At the beginning of NASCAR's two-week summer break, the largest domino of Silly Season fell when Brad Keselowski announced his move from Team Penske to a driver/ownership role at Roush Fenway Racing beginning in 2022. And coming off of the summer break, Keselowski's search of a strong finish to his career with Penske will begin from the top starting spot this weekend at Watkins Glen International.
On Wednesday, NASCAR released the starting lineup for this weekend's Go Bowling at the Glen, which sees Brad Keselowski on the pole by virtue of NASCAR's qualifying metric. The qualifying metric factors in a driver's finish and fastest lap in the previous race, as well as their points position.
Keselowski leads a Penske 1-2-3 sweep of the front starting spots, as he will be flanked by Joey Logano on the outside pole and Ryan Blaney in third. Aric Almirola, who won the Cup Series' most recent race at New Hampshire in mid-July, will start from the eighth starting spot.
Here is the full starting lineup for this weekend as NASCAR makes its return to Watkins Glen, which saw its 2020 race date cancelled due to complications concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.
Go Bowling at the Glen Starting Lineup
1. #2 - Brad Keselowski
2. #22 - Joey Logano
3. #12 - Ryan Blaney
4. #5 - Kyle Larson
5. #4 - Kevin Harvick
6. #11 - Denny Hamlin
7. #20 - Christopher Bell
8. #10 - Aric Almirola
9. #19 - Martin Truex Jr.
10. #48 - Alex Bowman
11. #9 - Chase Elliott
12. #42 - Ross Chastain
13. #8 - Tyler Reddick
14. #21 - Matt DiBenedetto
15. #24 - William Byron
16. #3 - Austin Dillon
17. #1 - Kurt Busch
18. #47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
19. #41 - Cole Custer
20. #18 - Kyle Busch
21. #99 - Daniel Suarez
22. #43 - Erik Jones
23. #37 - Ryan Preece
24. #17 - Chris Buescher
25. #34 - Michael McDowell
26. #23 - Bubba Wallace
27. #14 - Chase Briscoe
28. #6 - Ryan Newman
29. #7 - Corey LaJoie
30. #77 - Justin Haley
31. #38 - Anthony Alfredo
32. #53 - Garrett Smithley
33. #78 - Kyle Tilley
34. #52 - Josh Bilicki
35. #00 - Quin Houff
36. #51 - James Davison
37. #15 - RC Enerson
