Denny Hamlin will lead the starting lineup to the green flag in the Round of 12 cutoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval road course for the second straight NASCAR Cup Series event.
Chase Elliott, who won this race a year ago after recovering from a wreck, will start second, followed by Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick on the second row.
The following are the starting positions for the remaining 12 playoff drivers (in order): Alex Bowman (5th), Austin Dillon (6th), Martin Truex Jr. (7th), Joey Logano (8th), Kyle Busch (9th), Kurt Busch (10th), Clint Bowyer (11th), and Aric Almirola (12th) (12th).
The Busch Pole Award was given to Hamlin, who won at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday and will start first for the third time this season, based on four statistical categories: owner points position, the driver’s finish, the team owner’s finish, and the fastest lap from the most recently completed race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led 121 laps and finished third in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Since the end of the regular season, playoff cars have taken over the top starting spots, depending on how many drivers are still eligible for the championship. The top 12 starting positions in the Round of 12 will be playoff cars; in the Round of 8, the top eight starting spots will be playoff cars, and so on.
Since returning in May amid the new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, which has cancelled practice and qualifying on nearly all race weekends, NASCAR has employed a random draw to establish most of its lineups.
Several masks inspired by NASCAR racing drivers are currently available at the following websites for a reasonable price:
