Race Weekend Central

Denny Hamlin Snags Cup Pole for Charlotte

For the second week in a row, Denny Hamlin is on the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race, this time at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.

Hamlin secured his spot in the Round of 8 after winning at Talladega Superspeedway last week.

Last year’s ROVAL victor Chase Elliott is also on the front row. Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski begins third, Kevin Harvick is fourth and Alex Bowman rounds out the top five.

Austin Dillon will wheel his No. 3 Chevrolet of Richard Childress Racing from the sixth position. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. starts seventh, while Keselowski’s teammate Joey Logano is eighth. Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch complete the top 10 starters.

The lineup was formed using a combination of four weighted categories: 35% rank in owner points, 25% driver’s finishing position, 25% owner’s end position and 15% fastest lap from the previous event.

Cup Starting Lineup for Charlotte ROVAL 

The Bank of America ROVAL 400 starts Sunday, Oct. 11 at 2:30 p.m. ET and airs on NBC and PRN radio.

About the author

Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised as a motorsports fan and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.

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11 Comments
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DoninAjax

Okay Bill B. For you:

Finish: 11 20 13 24 9 6 8 38 15 37 77 3

Owner: 11 4 9 2 19 88 22 18 3 1 14 10

Start: 11 9 2 4 88 3 19 22 18 1 14 10

You’d think some of the interlopers from the Talladega finish would be in the first 12, but I guess NA$CAR really doesn’t want that.

Bill B

Thanks Don.

My weekly cycle just wouldn’t be complete without a rundown of NASCAR’s BS starting line up.

janice

i really was looking forward to not the same people in top 10.

it’s their game their rules……

Jo

The rules are pretty clear on this: Playoff drivers start ahead of non-Playoff drivers. You may not like it, but it shouldn’t be a surprise every week when they announce it. Starting next week, the Top Eight will start ahead of the rest of the field, so don’t bother showing your shock and awe!

Bill B

I don’t think anyone is claiming shock and awe but you are right we don’t like it and we have the right to bitch about it every week. If we want to waste our time what is it to you? Not all of us just accept what we are fed and accept it without question. If that’s the way you are, good on you, enjoy your gruel.

Jo

So do you think your bitching every single week is going to change a thing? What you are doing is spitting out your gruel and going hungry!

Bill B

Nah, I’m just fine.
For years we’ve been bitching about too many 1.5 mile tracks and that we want more short tracks and road courses. Who’s to say we and people like us didn’t make the difference we see on schedule. While my gut feeling tells me NASCAR does what NASCAR wants, I am sure they monitor NASCAR related websites if for no other reason than to keep tabs on the natives.
The biggest problem is that when people complain and NASCAR yields, they never give us exactly what we are asking for. We ask for wins to matter more in the championship format. What we want – wins to carry more points. What we get – the chase.

DoninAjax

“The lineup was formed using a combination of four weighted categories: 35% rank in owner points, 25% driver’s finishing position, 25% owner’s end position and 15% fastest lap from the previous event.”

OK, Joy. What is the difference between “owner points” and “owner end position”?

DoninAjax

Why does it seem that the driver’s points position doesn’t matter?

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