14 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
15 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
16 Clint Bowyer 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
17 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
18 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
19 Erik Jones 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
20 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
21 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
22 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
23 John Hunter Nemechek 38 Front Row Motorsports
24 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
25 Ty Dillon 13 Germain Racing
26 Corey LaJoie 32 GoFas Racing
27 Jimmie Johnson 48 Hendrick Motorsports
28 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
29 Daniel Suarez 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing
30 Brennan Poole 15 Premium Motorsports
31 Matt Kenseth 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
32 Bubba Wallace 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
33 Josh Bilicki 7 Tommy Baldwin Racing
34 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
35 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
36 Garrett Smithley 77 Spire Motorsports
37 James Davison 53 Rick Ware Racing
38 JJ Yeley 27 Rick Ware Racing
39 Joey Gase 51 Petty Ware Racing

(P) Playoff driver.

Dan Bernstein