Quaker State 400 Starting Lineup and Stats for NASCAR Cup Series Race

For the first time since 2010, the NASCAR Cup Series is set to run a second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This weekend sees the Quaker State 400 make its triumphant return to the Peach State after being run at Kentucky Speedway every year for the last decade. The rough and rugged surface of Atlanta will be a far cry from what the drivers and teams just dealt with on the Road America road course. Once again, there will be no qualifying or practice sessions before Sunday’s race. As such, the Quaker State 400 starting lineup has been determined by the NASCAR Performance Metrics Formula.

The following article contains all kinds of vital information to get you set for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series action. Read on for the complete Quaker State 400 starting lineup, start time, race facts and NASCAR stats.

NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway

52nd Quaker State 400
Date: Sunday, July 11, 2021
Start Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway — Hampton, GA
Coverage: NBCSN
Pole Sitter: Chase Elliott
Defending Champion: Cole Custer

Quaker State 400 Race Details

Distance: 400 miles
Laps: 260
Lap Length: 1.54 miles
Stages: Three (Laps 1-80; 81-160; 161-260)
Surface: Asphalt
Turns: 4

Quaker State 400 Starting Lineup

See below for a breakdown of the qualifying metrics formula.

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

NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying Overview

Following the 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 was 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 Sunday’s Quaker State 400 starting lineup.

So, what exactly is involved in the performance-metrics formula? Well, it draws on a number of factors including individual race performances and season-long results. The following breakdown illustrates the weighted grades associated with each component of NASCAR’s metrics formula:

NASCAR Cup Series Metrics Formula Breakdown

• 35 percent: Team owner points ranking
• 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race
• 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race
• 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race

Quaker State 400 Race History and NASCAR Stats

• The inagural edition of this race was held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1960. For the first 20 years of its existence, it was known as the ‘Atlanta 500’ and run at a 500-mile distance.
• This year marks the first time in which the race has been run at a 400-mile distance at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The most recent edition of the race in Georgia was the Kobalt Tools 500 in 2010.
• Kurt Busch is the only active NASCAR Cup Series driver with multiple Quaker State 400 wins at Atlanta. He won each of the last two editions in 2009 and 2010 before the event moved to Kentucky Speedway. Both wins came in a Team Penske Dodge.
• Concerning the last ten years of the race at Kentucky Speedway, Brad Keselowski leads all drivers with three victories. Both Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. won the event twice.
• Kurt Busch scored his third career Quaker State 400 win at Kentucky Speedway in 2019. That result came driving the same Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing that he is in today.
• Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske each won this race three times at Kentucky. However, neither team has won since 2016.
• Since the race’s distance was changed to 400 miles, Toyota has topped all other manufacturers by winning it five times. Three came courtesy of Joe Gibbs Racing while the other two came by way of Martin Truex Jr. and Furniture Row Racing.
• Cole Custer stunned the field by winning last year’s Quaker State 400 as a NASCAR Cup Series rookie. The victory clinched him a spot in the playoffs and also buoyed Custer to NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year honors.