NASCAR conducted qualifying for just the fifth time this season Sunday when drivers took one lap each around the 1.333-mile concrete oval of Nashville Superspeedway to set the starting lineup for the Ally 400 (3:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN3, MRN).
On-track qualifying is a rarity this season as NASCAR tries to limit the amount of time teams spend at the track amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Only eight races total are scheduled to have practice and qualifying in 2021; Nashville was race No. 5, joining Daytona (for the Daytona 500), Bristol's dirt track, Circuit of the Americas and Charlotte (for the Coca-Cola 600).
The remaining sessions will be for new tracks on the schedule (Road America and Indianapolis' road course) and the season-ending Championship 4 race at Phoenix. Nashville is a "new" track as well: NASCAR is back after a 10-year absence, but Sunday's event will be the first Cup Series race at the track. The Xfinity and Truck series raced there previously and raced it again this weekend.
Below is the starting lineup, which was set with qualifying, for Sunday's Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
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Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Nashville?
Aric Almirola paced the field in single-car, single-lap qualifying. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver went out second in qualifying and posted a speed of 161.992 mph. It is his third career pole.
The pole is a season highlight for Almirola's No. 10 team, which enters Sunday's race 28th in the point standings.
Joining Almirola on the front row will be Kyle Busch, who already has a win at the track this weekend. He took the Xfinity Series race on Saturday.
NASCAR impounded all the cars after qualifying, so teams cannot make adjustments to them prior to the race.
NASCAR starting lineup at Nashville
NASCAR used qualifying runs to set the starting lineup for Sunday's race at Nashville Superspeedway, the Ally 400. Thirty-nine drivers were entered for the race.
| Start pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 2 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 3 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 4 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 7 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 8 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 9 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 10 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 11 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 12 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 13 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 14 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 15 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 16 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 18 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 19 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 20 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 21 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 22 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | TrackHouse Racing |
| 23 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 24 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 25 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 26 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 27 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 28 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 29 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 30 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 31 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 32 | JJ Yeley | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 33 | Chad Finchum | 66 | Motorsports Business Management |
| 34 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 35 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 36 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 37 | Joey Gase | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 38 | David Starr | 13 | Motorsports Business Management |
| 39 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
