NASCAR: Kansas starting lineup – Chase Elliott takes pole
By Asher Fair
Chase Elliott took the pole position for the opening race of the round of 8 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott has officially taken the pole position for the opening race of the round of 8 of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs at Kansas Speedway, the Hollywood Casino 400.
As calculated earlier this week, Elliott took the pole position for this 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Kansas City, Kansas by having the best combination of most recent race result, position in the owner standings and rank of his fastest lap in the most recent race among the eight remaining championship contenders.
The eight remaining championship contenders are locked into the top eight in the starting lineup.
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A 50% weight is placed on most recent finish, with 25% going to driver result and 25% going to car result, and a 35% weight is placed on position in the owner standings. A 15% weight is placed on the rank of his fastest lap in the most recent race.
Elliott won the most recent race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, and his #9 team sits in fourth place in the owner standings. His fastest lap in that race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval ranked best among all drivers.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who also sits in the top five in each of these three categories, is set to start alongside Elliott on the front row in second place behind the wheel of his #22 Ford. He finished in second behind Elliott at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval with the third fastest lap time, and his #22 team sits in fifth in the owner standings.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch is set to start in third place behind the wheel of his #1 Chevrolet. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, whose #4 team leads the owner standings, is set to start in fourth behind the wheel of his #4 Ford.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr., Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin and Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski are set to round out the top eight in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth place behind the wheels of their #19 Toyota, #88 Chevrolet, #11 Toyota and #2 Ford, respectively.
Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney had the best mathematical outcome in the starting lineup formula among the drivers who are no longer in championship contention. In fact, it ranked fifth best among all drivers, but because he is no longer championship eligible, he is set to start in ninth behind the wheel of his #12 Ford.
Here is the full starting lineup for the 2020 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Starting Lineup
1st – Chase Elliott
2nd – Joey Logano
3rd – Kurt Busch
4th – Kevin Harvick
5th – Martin Truex Jr.
6th – Alex Bowman
7th – Denny Hamlin
8th – Brad Keselowski
9th – Ryan Blaney
10th – William Byron
11th – Erik Jones
12th – Clint Bowyer
13th – Cole Custer
14th – Jimmie Johnson
15th – Tyler Reddick
16th – Aric Almirola
17th – Austin Dillon
18th – Matt DiBenedetto
19th – Ryan Preece
20th – Kyle Busch
21st – Chris Buescher
22nd – Christopher Bell
23rd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
24th – Bubba Wallace
25th – Ty Dillon
26th – Michael McDowell
27th – Daniel Suarez
28th – Ryan Newman
29th – Corey LaJoie
30th – Matt Kenseth
31st – Quin Houff
32nd – John Hunter Nemechek
33rd – James Davison
34th – J.J. Yeley
35th – Brennan Poole
36th – Reed Sorenson
37th – Timmy Hill
38th – Joey Gase
39th – Josh Bilicki
40th – Chad Finchum
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NBC is set to broadcast the 2020 Hollywood Casino 400 live from Kansas Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 18.