The starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway was set by applying the statistical formula NASCAR is using for the majority of its 2021 races.
Drivers' starting positions for the Instacart 500 (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-mile track at Phoenix and how it was set without qualifying.
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Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Phoenix?
Brad Keselowski will line up on the pole after his performance last weekend at Las Vegas. He finished second in the Pennzoil 400 to Kyle Larson and won Stage 1 of the race. Keselowski is second in the Cup Series point standings, but he's just two points ahead of Larson, who is in third place.
Larson will line up to Keslowski's outside on the front row Sunday. (UPDATE: Larson will have to drop to the rear for pace laps because his car failed two prerace tech inspections Saturday. William Byron and Cody Ware will also have to go to the rear because their cars failed two inspections.)
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. will start third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Hamlin leads the point standings thanks to three top-fives, three stage wins and 150 laps led, all series highs, in the first four races.
NASCAR starting lineup at Phoenix
The starting lineup for Sunday's race at Phoenix 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 Phoenix Raceway, the Instacart 500:
| Start pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 2 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 6 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 7 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 8 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 9 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 10 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 11 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 12 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 13 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 14 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 15 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 16 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 18 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 19 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 20 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 21 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 22 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 23 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 24 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 25 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 26 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 27 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 28 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 29 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 30 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 31 | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 32 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 33 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 34 | JJ Yeley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 35 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 36 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 37 | Timmy Hill | 66 | MBM Motorsports |
| 38 | James Davison | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
