Starting Lineup: NASCAR Cup Series USA Today 301 at New Hampshire

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