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The only winner in the NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 is about to continue his time at the front of the pack. Denny Hamlin, the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry, will lead the field to the green flag after winning the Busch Pole for the second consecutive week. Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski will join him on the front row.
NASCAR set the starting order for the October 10 elimination race and based it on the past race on the schedule, the YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on October 4. Hamlin had the second-fastest lap (15% of the formula), he finished seventh at Talladega (25%), Joe Gibbs Racing finished seventh (25%), and he took the top spot in the points standings (35%).
The rest of the playoff drivers will line up behind Hamlin and Keselowski with the goal of winning and automatically moving on to the Round of Eight. Joey Logano and Christopher Bell will make up the second row while Martin Truex Jr. and Ryan Blaney line up behind them on the third row. Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Alex Bowman will make up the remaining three rows.
The Bank of America Roval 400 will take place on Sunday, October 10, at 2 p.m. ET. NBC will broadcast the race live as the drivers cover 109 laps while fighting for the checkered flag and spots in the next round of the playoffs.
A Road Course Ace Returns To the Cup Series
The majority of attention will remain on the 11 drivers fighting for seven spots in the Round of Eight, but there is one part-time Cup competitor that will have an opportunity to create conversations. AJ Allmendinger, the driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro, will be back in the Cup Series as he fights for his second top-level win of the 2021 season while pulling double-duty.
Both of Allmendinger’s Cup Series wins have taken place on road courses. He captured the checkered flag at Watkins Glen in 2014 while driving for JTG Daugherty. He then achieved a career-long goal in 2021 by winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The Dinger will now seek his first Cup win at the Charlotte Roval, a track where he has two Xfinity Series victories. He went back-to-back for Kaulig Racing in 2019 and 2020, setting up an opportunity to score a hat trick during the Drive For The Cure 250 Presented By Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (3 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network).
Timmy Hill Is Back in the Cup Series for His 10th Race of 2021
Allmendinger will not be the only part-time Cup Series driver suiting up for the Bank of America Roval 400. Several others will also join in on the action, including Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley, Rick Ware Racing’s Garrett Smithley, and MBM Motorsports’ Timmy Hill.
The Port Tobacco native has made 10 starts for MBM during the 2021 season, all in the No. 66 Toyota Camry, while posting a season-best finish of 25th at Talladega Superspeedway on April 25. He failed to qualify for the season-opening Daytona 500 and the Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
As a part-time team, MBM Motorsports starts near the rear of the field due to the lack of qualifying sessions. For example, Hill began the Daytona Road Course race on February 21 in the 40th position and the Phoenix race on March 14 in the 37th position. This trend will continue with the Bank of America Roval 400 as Hill starts 39th.
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