The starting lineup and pole for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Texas 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 Texas, the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN), 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.
MORE: Updated 2020 NASCAR Cup Series schedule
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 Texas and how it was set without qualifying.
Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Texas?
Kevin Harvick will lead the field for the start of Sunday's race at Texas. The driver of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 car leads the Cup Series points standings heading into the Round of 8 race and is coming off a second-place finish last weekend at Kansas. He is 41 points above the cut line for the Championship 4 race next month at Phoenix.
Next to him on the front row will be Joey Logano, who held off Harvick for the win at Kansas and gained an automatic berth into the Championship 4 race. The remaining playoff drivers will line up in this order: 3. Brad Keselowski (+8); 4. Chase Elliott (-8); 5. Alex Bowman (-27); 6. Martin Truex Jr. (-31); 7. Denny Hamlin (+20); 8. Kurt Busch (-73).
Below is the formula for how the Cup Series field was set at Texas:
- 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 Texas
The starting lineup for Sunday's race at Texas 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 Texas:
| Start | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1 | Kevin Harvick (P) | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 2 | Joey Logano (P) | 22 | Team Penske |
| 3 | Brad Keselowski (P) | 2 | Team Penske |
| 4 | Chase Elliott (P) | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 5 | Alex Bowman (P) | 88 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 8 | Kurt Busch (P) | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 9 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 10 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 11 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 12 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 13 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 14 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 15 | Christopher Bell | 95 | Leavine Family Racing |
| 16 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 17 | Erik Jones | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 18 | Bubba Wallace | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 19 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 20 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 21 | Clint Bowyer | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 22 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 23 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 24 | John Hunter Nemechek | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 25 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 26 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 27 | Ty Dillon | 13 | Germain Racing |
| 28 | Corey LaJoie | 32 | Go Fas Racing |
| 29 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 30 | Daniel Suarez | 96 | Gaunt Brothers Racing |
| 31 | Brennan Poole | 15 | Premium Motorsports |
| 32 | Matt Kenseth | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 33 | JJ Yeley | 27 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 34 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 35 | Reed Sorenson | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 36 | Timmy Hill | 66 | MBM Motorsports |
| 37 | Josh Bilicki | 7 | Tommy Baldwin Racing |
| 38 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 39 | Joey Gase | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 40 | Chad Finchum | 49 | MBM Motorsports |
(P) Playoff driver.
