NASCAR: Phoenix starting lineup – Brad Keselowski takes pole

Brad Keselowski is set to start Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway, the Instacart 500, from the pole position.

The fifth race on the 36-race 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule became the fourth race of the season for which a formula NASCAR developed last August was used to set the starting lineup.

That race is Sunday’s Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway.

Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski is set to start this 312-lap race around the four-turn, 1.045-mile (1.622-kilometer) oval in Avondale, Arizona from the pole position behind the wheel of his #2 Ford.

Keselowski is the fifth different polesitter through five races this season.

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Keselowski took the pole position for this race by having the best combination of rank in the owner standings (35%), car finish in the most recent race (25%), driver finish in the most recent race (25%), and rank of fastest lap in the most recent race (15%). For the drivers in the same car from week to week, including Keselowski, the finish in the most recent race is simply weighted at 50%.

Keselowski’s #2 team sits in second place in the owner standings following their second place finish in the most recent race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and in that race, Keselowski recorded the second fastest lap.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway race winner Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports recorded the third fastest lap in that race behind the wheel of his #5 Chevrolet, and his #5 team sits in third in the owner standings. He is set to start Sunday’s race in second.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, whose #11 team leads the owner standings, finished in fourth place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with the eighth fastest lap, and he is set to start Sunday’s race in third behind the wheel of his #11 Toyota.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Martin Truex Jr. are set to start in fourth and fifth place behind the wheels of their #20 Toyota and #19 Toyota, respectively. Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, who recorded the fastest lap at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, is set to start in sixth behind the wheel of his #9 Chevrolet.

The only two changes on the entry list from the race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway are that James Davison is set to drive the #15 Chevrolet for Rick Ware Racing instead of Joey Gase and J.J. Yeley is set to drive the #53 Chevrolet for the team instead of Garrett Smithley.

Here is the full starting lineup for the 2021 Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway.

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

Tune in to Fox at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 14 for the live broadcast of the Instacart 500 from Phoenix Raceway.