Kyle Larson lands Busch Pole for Kansas playoff race
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Kyle Larson earned the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 8.
RELATED: Kansas weekend schedule | Cup Series standings
Larson, winner of last Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, will start on pole for the 10th time in 2021 in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
Daniel Hemric will start on pole in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Kansas Lottery 300 (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the second race in the Round of 8.
As NASCAR adapted to COVID-19 protocols last season, practice and qualifying were eliminated at a majority of national-series events to limit at-track time, exposure and to cut race weekend costs. To determine starting lineups, competition officials used grouped draws, added inversions for weekend doubleheaders, and eventually adopted a performance-metrics formula. That metrics format remains in place this season, drawing on performance from both individual races and season-long results.
NASCAR’s metrics formula for 2021 weighs:
25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
35 percent: Team owner points ranking
15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race
See the full lineup for Sunday’s Cup Series race below.
Start pos. | Driver | Car # | Team |
1 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
2 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
3 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
4 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
5 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
6 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
7 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
8 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
9 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
10 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
11 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
12 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
13 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
14 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
15 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
16 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing |
17 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
18 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
19 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
20 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
21 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
22 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
23 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
24 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
25 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
26 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
27 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
29 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
30 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
31 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
32 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
33 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
34 | Ryan Ellis | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
35 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
36 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
37 | Chad Finchum | 66 | Motorsports Business Management |
38 | David Starr | 13 | Motorsports Business Management |
39 | Joey Gase | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
40 | Parker Kilgerman | 96 | Gaunt Brothers Racing |
Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Just one race remains with Busch Pole Qualifying on the schedule — the season-ending championship race Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway.