Martin Truex Jr. secures Busch Pole Award for Richmond Raceway
Martin Truex Jr. has won the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 (3 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Richmond Raceway.
Truex, the series’ only two-time winner this year, will start his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from the pole position. He has finished among the top three in the last four Richmond races, a span that includes a season sweep of both events there in 2019.
Ben Rhodes won the pole for Saturday’s ToyotaCare 250 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the Camping World Truck Series. He’s set to start first in the No. 99 ThorSport Racing Toyota.
RELATED: Richmond weekend 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 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
2 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
3 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
4 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
5 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
6 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
7 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
8 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
9 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
10 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
11 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
12 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
13 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
14 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
15 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
16 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
17 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
18 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
19 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
20 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
21 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
22 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
23 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
24 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
25 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
26 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
27 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
28 | James Davison | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
29 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
30 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
31 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
32 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
33 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
34 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
35 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
36 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
37 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
38 | Austin Cindric | 33 | Team Penske |
Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Busch Pole Qualifying was held for the season-opening Daytona 500 but rain canceled the qualifying races for Bristol Motor Speedway‘s dirt-track race. The next Cup Series event with qualifying scheduled is the May 23 debut at the Circuit of the Americas road course in Austin, Texas.
