Kevin Harvick to start on pole for South Point 400
There’s no stopping Kevin Harvick.
NASCAR’s hottest driver has been awarded the pole position for Sunday’s South Point 400 playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Las Vegas’ Kyle Busch will start outside Harvick on the front row. Older brother Kurt Busch will line up ninth among the 12 playoff drivers.
The lineup was determined using NASCAR’s competition-based formula based on the previous event at Bristol, Tennessee: 15 percent fastest lap time position, 25 percent final race finish position, 25 percent owner’s final race position and 35 percent owner’s points position.
In the majority of races since NASCAR’s return from the coronavirus pandemic, starting lineups have been set by random draws. The new method draws on performance from individual races and season-long results, rather than leave starting spots up to chance.
Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola drew the second row starting assignments for Las Vegas, followed by Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer in the third, Austin Dillon and Alex Bowman in the fourth, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin in the fifth, and Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski in the sixth.
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.