CONCORD, N.C. - When it comes to the Charlotte ROVAL and road course racing in general, track position is king.
Certainly, solid starting spots were the goal for all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers heading into Saturday's qualifying session for Sunday's main event. That race, the last in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Round of 12, is set for a 2 p.m. start and will air on NBC.
William Byron, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott accomplished that objective with top-10 qualifying runs. Larson will roll off in sixth on Sunday after a lap of 1:23.33 with Elliott just behind in seventh. Byron earned the ninth spot on the starting grid.
Alex Bowman won't have too much ground to make up, either, as he locked down the 17th starting position.
There couldn't be much more at stake for the Hendrick contingent. All four enter Sunday's race on the good side of the cutline, with Byron having already clinched a spot, freeing him to chase playoff points and a victory.
For the other three, the situation is a bit more urgent, to varying degrees.
Larson is in the best shape, 52 points to the good. Bowman is next and after scoring more points in the postseason than any other driver thus far, is 26 points to the good. Finally, Elliott is clinging to the final advancing spot in eighth but 13 points clear of elimination.
The best news for Elliott? Nobody has been better at the ROVAL. He is the only driver to have won more than once with two victories and his 109 laps led are also the most.
In fact, all four Hendrick Motorsports drivers have strong resumes at this week's circuit. Larson also has a victory, Byron is second in laps led with 80 and Bowman has the best average finish all time at 6.4. He's finished in the top 10 in each of his five starts there.
Here's a look at this starting lineup for Sunday's race at the Charlotte ROVAL.
NASCAR qualifying results
- Shane van Gisbergen, No. 13
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 UniFirst Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Confetti Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Todd Gilliland, No. 38
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Michael McDowell, No. 34
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Zane Smith, No. 71
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Chase Briscoe, No. 14
- Harrison Burton, No. 21
- Daniel Hemric, No. 31
- Corey LaJoie, No. 51
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19
- Kaz Grala, No. 15
- Noah Gragson, No. 10
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- Ryan Preece, No. 41
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Josh Berry, No. 4
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Josh Bilicki, No. 66
NASCAR practice results
Witha configuration change to the infield section of the track, drivers were given extra practice time prior to qualifying on Saturday at the Charlotte ROVAL.
Cars were split into two groups with each getting two, 20-minute sessions on track, giving every driver up to 40 minutes to log laps.
In terms of individual lap time, Byron (1:23.912), Larson (1:23.933) and Elliott (1:23.991) ranked eighth, ninth and 10th respectively on the combined leaderboard.
NASCAR playoff standings
| Driver | Wins this round | Margin to elimination |
| 1. William Byron | 0 | ADV |
| 2. Christopher Bell | 0 | +57 |
| 3. Kyle Larson | 0 | +52 |
| 4. Denny Hamlin | 0 | +30 |
| 5. Alex Bowman | 0 | +26 |
| 6. Ryan Blaney | 0 | +25 |
| 7. Tyler Reddick | 0 | +14 |
| 8. Chase Elliott | 0 | +13 |
| ---------------- | --- | --- |
| 9. Joey Logano | 0 | -13 |
| 10. Daniel Suarez | 0 | -20 |
| 11. Austin Cindric | 0 | -29 |
| 12. Chase Briscoe | 0 | -32 |
When is the NASCAR race this weekend?
This week's race is set for a 2 p.m. start.
Where is NASCAR this weekend?
This weekend's NASCAR Cup Series race will be held at the Charlotte ROVAL.
What channel is NASCAR on?
Sunday's race will air on NBC.