NASCAR lineup at Pocono: Starting order, pole for Saturday race without qualifying

Tom Gatto

NASCAR lineup at Pocono: Starting order, pole for Saturday race without qualifying image

The starting lineup for Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway, the first race of a weekend doubleheader at the Pennsylvania track, was set by applying the statistical formula NASCAR is using for the majority of the series' races in 2021.

NASCAR returned to the formula after holding qualifying last weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. 

Drivers' starting positions for the Pocono Organics CBD 325 (3 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN2, 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)

NASCAR is conducting qualifying and practice for just eight Cup Series races in the 2021 season. The remaining sessions will be held at Road America, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Phoenix. Road America and the Indy road course are new tracks on NASCAR's Cup schedule, and Phoenix is the site of the season-ending Championship 4 race.

Below is the starting lineup, which was set without qualifying, for Saturday's NASCAR Cup Series race on Pocono Raceway's 2.5-mile tri-oval.

MORE: Watch Saturday's NASCAR race live with fuboTV (free 7-day trial)

Who won the pole for the NASCAR Saturday race at Pocono?

Kyle Larson will lead the field to the green flag Saturday. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is the hottest wheel man on the planet with wins in three consecutive points-paying races and a victory in the All-Star Race exhibition sandwiched between them. Larson is second in the season point standings, just 10 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. 

Teammate William Byron will be next to Larson on the front row Saturday. Byron finished third at Nashville and is third in the point standings.

The rest of the top 10: Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell and Hamlin.

Larson's pole assignment gave him the No. 1 pit stall position Saturday.

NASCAR starting lineup at Pocono

NASCAR used a mathematical formula to set the starting lineup for Saturday's race at Pocono Raceway, the Pocono Organics CBD 325, without qualifying.

The starting grid for Sunday's race, the Explore the Pocono Mountains 350, will be set differently: NASCAR will invert the order of the top 20 finishers in Saturday's race, meaning the race winner will start 20th and the 20th-place finisher will start on the pole Sunday. The bottom 18 finishers in the 38-car field (21st through 38th) Saturday will be assigned the same positions Sunday.

Saturday lineup

Start pos. Driver Car No. Team
1 Kyle Larson 5 Hendrick Motorsports
2 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
3 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
4 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
5 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
6 Ross Chastain 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
7 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
8 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
9 Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
10 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
11 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
12 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
13 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
14 Daniel Suarez 99 Trackhouse Racing Team
15 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
16 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
17 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
18 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
19 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
20 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
21 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
22 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
23 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports
24 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row Motorsports
25 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
26 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing
27 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
28 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
29 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
30 Garrett Smithley 53 Rick Ware Racing
31 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
32 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast Motorsports
33 Josh Bilicki 52 Rick Ware Racing
34 Justin Haley 77 Spire Motorsports
35 Cody Ware 51 Petty Ware Racing
36 James Davison 15 Rick Ware Racing
37 Quin Houff 00 StarCom Racing
38 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management

Sunday lineup

Pos. Driver Car No. Team
1 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Racing
2 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports
3 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing
4 Christopher Bell 20 Joe Gibbs Racing
5 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing
6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing
7 Bubba Wallace 23 23XI Racing
8 Daniel Suarez 99 Trackhouse Racing Team
9 Chase Elliott 9 Hendrick Motorsports
10 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing
11 Brad Keselowski 2 Team Penske
12 Kyle Larson* 5 Hendrick Motorsports
13 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing
14 Joey Logano 22 Team Penske
15 Kurt Busch 1 Chip Ganassi Racing
16 Ryan Blaney 12 Team Penske
17 Denny Hamlin 11 Joe Gibbs Racing
18 William Byron 24 Hendrick Motorsports
19 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing
20 Alex Bowman 48 Hendrick Motorsports
21 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing
22 Erik Jones 43 Richard Petty Motorsports
23 Ryan Preece 37 JTG Daugherty Racing
24 Chase Briscoe 14 Stewart-Haas Racing
25 Cody Ware 51 Petty Ware Racing
26 Anthony Alfredo 38 Front Row Motorsports
27 Justin Haley 77 Spire Motorsports
28 James Davison 15 Rick Ware Racing
29 Garrett Smithley 53 Rick Ware Racing
30 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast Motorsports
31 Quin Houff 00 Starcom Racing
32 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Wood Brothers Racing
33 Ross Chastain 42 Chip Ganassi Racing
34 Josh Bilicki 52 Rick Ware Racing
35 Timmy Hill 66 Motorsports Business Management
36 Corey Lajoie 7 Spire Motorsports
37 Ryan Newman 6 Roush Fenway Racing
38 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing

*Larson will start at the rear of the field and race in a backup car Sunday because of a crash in Saturday's race.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.