NASCAR starting lineup for Sunday: Larson, Elliott and Byron earn top-10 finishes at Charlotte ROVAL

CONCORD, NC – When it comes to the Charlotte ROVAL and road racing in general, track position matters.

Certainly solid starting positions were the goal for all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers heading into qualifying on Saturday for Sunday’s main event. This race, the final round of 16 of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on NBC.

William Byron, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott achieved this goal with top-10 qualifying runs. Larson will finish sixth on Sunday after a lap of 1:23.33, followed by Elliott in seventh. Byron secured ninth place on the grid.

Alex Bowman won’t be able to make up much ground either, as he secured 17th place on the grid.

There couldn’t be much more at stake for the Hendrick squad. All four enter Sunday’s race on the good side of the cutline, with Byron already secured a spot, giving him the freedom to go for playoff points and a win.

For the other three, the situation is slightly more urgent to varying degrees.

Larson is at his best, 52 points ahead. Bowman is next and has a 26-point lead after scoring more points in the postseason than any other driver to date. Ultimately, Elliott clings to the last spot before eighth, but is 13 points from elimination.

The best news for Elliott? Nobody was better at the ROVAL. He is the only driver to have won more than once with two wins, and his 109 laps led are also the most.

In fact, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers have had good success at the track this week. Larson also has a win, Byron is second with 80 laps and Bowman has the best average finish ever with 6.4. He finished in the top 10 in each of his five starts there.

Here’s a look at the starting lineup for Sunday’s race at the Charlotte ROVAL.

NASCAR qualifying results

1. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 13
2. Tyler Reddick, #45
3. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
4. Joey Logano, #22
5. Austin Cindric, #2
6. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
7. Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
8. Brad Keselowski, No. 6
9. William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Confetti Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
10. Bubba Wallace, #23
11. Kyle Busch, No. 8
12. Christopher Bell, No. 20
13. Daniel Suarez, No. 99
14. Ryan Blaney, #12
15. Todd Gilliland, #38
16. Ross Chastain, No. 1
17. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
18. Denny Hamlin, No. 11
19. Ty Gibbs, #54
20. Carson Hocevar, #77
21. Michael McDowell, #34
22. Austin Dillon, No. 3
23. Zane Smith, #71
24. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., #47
25. Chase Briscoe, #14
26. Harrison Burton, #21
27. Daniel Hemric, No. 31
28. Corey LaJoie, #51
29. Chris Buescher, No. 17
30. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19
31. Kaz Grala, No. 15
32. Noah Gragson, No. 10
33. Justin Haley, No. 7
34. Ryan Preece, #41
35. John Hunter Nemechek, #42
36. Josh Berry, #4
37. Erik Jones, #43
38. Josh Bilicki, No. 66

NASCAR training results

A configuration change in the infield area of ​​the track gave drivers additional practice time before qualifying on Saturday at the Charlotte ROVAL.

The cars were split into two groups, each completing two 20-minute sessions on track, giving each driver up to 40 minutes to complete laps.

In terms of individual lap times, Byron (1:23.912), Larson (1:23.933) and Elliott (1:23.991) finished eighth, ninth and tenth in the overall standings.

NASCAR playoff rankings

When is the NASCAR race this weekend?

This week’s race is scheduled to start at 2 p.m.

Where is NASCAR this weekend?

The NASCAR Cup Series race takes place this weekend at the Charlotte ROVAL.

What channel is NASCAR on?

Sunday’s race will be broadcast on NBC.