NASCAR: Talladega starting lineup – Denny Hamlin grabs pole

Denny Hamlin is set to start Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, the GEICO 500, from the pole position.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin once again led more than half of the laps in a NASCAR Cup Series race this past Sunday afternoon at Richmond Raceway. Once again, he came up shy of the victory, and he is still pursuing his first win of the year.

He is 0 for his last 14 going back to last October. His most recent win came at Talladega Superspeedway, and that is where the Cup Series is set to go this weekend for the GEICO 500.

Despite still being winless throughout the first nine races of the 2021 season, Hamlin is set to start this 188-lap race around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked oval in Lincoln, Alabama from the pole position behind the wheel of his #11 Toyota.

The starting lineup formula determined the starting lineup for this race, the first of two on the schedule at Talladega Superspeedway this year.

Take a look at the variables factored into this formula.

50% based on finish in previous race
- 25% (50% of the 50%) based on driver finish
- 25% (50% of the 50%) based on car owner finish
35% based on rank in owner standings
15% based on rank of fastest lap in previous race

Hamlin finished the most recent race at Richmond Raceway in second place with the fastest lap, and his #11 team leads the owner standings — and quite comfortably.

He is set to start alongside Team Penske’s Joey Logano, who finished in third place at Richmond with the fourth fastest lap and whose #22 team sits in third in the owner standings, in second behind the wheel of his #22 Toyota.

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Richmond Raceway race winner Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports is set to start in fifth place behind the wheel of his #48 Chevrolet. He won that race with the eighth fastest lap, but his #48 team still only sit in 13th in the owner standings.

Set to start ahead of him on the second row are Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. in third place behind the wheel of his #19 Toyota and Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron in fourth behind the wheel of his #24 Chevrolet.

Here is the full starting lineup for the 2021 GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Starting Lineup
1st – Denny Hamlin
2nd – Joey Logano
3rd – Martin Truex Jr.
4th – William Byron
5th – Alex Bowman
6th – Christopher Bell
7th – Ryan Blaney
8th – Chase Elliott
9th – Kyle Busch
10th – Brad Keselowski
11th – Austin Dillon
12th – Kyle Larson
13th – Matt DiBenedetto
14th – Aric Almirola
15th – Kurt Busch
16th – Kevin Harvick
17th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
18th – Ross Chastain
19th – Daniel Suarez
20th – Tyler Reddick
21st – Chris Buescher
22nd – Erik Jones
23rd – Michael McDowell
24th – Bubba Wallace
25th – Chase Briscoe
26th – Corey LaJoie
27th – Cole Custer
28th – Ryan Newman
29th – Ryan Preece
30th – Anthony Alfredo
31st – B.J. McLeod
32nd – Quin Houff
33rd – Cody Ware
34th – Justin Haley
35th – Joey Gase
36th – Josh Bilicki
37th – J.J. Yeley
38th – Kaz Grala
39th – Harrison Burton
40th – Timmy Hill

The GEICO 500 is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Talladega Superspeedway beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 25.