Kevin Harvick has won the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Harvick will start his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford from the pole position with William Byron in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sharing the front row in the field.
Additionally, Myatt Snider won the pole for Saturday’s Alsco Uniforms 300 (4:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and Ben Rhodes is on the pole for Friday’s Bucked Up 200 (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
RELATED: Homestead-Miami schedule | 2021 Cup Series standings
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 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 2 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 3 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 6 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 7 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 8 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 9 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 11 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 12 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 13 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 14 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 15 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 16 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 18 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 19 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 20 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 21 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 22 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 24 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 25 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 26 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 27 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 28 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 29 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 30 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 31 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 32 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 33 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 34 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 35 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 36 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 37 | Joey Gase | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 38 | Timmy Hill | 66 | Motorsports Business Management |
Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Busch Pole Qualifying was held for the season-opening Daytona 500; the next race with time trials scheduled is the March 28 event at Bristol Motor Speedway’s dirt track.