NASCAR: 2022 Fontana – Full starting lineup, updates

Keep tabs on Saturday’s qualifying session for the WISE Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway, the second race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

For the first time since the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, qualifying sessions are set to be a regular occurrence throughout the 36-race 2022 campaign.

Qualifying sessions were effectively removed when NASCAR returned from the unexpected 10-week hiatus caused by COVID-19-related restrictions in 2020.

NASCAR continued using the starting lineup formula, which was introduced later in the 2020 season after random draws had been used to set the starting lineups, for most of the races on the 2021 schedule.

But qualifying is back this year, and the debut of the new qualifying format is set for this afternoon at Auto Club Speedway.

There are two qualifying groups, with the first 18 drivers in the first group and the second 18 drivers in the second. The groups are set by the results of the previous race. The qualifying order of each group is determined by the aforementioned formula that had previously been used to set the starting lineups in late 2020 and 2021.

Despite the group format, the session is still a single-car qualifying session, with each driver getting one timed lap. The top five drivers from each of the two groups advance to the second round, which is also conducted under a single-car format.

Each of these 10 drivers will get one more timed lap, and this round will determine the top 10 in the starting lineup, including the pole position.

Who will take the pole position for the 2022 WISE Power 400? Follow along with our live qualifying updates. Click here if accessing on AMP.

Full starting lineup

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

Round 2

Qualified

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – Speed (miles per hour)
1st – Austin Cindric – #2, Team Penske, Ford – 174.647
2nd – Erik Jones – #43, Petty GMS Motorsports, Chevrolet – 174.157
3rd – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 173.758
4th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 173.373
5th – Daniel Hemric – #16, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet – 173.139
6th – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford – 173.127
7th – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford – 170.628
8th – Brad Keselowski – #6, RFK Racing, Ford – 0
8th – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 0
8th – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 0

Round 1

Qualified (Group 1)

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – Speed (miles per hour)
1st – Joey Logano – #22, Team Penske, Ford – 174.09
2nd – Brad Keselowski – #6, RFK Racing, Ford – 173.9
3rd – Daniel Hemric – #16, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet – 173.892
4th – Denny Hamlin – #11, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 173.218
5th – Kyle Busch – #18, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 172.961
6th – Alex Bowman – #48, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 172.936
7th – Austin Dillon – #3, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – 172.753
8th – Christopher Bell – #20, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 171.887
9th – Chris Buescher – #17, RFK Racing, Ford – 171.8869
10th – Cole Custer – #41, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – 171.674
11th – Michael McDowell – #34, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – 171.2
12th – Chase Briscoe – #14, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – 170.859
13th – Corey LaJoie – #7, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet – 170.665
14th – Josh Bilicki – #77, Spire Motorsports, Chevrolet – 167.609
15th – B.J. McLeod – #78, Live Fast Motorsports, Ford – 163.254
16th – Ross Chastain – #1, Trackhouse Racing Team, Chevrolet – 0
16th – Kevin Harvick – #4, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – 0
16th – Justin Haley – #31, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet – 0

Qualified (Group 2)

Rank – Driver – Car, Team, Manufacturer – Speed (miles per hour)
1st – Chase Elliott – #9, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 174.855
2nd – Ryan Blaney – #12, Team Penske, Ford – 174.457
3rd – Austin Cindric – #2, Team Penske, Ford – 174.292
4th – Erik Jones – #43, Petty GMS Motorsports, Chevrolet – 174.267
5th – William Byron – #24, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 173.586
6th – Tyler Reddick – #8, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet – 173.427
7th – Martin Truex Jr. – #19, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota – 173.423
8th – Kyle Larson – #5, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet – 173.102
9th – Daniel Suarez – #99, Trackhouse Racing Team, Chevrolet – 172.927
10th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – #47, JTG Daugherty Racing, Chevrolet – 172.712
11th – Ty Dillon – #42, Petty GMS Motorsports, Chevrolet – 172.344
12th – Harrison Burton – #21, Wood Brothers Racing, Ford – 171.473
13th – Todd Gilliland – #38, Front Row Motorsports, Ford – 169.392
14th – Cody Ware – #51, Rick Ware Racing, Ford – 168.879
15th – Garrett Smithley – #15, Rick Ware Racing, Ford – 163.811
16th – Kurt Busch – #45, 23XI Racing, Toyota – 0
16th – Bubba Wallace – #23, 23XI Racing, Toyota – 0
16th – Aric Almirola – #10, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford – 0

The WISE Power 400 is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Auto Club Speedway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon. Begin your free trial of FuboTV today!