All on-track action scheduled for Friday, March 18th at Atlanta Motor Speedway was cancelled due to weather, prompting Nascar to allocate Saturday for practice sessions only and eliminate this weekend’s Cup Series qualifying session. Instead, the starting lineup for the race on Sunday, March 20th, 2022 was set using the formula introduced for the 2020 season in response to COVID-19 restrictions.
Chase Briscoe, winner of last week’s race at Phoenix, will start on the pole position in the No. 14 Next Gen Ford Mustang. Second is last week’s polesitter Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Mustang, followed by Joey Logano in the No. 22 Mustang. Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Toyota TRD Camry will start fourth while Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will start fifth.
Nascar uses three competition-based performance metrics to set starting lineups in the absence of qualifying sessions. Overall championship points position, the finish and fastest lap from the last race are weighted and averaged to determine the starting order. Points positions are weighted at 35 percent, finishing position at 50 percent, and fastest race lap is 15 percent.
NEWS: Saturday’s qualifying session has been canceled and the field will be set by the rule book.@ChaseBriscoe_14 will lead the field to the green on Sunday at @amsupdates. pic.twitter.com/duRRiI9uDr
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 18, 2022
The upcoming race at Atlanta Motor Speedway marks the first time Cup Series cars have been on-track since it was reconfigured and repaved last year. The reconfiguration increased the banking to 28 degrees in all four turns, making the 1.54-mile speedway the steepest intermediate track on the schedule. Additionally, new drainage technology was implemented, and the track now has fresh asphalt to boot.
The Ford Mustang’s first win in the Nascar Cup Series was achieved at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2019, with Brad Keselowski behind the wheel.
Weather permitting, the race will go green on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
Pos | Car Number | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Car |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | HighPoint.com Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | BodyArmor Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Pennzoil Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M's Toyota | N/A | N/A | Toyota TRD Camry |
5 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | BetMGM Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
7 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Advent Health Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Mobil 1 Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
9 | 45 | Kurt Busch | Monster Energy Toyota | N/A | N/A | Toyota TRD Camry |
10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
11 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
12 | 24 | William Byron | Liberty University Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
13 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | CommScope Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
14 | 17 | Chris Buescher | ITsavvy Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
15 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | FedEx Ground Toyota | N/A | N/A | Toyota TRD Camry |
16 | 2 | Austin Cindric # | Menards/Knauf Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
17 | 3 | Austin Dillon | BREZTRI Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
18 | 42 | Ty Dillon | Alsco Uniforms Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
19 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | McDonald's Toyota | N/A | N/A | Toyota TRD Camry |
20 | 41 | Cole Custer | Dixie Vodka Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
21 | 5 | Kyle Larson | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
22 | 31 | Justin Haley | LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
23 | 43 | Erik Jones | FOCUSfactor Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
24 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | Kohler Generators Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
25 | 38 | Todd Gilliland # | Georgia Peanuts Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
26 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops Toyota | N/A | N/A | Toyota TRD Camry |
27 | 20 | Christopher Bell | DeWalt Toyota | N/A | N/A | Toyota TRD Camry |
28 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/SweetLeaf Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
29 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Fr8Auctions.com Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
30 | 16 | Noah Gragson (i) | Chevyliners.com Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
31 | 21 | Harrison Burton # | Dex Imaging Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
32 | 51 | Cody Ware | Nurtec ODT Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
33 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Fraternal Order of the Eagles Ford | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
34 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Filtertime Ford | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
35 | 15 | David Ragan | Ford Mustang | N/A | N/A | Ford Mustang |
36 | 77 | Josh Bilicki(i) | Ziegler Auto Group Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
37 | 44 | Greg Biffle * | Chevrolet | N/A | N/A | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
- # – Rookie
- i – Points ineligible
- * – Part-time driver
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