How the race order will be set for Wednesday’s Alsco Uniforms 500

UPDATE: The race has been rained out and re-scheduled for Thursday.

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to action on Wednesday for the second race of the week at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Brad Keselowski won the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, and the drivers return for the Alsco Uniforms 500. The race gets underway at 8 p.m. ET, and will air on FS1.

The Coca-Cola 600 brought back qualifying runs to determine the starting order, but the Alsco Uniforms 500 will go back to using previous race results. NASCAR is cutting back on traditional qualifying for health and safety reasons during the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the Alsco Uniforms 500, the starting grid is based on performance in the Coca-Cola 600. The top 20 spots will be set based on the reverse order of Sunday’s race. That means race winner Brad Keselowski will start in the 20th position, while 20th place William Byron will start in the pole position. Alex Bowman finishing 19th and so will start in the first row with Byron. It’s notable that Bowman was set to get the pole but Jimmie Johnson’s disqualification shook up the starting grid.

The remaining 20 spots are set based on order of finish on Sunday. Ross Chastain finished 21st and thus will start in the 21st position, Ryan Preece finished 22nd and thus will start in the 22nd position, and so forth to Bubba Wallace and Clint Bowyer in the final row. The entry list is still being completely finalized, but if all 40 drivers are back for this race, here is how the race order will look.