For the second week in a row and the third time since the beginning of the playoffs, Denny Hamlin is coming off a visit to victory lane. And while his latest win was in an entirely different capacity, he will nonetheless be able to try and find the winner's circle again from behind the wheel of his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
On Wednesday, NASCAR released the starting lineup for this weekend's race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, where Hamlin will start on the pole for the Bank of America Roval 400. Hamlin was named the polesitter by virtue of NASCAR's qualifying metric, which is based on a driver's finish and fastest lap from the previous race as well as their points position.
Points position has factored heavily into this weekend's lineup, as all 12 drivers at the front of the field are the 12 drivers remaining in the playoffs. Talladega winner Bubba Wallace will roll off 15th by virtue of being 21st in the overall points standings despite his first career victory.
Christopher Bell (4th), Kevin Harvick (7th), William Byron (11th) and Alex Bowman (12th) all enter this race in dire straits, as they are the four drivers currently below the cutoff line to make the Round of 8 with just one race left in the Round of 12. One other notable in the field is veteran road racer and former 24 Hours of Daytona winner Joey Hand, who will make his NASCAR debut driving the No. 52 for Rick Ware Racing.
Bank of America Roval 400 starting lineup
1. #11 - Denny Hamlin
2. #2 - Brad Keselowski
3. #22 - Joey Logano
4. #20 - Christopher Bell
5. #19 - Martin Truex Jr.
6. #12 - Ryan Blaney
7. #4 - Kevin Harvick
8. #9 - Chase Elliott
9. #18 - Kyle Busch
10. #5 - Kyle Larson
11. #24 - William Byron
12. #48 - Alex Bowman
13. #1 - Kurt Busch
14. #3 - Austin Dillon
15. #23 - Bubba Wallace
16. #17 - Chris Buescher
17. #43 - Erik Jones
18. #47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
19. #34 - Michael McDowell
20. #38 - Anthony Alfredo (R)
21. #10 - Aric Almirola
22. #14 - Chase Briscoe (R)
23. #41 - Cole Custer
24. #6 - Ryan Newman
25. #99 - Daniel Suarez
26. #7 - Corey LaJoie
27. #42 - Ross Chastain
28. #00 - Quin Houff
29. #8 - Tyler Reddick
30. #21 - Matt DiBenedetto
31. #37 - Ryan Preece
32. #51 - Cody Ware
33. #16 - A.J. Allmendinger
34. #53 - Garrett Smithley
35. #78 - Scott Heckert
36. #52 - Joey Hand
37. #15 - Josh Bilicki
38. #77 - Justin Haley
39. #66 - Timmy Hill
