Mother Nature seemed to be hell-bent on making sure we didn’t get to see any qualifying this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. On Saturday, rain washed out qualifying for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series USA Today 301 at The Magic Mile.
With the session being completely wiped out, the starting lineup will be set by the NASCAR Performance Metric Formula, per the NASCAR Rule Book. This will put Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott on the pole for Sunday’s race, and he will be joined by last week’s race-winner Ryan Blaney on the front row.
What is the NASCAR Performance Metric Formula? It is a ranking system for qualifying rain-outs that takes into account a lot of different metrics.
A driver’s metric formula score is made up of their fastest lap time ranking from the last race (15% of the weighted score), the driver’s final race position from the most recent race (25% of the weighted score), the owner’s final finishing position in the most recent race (25% of the weighted score), and the Owner Points position (35% of the weighted score).
Here is the official starting lineup for the NASCAR Cup Series USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, race 18 of 36.
NASCAR Cup Series USA Today 301 Starting Lineup
| Row | Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Metric Formula Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROW 1 | 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | 3.250 |
| ROW 1 | 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske Menards / Dutch Boy Ford | 3.700 |
| ROW 2 | 3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports Valvoline Chevrolet | 3.900 |
| ROW 2 | 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing Rheem Toyota | 7.800 |
| ROW 3 | 5 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports Ally Financial Chevrolet | 8.350 |
| ROW 3 | 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford | 9.150 |
| ROW 4 | 7 | 19 | Martin Truex, Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing Reser's Fine Foods Toyota | 9.700 |
| ROW 4 | 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Kubota Chevrolet | 10.200 |
| ROW 5 | 9 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing BuildSubmarines.com Ford | 12.650 |
| ROW 5 | 10 | 4 | Josh Berry | Stewart-Haas Racing Miner Docks, Doors, and More Ford | 13.400 |
| ROW 6 | 11 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing Choice Privileges Chevrolet | 15.150 |
| ROW 6 | 12 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing SiriusXM Toyota | 15.200 |
| ROW 7 | 13 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing Kroger / Kleenex 100 Years Chevrolet | 15.650 |
| ROW 7 | 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing Yahoo! Toyota | 16.800 |
| ROW 8 | 15 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing Fastenal Ford | 16.850 |
| ROW 8 | 16 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports Grillo's Pickles Ford | 17.200 |
| ROW 9 | 17 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing DraftKings Toyota | 17.300 |
| ROW 9 | 18 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing Monster Energy Toyota | 17.700 |
| ROW 10 | 19 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 17.950 |
| ROW 10 | 20 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports Delaware Life Chevrolet | 20.000 |
| ROW 11 | 21 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing Overstock.com Ford | 20.000 |
| ROW 11 | 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet | 21.000 |
| ROW 12 | 23 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing Zep Ford | 21.600 |
| ROW 12 | 24 | 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing Fraternal Order of Eagles Ford | 21.650 |
| ROW 13 | 25 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports Long John Silver's Ford | 22.050 |
| ROW 13 | 26 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports Schluter Systems Chevrolet | 23.350 |
| ROW 14 | 27 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing Motorcraft / Quick Lane Ford | 24.150 |
| ROW 14 | 28 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Family Dollar Toyota | 24.750 |
| ROW 15 | 29 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske AutoTrader Ford | 24.800 |
| ROW 15 | 30 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing FICO Chevrolet | 24.900 |
| ROW 16 | 31 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing Mohawk Northeast Ford | 26.400 |
| ROW 16 | 32 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Dollar Tree Toyota | 27.150 |
| ROW 17 | 33 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing Poppy Bank Chevrolet | 30.600 |
| ROW 17 | 34 | 71 | Zane Smith | Spire Motorsports Focused Health Chevrolet | 32.900 |
| ROW 18 | 35 | 15 | Kaz Grala | Rick Ware Racing Mean N' Bone Ford | 33.850 |
| ROW 18 | 36 | 16 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing Car Bravo Chevrolet | 36.950 |
