NASCAR: Talladega starting lineup - Denny Hamlin takes pole

Denny Hamlin took the pole position for the YellaWood 500, the second race of the round of 12 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, at Talladega Superspeedway.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin has officially taken the pole position for the second of three races in the round of 12 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Talladega Superspeedway, the YellaWood 500.

As calculated earlier this week, the driver of the #11 Toyota took the pole position for this 188-lap race around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked oval in Lincoln, Alabama as a result of NASCAR’s starting lineup formula, which has now been used eight times. This is Hamlin’s first pole position in those eight races.

Hamlin earned this pole position by having the best combination of most recent race result (25% weight on car, 25% weight on driver), position in the owner standings (35% weight), and rank of his fastest lap in the most recent race (15% weight) among the 12 drivers who are still eligible to compete for the championship.

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He finished in third place in the opening race of the round of 12 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and his #11 team sits in second place in the owner standings, as they have for quite some time. His fastest lap at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was the best among all drivers.

He finished behind Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch and Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With the latter having been eliminated from the playoffs in the round of 16, he is not eligible for the pole position, and Busch is set to start alongside Hamlin in second place behind the wheel of his #1 Chevrolet.

The #1 team sits in ninth place in the owner standings, and Busch’s fastest lap at his home track ranked second behind only that of Hamlin. DiBenedetto is set to start in 13th place at Talladega Superspeedway, best among the eliminated drivers.

In terms of the owner standings, the only driver whom Hamlin trails is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick. But Harvick did not have the race he was looking for at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He finished in 10th place, and his fastest lap ranked 14th. He is set to start in fifth at Talladega Superspeedway behind the wheel of his #4 Ford.

Set to split Hamlin and Busch from Harvick are Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. in third place behind the wheel of his #19 Toyota and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman in fourth behind the wheel of his #88 Chevrolet.

The other seven drivers still eligible to win the championship are set to line up from sixth through 12th place, beginning with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch in sixth behind the wheel of his #18 Toyota and ending with Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon in 12th behind the wheel of his #3 Chevrolet.

Here is the full starting lineup for the 2020 YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

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

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NBC is set to broadcast the 2020 YellaWood 500 live from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 4.

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NASCAR: Talladega starting lineup – Denny Hamlin takes pole

By Asher Fair | Sep 30, 2020

Denny Hamlin took the pole position for the YellaWood 500, the second race of the round of 12 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, at Talladega Superspeedway.