NASCAR: Full Fontana starting lineup if qualifying is rained out
By Asher Fair
If qualifying is rained out on Saturday, here is the full starting lineup for Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway.
The weather forecast is not all that promising for this upcoming NASCAR race weekend at Auto Club Speedway, with a 100% chance of rain throughout the day on Saturday, according to The Weather Channel.
In addition to the Xfinity Series race, Saturday’s schedule also includes Cup Series qualifying, which is supposed to set the full 36-car starting lineup for Sunday afternoon’s 200-lap Pala Casino 400 around the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) Fontana, California oval.
If that session cannot take place due to rain, then the starting lineup would be set based on the qualifying formula.
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This formula, which was introduced as a new way of setting starting lineups in 2020 during the unexpected absence of qualifying, is now used to determine the qualifying order for races, but it can still be used to set starting lineups if a qualifying session is canceled.
It takes into account four factors: the driver’s finish in the most recent race, the team’s (car number’s) finish in the most recent race, the team’s (car number’s) position in the owner standings, and the rank of the driver’s fastest lap in the most recent race.
The driver’s finish in the most recent race is weighted at 25% and the team’s (car number’s) finish in the most recent race is also weighted at 25%, meaning that this is effectively one 50% category for drivers driving the same cars from race to race.
The team’s (car number’s) position in the owner standings is weighted at 35%, and the rank of the driver’s fastest lap in the most recent race is weighted at the remaining 15%.
It is effectively the qualifying order in reverse.
Here is how the starting lineup would look for Sunday afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway if qualifying is indeed rained out.
Provisional Fontana starting lineup
1st – Christopher Bell
2nd – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
3rd – Joey Logano
4th – Alex Bowman
5th – Chris Buescher
6th – A.J. Allmendinger
7th – Daniel Suarez
8th – Ross Chastain
9th – Ryan Blaney
10th – Kevin Harvick
11th – Cody Ware
12th – Corey LaJoie
13th – Denny Hamlin
14th – Martin Truex Jr.
15th – Kyle Larson
16th – Brad Keselowski
17th – Aric Almirola
18th – Bubba Wallace
19th – Austin Cindric
20th – Noah Gragson
21st – Kyle Busch
22nd – J.J. Yeley
23rd – Ty Gibbs
24th – Harrison Burton
25th – Todd Gilliland
26th – Michael McDowell
27th – Ryan Preece
28th – Austin Dillon
29th – Justin Haley
30th – B.J. McLeod
31st – Chase Briscoe
32nd – William Byron
33rd – Chase Elliott
34th – Erik Jones
35th – Tyler Reddick
36th – Ty Dillon
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The Pala Casino 400 is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Auto Club Speedway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss it!