Kyle Larson to start first for the fourth consecutive time at Sonoma

Hendrick drivers are starting 1-2-3 at Sonoma.

Coca-Cola 600 winner Kyle Larson will start first at Sonoma ahead of teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron. It’s the fourth consecutive time that Larson has started first at Sonoma; he won the pole ahead of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 races at the track.

Those pole positions haven’t led to great finishes, however. Larson has finished 26th, 14th and 10th in those three races. That 10th-place finish in 2019 is Larson’s best at the road course. 

There was no Sonoma race in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Sunday’s race (3 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1) is the first Cup Series race in the state of California in two years.

The starting lineup was also decided by NASCAR’s qualifying formula because there is no practice or qualifying ahead of the race. The formula consists of a driver’s finishing position from the previous race (25%), the car owner’s finishing position from the previous event (25%), where the team is in owner points (35%) and the driver’s fastest lap from the previous race (15%). The driver with the lowest combined number starts first.

[Sonoma betting preview]

Starting lineup

1. Kyle Larson

2. Chase Elliott

3. William Byron

4. Denny Hamlin

5. Kyle Busch

6. Austin Dillon

7. Alex Bowman

8. Kevin Harvick

9. Brad Keselowski

10. Tyler Reddick

11. Ryan Blaney

12. Chris Buescher

13. Joey Logano

14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

15. Bubba Wallace

16. Daniel Suarez

17. Matt DiBenedetto

18. Erik Jones

19. Martin Truex Jr.

20. Christopher Bell

21. Michael McDowell

22. Corey LaJoie

23. Cole Custer

24. Ryan Newman

25. Chase Briscoe

26. Aric Almirola

27. Ryan Preece

28. Anthony Alfredo

29. Ross Chastain

30. Kurt Busch

31. Ben Rhodes

32. James Davison

33. Quin Houff

34. Garrett Smithley

35. Scott Heckert

36. Josh Bilicki

37. Cody Ware

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