NASCAR unveiled one of its new practice-and-qualifying formats for Cup Series races Saturday at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. 

The starting lineup for Sunday’s Wise Power 400 (3:47 p.m. ET green flag; Fox, TSN1, MRN) was determined via the qualifying format NASCAR will use for ovals in 2022. There are separate formats for ovals, superspeedways, road courses and the Bristol dirt track.

The 36 cars that were entered for the Fontana race were split into two groups based on the order of finish in last weekend’s Daytona 500 — odd-numbered finishers in Group A, even-numbered finishers in Group B. First came a 15-minute practice followed by two rounds of single-car, one-lap qualifying. The five fastest cars in each group in the first round transferred to the second round. The driver with the highest speed in the one-lap, single-car final round was awarded the pole.

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On-track qualifying is scheduled for all races this season. It was stopped early in the 2020 season and limited to eight races in the 2021 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. NASCAR scaled back qualifying to help reduce the amount of time teams spent at the track.

Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at Fontana?

Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, the winner of last weekend’s Daytona 500, captured the pole with a qualifying speed of 174.647 mph. It is his first pole in the Cup Series.

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 26, 2022

Multiple cars spun during the final round. William Byron, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano all lost control of their machines. 

Starting lineup for Fontana race

Only the 36 charter teams in the Cup Series were entered for the Wise Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway. No open teams attempted to make the race.

Kurt Busch’s 23XI Racing car failed prequalifying inspection. Busch qualified last as a result and will start at the rear of the field Sunday.

Starting pos.
Driver
Car No.
Team

1
Austin Cindric
2
Team Penske

2
Erik Jones
43
Petty GMS Motorsports

3
Kyle Busch
18
Joe Gibbs Racing

4
Denny Hamlin
11
Joe Gibbs Racing

5
Daniel Hemric
16
Kaulig Racing

6
Ryan Blaney
12
Team Penske

7
Joey Logano
22
Team Penske

8
Chase Elliott
9
Hendrick Motorsports

9
Brad Keselowski
6
RFK Racing

10
William Byron
24
Hendrick Motorsports

11
Tyler Reddick
8
Richard Childress Racing

12
Martin Truex Jr.
19
Joe Gibbs Racing

13
Kyle Larson
5
Hendrick Motorsports

14
Alex Bowman
48
Hendrick Motorsports

15
Daniel Suarez
99
Trackhouse Racing

16
Austin Dillon
3
Richard Childress Racing

17
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
47
JTG Daugherty Racing

18
Ty Dillon
42
Petty GMS Motorsports

19
Christopher Bell
20
Joe Gibbs Racing

20
Chris Buescher
17
RFK Racing

21
Cole Custer
41
Stewart-Haas Racing

22
Harrison Burton
21
Wood Brothers Racing

23
Michael McDowell
34
Front Row Motorsports

24
Chase Briscoe
14
Stewart-Haas Racing

25
Corey LaJoie
7
Spire Motorsports

26
Todd Gilliland
38
Front Row Motorsports

27
Cody Ware
51
Rick Ware Racing

28
Josh Bilicki
77
Spire Motorsports

29
Garrett Smithley
15
Rick Ware Racing

30
BJ McLeod
78
Live Fast Motorsports

31
Aric Almirola
10
Stewart-Haas Racing

32
Kevin Harvick
4
Stewart-Haas Racing

33
Ross Chastain
1
Trackhouse Racing

34
Bubba Wallace
23
23XI Racing

35
Justin Haley
31
Kaulig Racing

36
Kurt Busch
45
23XI Racing

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