NASCAR: Phoenix starting lineup – Chase Elliott takes pole
By Asher Fair
Chase Elliott has officially taken the pole position for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway.
As calculated earlier this week, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott is set to lead the field to the green flag in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway behind the wheel of his #9 Chevrolet.
Due to a NASCAR rule, the four Championship 4 drivers are set to line up in the top four, with the order set by a starting lineup formula which has previously been used for 12 races since August.
Elliott took the pole position for this 312-lap race around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) oval in Avondale, Arizona by having the best combination of three variables: most recent race result, position in the owner standings, and rank of his fastest lap in the most recent race among the four remaining championship contenders.
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Most recent race result is worth 50%, with 25% based on car and 25% based on driver, while position in the owner standings is worth 35% and rank of fastest lap in the most recent race is worth 15%.
Elliott won the most recent race at Martinsville Speedway with the third fastest lap. The #9 team is tied for the lead of the owner standings with the other three Championship 4 teams, including the #22 team of Team Penske’s Joey Logano, the #2 team of Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski and the #11 team of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, but the #9 team is officially classified in second place.
After finishing in third place at Martinsville Speedway with the fifth fastest lap, Logano, whose #22 team is officially classified as the leader of the owner standings, is set to line up alongside Elliott on the front row in second behind the wheel of his #22 Ford.
After finishing in fourth place at Martinsville Speedway with the eighth fastest lap, Keselowski, whose #2 team is officially classified as sitting in third place in the owner standings, is set to start in third place behind the wheel of his #2 Ford alongside Hamlin in fourth.
Hamlin finished in 11th place at Martinsville Speedway with the fastest lap. His #11 team is officially classified as sitting in fourth place in the owner standings.
It is noteworthy that even if all four teams were classified as being in first place in the owner standings, the top four would still line up as described above.
Set to lead the non-Championship 4 players in fifth place behind the wheel of his #12 Ford is Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, who finished in second place at Martinsville Speedway with the second fastest lap speed. His #12 team sits in ninth in the owner standings.
If not for the rule preventing non-Championship 4 drivers from starting inside the top four, Blaney would have qualified in fourth place.
Here is the full starting lineup for the 2020 Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway.
Starting Lineup
1st – Chase Elliott
2nd – Joey Logano
3rd – Brad Keselowski
4th – Denny Hamlin
5th – Ryan Blaney
6th – Alex Bowman
7th – Kurt Busch
8th – Kyle Busch
9th – Clint Bowyer
10th – Aric Almirola
11th – Kevin Harvick
12th – Matt DiBenedetto
13th – Martin Truex Jr.
14th – Erik Jones
15th – Cole Custer
16th – Matt Kenseth
17th – Christopher Bell
18th – Austin Dillon
19th – Ryan Newman
20th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21st – Tyler Reddick
22nd – Ty Dillon
23rd – Bubba Wallace
24th – Ryan Preece
25th – William Byron
26th – Jimmie Johnson
27th – John Hunter Nemechek
28th – Corey LaJoie
29th – Michael McDowell
30th – Daniel Suarez
31st – Chris Buescher
32nd – J.J. Yeley
33rd – Timmy Hill
34th – Quin Houff
35th – Brennan Poole
36th – James Davison
37th – Joey Gase
38th – Josh Bilicki
39th – Garrett Smithley
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Tune in to NBC at 3:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, November 8 for the live broadcast of the 2020 Championship 4 race from Phoenix Raceway to see who will be crowned NASCAR Cup Series champion.