Denny Hamlin will start first at Charlotte Roval
Denny Hamlin will get to start first for the second consecutive week.
Hamlin was the polesitter at Talladega and he’s got the pole again for Sunday’s race at the Charlotte Roval (2 p.m. ET, NBC). Hamlin won at Las Vegas to open the second round of the playoffs and is the only one of the 12 remaining playoff drivers guaranteed to be in the third round of the playoffs. Sunday’s race is the final race of the second round. Four drivers will be eliminated after the race.
The starting lineup was determined by NASCAR’s qualifying formula because there is no practice or qualifying before the race. The 12 playoff drivers start in the top 12 positions.
Brad Keselowski starts second and Joey Logano is third. They finished second and third respectively to Bubba Wallace in Monday’s rain-shortened race at Talladega.
Here’s how the points standings look ahead of the race. Christopher Bell, William Byron and Alex Bowman are still alive to advance to the third round on points, but they most likely have to win on Sunday to avoid elimination.
Points standings
1. Denny Hamlin (win at Vegas)
2. Kyle Larson, 3,097 points
3. Joey Logano, 3,096
4. Martin Truex Jr., 3.095
5. Brad Keselowski, 3,095
6. Ryan Blaney, 3,090
7. Chase Elliott, 3.0084
8. Kyle Busch, 3,084
9. Kevin Harvick, 3,075
10. Christopher Bell, 3,056
11. William Byron, 3,040
12. Alex Bowman, 3,032
Starting lineup
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Joey Logano
4. Christopher Bell
5. Martin Truex Jr.
6. Ryan Blaney
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Chase Elliott
9. Kyle Busch
10. Kyle Larson
11. William Byron
12. Alex Bowman
13. Kurt Busch
14. Austin Dillon
15. Bubba Wallace
16. Chris Buescher
17. Erik Jones
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
19. Michael McDowell
20. Anthony Alfredo
21. Aric Almirola
22. Chase Briscoe
23. Cole Custer
24. Ryan Newman
25. Daniel Suarez
26. Corey LaJoie
27. Ross Chastain
28. Quin Houff
29. Tyler Reddick
30. Matt DiBenedetto
31. Ryan Preece
32. Cody Ware
33. AJ Allmendinger
34. Garrett Smithley
35. Scott Heckert
36. Joey Hand
37. Josh Bilicki
38. Justin Haley
39. Timmy Hill