The grid for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway was determined using the statistical formula NASCAR uses for most of its 2021 races.
The drivers’ starting positions for the Goodyear 400 (3:30 p.m. ET; FS1, TSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) were based on four factors:
- Target position of the driver from the previous race (25 percent)
- Target position of the car owner from the previous race (25 percent)
- Ranking of team owner points (35 percent)
- Fastest lap of the previous race (15 percent)
NASCAR conducts qualification and training for only eight Cup Series races in the 2021 season. The next session will take place shortly before the event on May 23 at the Circuit of the Americas, a street circuit outside of Austin, Texas.
The following is the starting grid, without qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR race, set to Darlington’s egg-shaped oval 1.366 miles in length.
MORE: Watch Sunday NASCAR Race Live with fuboTV (7 Day Free Trial)
Who won pole for the NASCAR race in Darlington?
NASCAR’s formula was that Brad Keselowski was on pole position at Darlington. Keselowski was also the pole sitter for last weekend’s race, the Buschy McBusch Race 400 in Kansas. He is sixth in the points standings in the Cup series, but has a win (Talladega) and a third place (Kansas) in his last two races.
Kevin Harvick was tipped to start next to Keselowski in the front row. Harvick won two of the three races at Darlington last year and finished third in the other race. Like Keselowski, he made the top fives in a row: fourth in Talladega and second in Kansas.
Kyle Busch, last weekend’s winner, finished third in the race on Sunday. Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Matt DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick round out the top 10.
NASCAR starting grid in Darlington
The starting grid for Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway, also known as the Too Tough to Tame track, also known as the Lady in Black, was determined by a mathematical formula that gave this starting grid for the Unqualified Goodyear 400:
| Start pos. | driver | Car no. | team |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 4th | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | 18th | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4th | Martin Truex Jr. | 19th | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6th | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 7th | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 8th | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 9 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 10 | Tyler Reddick | 8th | Richard Childress Racing |
| 11 | Chris Buescher | 17th | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 12th | Joey Logano | 22nd | Team Penske |
| 13th | Michael McDowell | 34 | Motorsport in the front row |
| 14th | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| fifteen | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 16 | Ryan Blaney | 12th | Team Penske |
| 17th | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 18th | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 19th | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 20th | Ryan Newman | 6th | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 21 | Christopher Bell | 20th | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 22nd | Chase Briscoe | 14th | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 24 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 25th | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Motorsport in the front row |
| 26th | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 27 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 29 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 30th | Corey LaJoie | 7th | Spire Motorsports |
| 31 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 32 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live motorsport fast |
| 33 | Cody ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 34 | JJ Yeley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 35 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 36 | James Davison | fifteen | Rick Ware Racing |
| 37 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
Comments are closed.