NASCAR: Pocono starting lineup - Ryan Preece takes pole

Ryan Preece took the pole position for the Pocono 350 NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway with his 20th place finish in Saturday’s race at the track.

By finishing in 20th place in Saturday afternoon’s Pocono Organics 325 NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway behind the wheel of his #37 Chevrolet, JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ryan Preece took the pole position for this afternoon’s Pocono 350 at the same venue.

Because this is a doubleheader weekend, the first in the history of the Cup Series, NASCAR announced that the starting lineup for the second race would be determined based on the finishing order of the first race.

The drivers who finished the first race in the top 20 are set to start the second race in the top 20, but in reverse order. The drivers who finished outside of the top 20 are set to start where they finished, with any new entries being added to the back of the pack and any backup cars being sent to the back of the pack as well.

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This qualifying method was announced before the coronavirus pandemic struck. But because of the pandemic, NASCAR has been forced to alter the schedule by quite a bit over the last few months, and the qualifying invert ended up being used for two races earlier this season as well.

It was used at Darlington Raceway, which hosted two previously non-scheduled races in May, and then again at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which hosted two races in May instead of just its regularly scheduled one. It was Preece who took the pole position for the second race at Darlington Raceway as well, thanks to his 20th place finish in the first race at the track.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick won Saturday afternoon’s 130-lap race around the three-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Tricky Triangle in Long Pond, Pennsylvania in his #4 Ford, so he is set to start today’s 140-lap race at the track back in 20th place.

Set to join Preece on the front row in second place is Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, who finished Saturday’s race in 19th in his #3 Chevrolet.

Chevrolet drivers are set to sweep the top two rows, as the second row is set to to be shared by Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch in third place in his #1 Chevrolet and JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in fourth in his #47 Chevrolet.

Ford drivers are set to share the third row, with Stewart-Haas Racing rookie Cole Custer set to start in fifth place in his #41 Ford and Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Newman set to start in sixth in his #6 Ford.

Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Chip Ganassi Racing’s Matt Kenseth are set to round out the top 10 in seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th place in their #24 Chevrolet, #21 Ford, #12 Ford and #42 Chevrolet, respectively.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. is set to line up in 15th place as the top Toyota driver in his #19 Toyota. Erik Jones, one of Truex’s teammates, wrecked in Saturday’s race and is set to start from the rear in a backup car after being officially scored in 38th in his #20 Toyota.

Here is the full starting lineup for the 2020 Pocono 350 at Pocono Raceway.

Starting Lineup
1st – Ryan Preece
2nd – Austin Dillon
3rd – Kurt Busch
4th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
5th – Cole Custer
6th – Ryan Newman
7th – William Byron
8th – Matt DiBenedetto
9th – Ryan Blaney
10th – Matt Kenseth
11th – Chris Buescher
12th – Brad Keselowski
13th – Michael McDowell
14th – Clint Bowyer
15th – Martin Truex Jr.
16th – Kyle Busch
17th – Christopher Bell
18th – Aric Almirola
19th – Denny Hamlin
20th – Kevin Harvick
21st – Jimmie Johnson
22nd – Bubba Wallace
23rd – Corey LaJoie
24th – John Hunter Nemechek
25th – Chase Elliott
26th – Ty Dillon
27th – Alex Bowman
28th – Daniel Suarez
29th – Brennan Poole
30th – Tyler Reddick
31st – J.J. Yeley
32nd – Josh Bilicki
33rd – Garrett Smithley
34th – James Davison
35th – Timmy Hill
36th – Joey Logano
37th – Joey Gase
38th – Erik Jones
39th – B.J. McLeod
40th – Quin Houff

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Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 4:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the 2020 Pocono 350 from Pocono Raceway.

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NASCAR: Pocono starting lineup – Ryan Preece takes pole

By Asher Fair | Jun 28, 2020

Ryan Preece took the pole position for the Pocono 350 NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway with his 20th place finish in Saturday’s race at the track.