Denny Hamlin to start on Busch Pole for Charlotte Roval playoff race

Denny Hamlin earned the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval (2 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), an elimination race in the Cup Series Playoffs’ Round of 12.

RELATED: Charlotte Roval weekend schedule | Cup Series standings

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

Austin Cindric will start on pole in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford for Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina at the Charlotte Roval (3 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), an elimination race in the Xfinity Series Playoffs’ Round of 12.

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.

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