NASCAR: Homestead starting lineup – Denny Hamlin takes pole

Denny Hamlin took the pole position for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season’s third race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the Dixie Vodka 400.

For the second time in the first three races of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series, the starting lineup was set by a formula which NASCAR introduced last season amid the coronavirus pandemic and the cancellation of practice and qualifying sessions that happened because of it.

This formula is slated to be used for 28 of the 36 races on this year’s schedule, with practice and qualifying only scheduled to lead up to eight different events.

It was Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin who took the pole position for this Sunday’s race, the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

It is Hamlin’s first pole position of the 2021 season and his fifth straight at Homestead-Miami Speedway going back to 2017.

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This formula is based on four factors: rank in owner points (35%), driver’s finish in the previous race (25%), car owner’s finish in the previous race (25%), and the rank of the driver’s fastest lap from the previous race (15%). Where there is no value, a 41st place value is assumed.

Hamlin’s #11 team leads the owner standings following the season’s first two races, and he finished in third place in the most recent race at the Daytona International Speedway road course with the race’s second fastest lap.

Set to start alongside him on the front row in second place in this Sunday’s 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Homestead, Florida is Team Penske’s Joey Logano, whose #22 team sits in second in the owner standings following his runner-up finish last week with the fourth fastest lap.

Here is the full starting lineup for the 2021 Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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

The Dixie Vodka 400 is set to be broadcast live from Homestead-Miami Speedway on Fox beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 28.