The starting lineup for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway was set by applying the statistical formula NASCAR is using for the majority of its 2021 races.
Drivers’ starting positions for the Goodyear 400 (3:30 p.m. ET; FS1, TSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) were based on four factors:
NASCAR is conducting qualifying and practice for just eight Cup Series races in the 2021 season. The next session will take place just prior to the May 23 event at Circuit of the Americas, a road course outside Austin, Texas.
Below is the starting lineup, which was set without qualifying, for Sunday’s NASCAR race on Darlington’s 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval.
MORE: Watch Sunday’s NASCAR race live with fuboTV (free 7-day trial)
NASCAR’s formula came up with Brad Keselowski being on the pole at Darlington. Keselowski was also the polesitter for last weekend’s race, the Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas. He is sixth in the Cup Series point standings but has a win (Talladega) and a third-place finish (Kansas) in his last two races.
Kevin Harvick was tapped to start beside Keselowski on the front row. Harvick won two of the three races at Darlington last year and finished third in the other one. Like Keselowski, he’s coming off back-to-back top-fives: fourth at Talladega and second at Kansas.
Kyle Busch, last weekend’s winner, was placed in the third spot for Sunday’s race. Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Matt DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick round out the top 10.
The starting lineup for Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway, aka the track Too Tough to Tame, aka the Lady in Black, was determined through a mathematical formula, which produced this starting lineup for the Goodyear 400 without qualifying:
| Start pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 2 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 3 | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 4 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5 | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 7 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 8 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 9 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 10 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 11 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 12 | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 13 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 14 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 15 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 16 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 17 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 18 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 19 | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 20 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 21 | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 22 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 24 | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 25 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 26 | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 27 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 28 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 29 | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 30 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 31 | Justin Haley | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 32 | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 33 | Cody Ware | 51 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 34 | JJ Yeley | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 35 | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 36 | James Davison | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 37 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
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