NASCAR has revealed how it will determine starting lineups and pit stalls for the upcoming Cup, Xfinity, and Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races in June. Both will follow a similar model to the races run to resume the season in May, though with some changes. There are eleven races scheduled from 30 May to 21 June at Bristol Motor Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Talladega Superspeedway.
Like in May, the June dates will have their starting grids arranged by random draw as qualifying is still cancelled. At the Cup level, the top twelve in the owner’s points will draw for those positions, followed by the same happening from positions 13 to 24 and 25 to 36. The final four spots will be filled by non-chartered teams, with priority being given to those higher in the owner’s standings.
Five Cup races are planned with one at each track. Since there are no circuits with repeat dates planned over the month like with Charlotte Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway in May, there will not be an inversion of the top twenty finishers.
Like the May races, Xfinity and Truck grids will remain at the expanded 40 drivers. Tuesday night’s Truck race at Charlotte saw a whopping 47 entries, though seven were sent home as they were too low in points, with some like 2015 series champion Erik Jones technically failing to qualify as his Wauters Motorsports team had never attempted a race in 2020.
For the Xfinity Series, which has four races planned including a doubleheader at Homestead, it will continue using random draw for positions 1 to 12, 13 to 24, and 25 to 36 via owner’s points. 37 to 40 are free to all based on eligibility like points. The second Homestead race, scheduled for 13 June, will mirror the Cup Series with a field inversion, though only for the top fifteen. The remaining spots will be set by finishing order in the previous Homestead event.
The Trucks have races at Atlanta and Homestead. The top ten in the owner’s championship will draw first, then 11 to 21 and 22 to 32. The final eight spots are also open.
Pit stall selections will be based on finishing positions, with new entrants having the final stalls. For instance, the winner of one race will be given the right to pick their stall first.
The Cup Series’ GEICO 500 at Talladega, scheduled for 21 June and currently last-planned event of the reorganised COVID-19 slate, will feature practice the previous day. It is the first practice session of any kind since the season was paused in March. The GEICO 500 will be the first race with a modified superspeedway package in the wake of Ryan Newman‘s Daytona 500 wreck in February.
