Martin Truex Jr. lands Busch Pole Award for Sunday's Dover race
Martin Truex Jr. has claimed the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Drydene 400 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Dover International Speedway.
Truex, who won last weekend’s event at Darlington Raceway, will start his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from the pole position. Through 12 races, Truex is still the NASCAR Cup Series’ only multi-race winner in 2021. He’s at three victories.
RELATED: Dover weekend schedule | 2021 Cup Series standings
Daniel Hemric’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is on the pole for Saturday’s Drydene 200 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
As NASCAR adapted to COVID-19 protocols last season, practice and qualifying were eliminated at a majority of national-series events to limit at-track time, exposure and to cut race weekend costs. To determine starting lineups, competition officials used grouped draws, added inversions for weekend doubleheaders, and eventually adopted a performance-metrics formula. That metrics format remains in place this season, drawing on performance from both individual races and season-long results.
NASCAR’s metrics formula for 2021 weighs:
25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
35 percent: Team owner points ranking
15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race
See the full lineup for Sunday’s Cup Series race below.
Start pos. | Driver | Car # | Team |
1 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
2 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
3 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
4 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
5 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
6 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
7 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
8 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
9 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
10 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
11 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
12 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
13 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
14 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
15 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
16 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
17 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
18 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
19 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
20 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
21 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
22 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
23 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
24 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
25 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
26 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
27 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
28 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
29 | Josh Berry* | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
30 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
31 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
32 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
33 | James Davison | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
34 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
35 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
36 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
37 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
*Justin Haley was initially slated to compete in the No. 77 entry but will miss the race due to COVID-19 protocols.
Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Busch Pole Qualifying was held for the season-opening Daytona 500, and rain canceled the qualifying races for Bristol Motor Speedway‘s dirt-track race. The next Cup Series event with qualifying scheduled is the May 23 debut at the Circuit of The Americas road course in Austin, Texas.