The starting lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway was set by applying the statistical formula NASCAR is using for the majority of its 2021 races.
Drivers' starting positions for the GEICO 500 (2 p.m. ET; Fox, TSN, 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. Six races in that group remain, starting with the May 23 event at Circuit of the Americas, a road course outside Austin, Texas.
Below is the starting lineup, which was set without qualifying, for Sunday's NASCAR race on the 2.66-mile track at Talladega Superspeedway.
MORE: Watch Sunday's NASCAR race live with fuboTV (free 7-day trial)
Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Talladega?
Denny Hamlin is the polesitter for Sunday's race based on NASCAR's mathematical formula. Hamlin leads the series point standings after nine races despite not having won a race. He leads all drivers with eight top-five finishes and five stage wins. Hamlin won the first two stages of last weekend's race at Richmond but was forced to settle for second after being passed by Alex Bowman on the final restart.
To Hamlin's outside will be Joey Logano, who finished third at Richmond and is third in the point standings. Logano has a race win (Bristol dirt), four top-fives and two stage wins this season.
The rest of the top 10 for the race at Talladega: Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.
NASCAR starting lineup at Talladega
The starting lineup for Sunday's race at Talladega Superspeedway was determined through a mathematical formula NASCAR adopted late in the 2020 season. The formula produced this starting lineup for the GEICO 500 without qualifying:
| Start pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 2 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 5 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 7 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 8 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 9 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 11 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 12 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 13 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 14 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 15 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 16 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 18 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 19 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 20 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 21 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 22 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 23 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 24 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 25 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 26 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 27 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 28 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 29 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 30 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 31 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 32 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 33 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 34 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 35 | Joey Gase | 28 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 36 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 37 | JJ Yeley | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 38 | Kaz Grala | 16 | Kaulig Racing |
| 39 | Harrison Burton | 96 | Gaunt Brothers Racing |
| 40 | Timmy Hill | 66 | MBM Motorsports |
