Denny Hamlin lands Busch Pole for Talladega playoff race

Denny Hamlin earned the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (2 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Talladega weekend schedule | Cup Series standings

Hamlin, locked into the Round of 8 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs after last Sunday’s victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will start on pole for the fourth time in 2021 in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Justin Allgaier will start on pole in the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Sparks 300 at Talladega (4:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the second race in the Xfinity Series Playoffs’ Round of 12.

Ben Rhodes earned the top starting spot for Saturday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega (1 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM) for the second race of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs’ Round of 8.

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.

Practice and qualifying are tentatively scheduled for eight Cup Series races this year. Just one race remains with Busch Pole Qualifying on the schedule — the season-ending championship race Nov. 7 at Phoenix Raceway.

Source