CONCORD, N.C. – JR Motorsports driver Noah Gragson will start on the pole for Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
Gragson, the pilot of the No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/True Timber/Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet Camaro, earned the top starting spot based on NASCAR’s performance-based metric qualifying formula.
The NASCAR matrix factors in a driver’s lap speed ranking from the previous race, the last race finish for both driver and owner and the car’s current rank in the owner standings.
Lap speed is weighted at 15 percent, previous race finish at 25 percent for the driver and owner results and owner points position at 35 percent to calculate the final metric score.
Driver and owner playoff-eligible entries are ranked at the front of the field based on their metric scores from lowest to highest, with all non-playoff entries lined up behind the playoff cars in similar fashion.
Gragson’s pole came with a metric score of 4.35, with a third-place finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, the third ranking in points and the 12th-fastest race lap.
He’ll be joined on the front row Saturday by Talladega winner Justin Haley, with Daniel Hemric and Brandon Jones comprising the second row of the starting grid.
Ross Chastain rolls off fifth, followed by Ryan Sieg, Brandon Brown, Chase Briscoe, Harrison Burton and Justin Allgaier.
Michael Annett starts lowest among the championship-eligible drivers in 14th.
To view the full starting lineup and performance matrix breakdown, click here.
Saturday’s Drive for the Cure 250 presented by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina goes green at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday, with live coverage on NBC, the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.