Credit: Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
After three straight weeks of short-track racing, the NASCAR Cup Series will be doing anything but this weekend. Sunday’s running of the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway sees the drivers go from running on track less than a mile in length to one that spans over two and a half. As is the case for all superspeedway races, the tapered engine spacer package that NASCAR deploys at these tracks lead to plenty of shuffling over the course of 500 miles between the Geico 500 starting lineup and the eventual race results.
This article contains all kinds of vital information necessary to get you ready for the tenth race of the NASCAR Cup Series season. Read on for the Geico 500 starting lineup, start time, fast facts and NASCAR betting stats.
51st Geico 500
Date: Sunday, April 25, 2021
Start Time: 2 p.m. EST
Track: Talladega Superspeedway — Lincoln, AL
Coverage: FOX
Pole Sitter: Denny Hamlin
Defending Champion: Ryan Blaney
Distance: 500.08 miles
Laps: 188
Lap Length: 2.66 miles
Stages: Three (Laps 1-60; Laps 61-120; Laps 121-188)
Surface: Asphalt
Turns: 4
See below for a breakdown of qualifying.
Starting Position | Driver | Car Number | Team | Manufacturer |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
2 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
3 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
4 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
5 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
6 | Justin Haley | 31 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
7 | Ty Dillon | 42 | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet |
8 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
9 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
10 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske | Ford |
11 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
12 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
13 | Kurt Busch | 45 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
14 | Erik Jones | 43 | Petty GMS Motorsports | Chevrolet |
15 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing | Ford |
16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
17 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
18 | Brad Keselowski | 6 | Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing | Ford |
19 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
20 | Austin Cindric | 2 | Team Penske | Ford |
21 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
22 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
23 | Todd Gilliland | 38 | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
24 | Harrison Burton | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
25 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske | Ford |
26 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
27 | Justin Allgaier | 77 | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
28 | Noah Gragson | 16 | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
29 | J.J. Yeley | 15 | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
30 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
31 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
32 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
33 | Ross Chastain | 1 | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet |
34 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
35 | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
36 | Josh Williams | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
Following the virus-caused interruption to racing last season, NASCAR did away with practice and qualifying runs at the majority of races. A combination of grouped draws and a performance-metrics formula were used to determine starting grids. That same formula remains in place for the majority of races on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, including this weekend’s Geico 500 starting lienup.
So, what exactly is involved in the performance-metrics formula? Well, it draws on a number of factors including individual race performances and seaosn-long results. The following breakdown illustrates the weighted grades associated with each component of NASCAR’s metrics formula:
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This post was last modified on April 21, 2021 3:35 PM
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