For the first in 2026, the NASCAR Cup Series is set to run a traditional qualifying session this weekend at Phoenix Raceway.
After the season opened up with the unique Daytona 500 qualifying format, featuring single-car runs, a second round shootout for pole, and the two America 250 Florida Duel qualifying races, the single-car qualifying session (and subsequent 10-car shootout for pole) was rained out at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway).
Then the series traveled to Circuit of the Americas, where group qualifying was used to set to starting lineup because the track is a road course.
Now at Phoenix Raceway, the 37 drivers on the entry list are each set to take a single-lap qualifying attempt around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) Avondale, Arizona oval to determine the full starting lineup for Sunday's 312-lap Straight Talk Wireless 500.
There is no second round shootout for pole, and because Phoenix is technically not considered a short track, these are indeed set to be single-lap runs; drivers are only given two laps each on short tracks.
The qualifying order was determined by the metric NASCAR has utilized since 2025. A full breakdown of that formula can be found here.
Here's a look at this week's qualifying order after two changes were made to the entry list after the COTA race.
NASCAR Cup Series qualifying order at Phoenix
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Anthony Alfredo, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
2 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
3 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
4 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
5 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
6 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
7 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
8 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
9 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
10 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
11 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
12 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
13 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
14 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
15 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
16 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
17 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
18 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
19 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
20 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
21 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
22 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
23 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
24 | Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
25 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
26 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
27 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
28 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
29 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
30 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
31 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
32 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
33 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
34 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
35 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
36 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
37 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
The Straight Talk Wireless 500 is set to be shown live on Fox Sports 1 from Phoenix Raceway starting at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, March 8. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action!