NASCAR lineup at Texas: Starting order, pole for 2022 playoff race

Tom Gatto

NASCAR lineup at Texas: Starting order, pole for 2022 playoff race image

The NASCAR Cup Series playoffs continue to be disrupted by non-playoff drivers.

MORE: Follow the NASCAR playoffs race from Texas live with The Sporting News

Saturday's qualifying at Texas Motor Speedway ended with one claiming the pole position for Sunday's AutoTrader Echo Park Automotive 500. Three other drivers not racing for a championship earned spots in the top seven.

That increases the potential for a fourth consecutive non-playoff driver winning in the playoffs and greater separation in the playoff standings. Playoff drivers who failed to qualify well will have a difficult time catching up on Texas Motor Speedway's 1.5-mile oval.

MORE: Watch NASCAR at Texas live with fuboTV (free trial)

The Sporting News has everything you need to know about qualifying for the first race in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 12, the Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 500.

Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Texas?

Brad Keselowski is on the pole for Sunday's race. The 2012 Cup Series champion zoomed to the front of the grid in the final round of qualifying Saturday.

Keselowski last won a pole in 2019, when he was driving for Team Penske. He has 18 poles in his Cup career.

The pole win marks another bit of late-season improvement by his new team.

MORE: What time is the race? | What channel is it on?

“It’s certainly a lot of progress,’’ Keselowski said, per NASCAR.com, “You do things in this sport and it takes six to eight months to be noticed. It takes months and months of hard work for it all to come together and it’s super painful.” 

AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 500 qualifying results

Final group results

Finish Driver Lap speed (mph)
1 Brad Keselowski 188.990
2 Joey Logano 188.805
3 William Byron 188.805
4 Tyler Reddick 188.390
5 Michael McDowell 188.079
6 Chase Elliott 187.950
7 Austin Dillon 187.546
8 Denny Hamlin 186.987
9 Kyle Larson 186.243
10 Daniel Suarez 185.401

Lineup, starting order for Texas playoff race

The front row is composed of former Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Current teammates Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing will start in the top seven. Both were eliminated from the playoffs last weekend at Bristol.

Pos. Driver Car No. Team
1 Brad Keselowski 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
2 Joey Logano (P) 22 Team Penske  
3 William Byron (P) 24 Hendrick Motorsports  
4 Tyler Reddick 8 Richard Childress Racing  
5 Michael McDowell 34 Front Row Motorsports  
6 Chase Elliott (P) 9 Hendrick Motorsports  
7 Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing  
8 Denny Hamlin (P) 11 Joe Gibbs Racing  
9 Kyle Larson (P) 5 Hendrick Motorsports  
10 Daniel Suarez (P) 99 Trackhouse Racing  
11 Austin Cindric (P) 2 Team Penske  
12 Ross Chastain (P) 1 Trackhouse Racing  
13 Chris Buescher 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing  
14 Ryan Blaney (P) 12 Team Penske  
15 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing  
16 Ty Gibbs 23 23XI Racing  
17 Alex Bowman (P) 48 Hendrick Motorsports  
18 Kyle Busch 18 Joe Gibbs Racing  
19 Bubba Wallace 45 23XI Racing  
20 Harrison Burton 21 Wood Brothers Racing  
21 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing  
22 Christopher Bell (P) 20 Joe Gibbs Racing  
23 Kevin Harvick 4 Stewart-Haas Racing  
24 Cole Custer 41 Stewart-Haas Racing  
25 Aric Almirola 10 Stewart-Haas Racing  
26 Noah Gragson 16 Kaulig Racing  
27 Erik Jones 43 Petty GMS Motorsports  
28 Todd Gilliland 38 Front Row Motorsports  
29 Corey LaJoie 7 Spire Motorsports  
30 Chase Briscoe (P) 14 Stewart-Haas Racing  
31 Justin Haley 31 Kaulig Racing  
32 Ty Dillon 42 Petty GMS Motorsports  
33 Garrett Smithley 15 Rick Ware Racing  
34 BJ McLeod 78 Live Fast Motorsports  
35 Landon Cassill 77 Spire Motorsports  
36 Cody Ware 51 Rick Ware Racing

(P) Playoff driver.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.