NASCAR lineup at New Hampshire: Starting order, pole for Ambetter 301 based on qualifying

Tom Gatto

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NASCAR lineup at New Hampshire: Starting order, pole for Ambetter 301 based on qualifying image

The races are winding down in NASCAR's Cup Series regular season. That might help to explain why a lot of winless drivers qualified up front for Sunday's Ambetter 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (3:18 p.m. ET green flag; USA Network, TSN, PRN).

In fact, seven of the top 10 starters have yet to win this season. A victory in the regular season all but ensures a playoff berth. Beginning the day in Loudon with good track position is a big step toward that goal.

Counting Sunday, seven races remain before the playoffs.

Here is how the field will line up for the race based on the results of Saturday's qualifying session:     

MORE: Watch NASCAR at New Hampshire live with fuboTV (free trial)

Ambetter 301 qualifying results

Final group results

PositionDriverTime (sec.)
1Martin Truex Jr.29.964
2Chase Elliott30.009
3Kurt Busch30.032
4Bubba Wallace30.106
5Christopher Bell30.127
6William Byron30.136
7Aric Amirola30.219
8Kyle Larson30.224
9Brad Keselowski30.409
10Kevin Harvick0.000

Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at New Hampshire?

Martin Truex Jr. will start on the pole for the Ambetter 301. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver secured the P1, his first in four years (Kentucky, 2018), with the only sub-30-second average time on New Hampshire's 1.058-mile track.

Truex has yet to win this season after going to victory lane four times in 2021. He called the pole a "small victory."

"So, victories are all good, and hopefully we can make it work for us (Sunday), which is obviously a lot more important," he said, per NASCAR.com.

Series points leader Chase Elliott, who's coming off a win at his home track in Atlanta, will be next to Truex on the front row.

Kevin Harvick, another of the winless drivers starting toward the front, will start 10th after a hiccup in qualifying. The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing car got loose in Turn 2, prompting Harvick to end the run before the finish. He did not post a qualifying time. 

Starting lineup for New Hampshire race

Thirty-six cars were entered for the Ambetter 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the 20th race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. 

Starting pos.DriverCar No.Team
1Martin Truex Jr.19Joe Gibbs Racing
2Chase Elliott9Hendrick Motorsports
3Kurt Busch4523XI Racing
4Bubba Wallace2323XI Racing
5Christopher Bell20Joe Gibbs Racing
6William Byron24Hendrick Motorsports
7Aric Almirola10Stewart-Haas Racing
8Kyle Larson5Hendrick Motorsports
9Brad Keselowski6Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
10Kevin Harvick4Stewart-Haas Racing
11Ryan Blaney12Team Penske
12Joey Logano22Team Penske
13Tyler Reddick8Richard Childress Racing
14Denny Hamlin11Joe Gibbs Racing
15Michael McDowell34Front Row Motorsports
16Chris Buescher17Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing
17Kyle Busch18Joe Gibbs Racing
18Ross Chastain1Trackhouse Racing
19Daniel Suarez99Trackhouse Racing
20AJ Allmendinger16Kaulig Racing
21Corey LaJoie7Spire Motorsports
22Erik Jones43Petty GMS Motorsports
23Cole Custer41Stewart-Haas Racing
24Ricky Stenhouse Jr.47JTG Daugherty Racing
25Justin Haley31Kaulig Racing
26Todd Gilliland38Front Row Motorsports
27Alex Bowman48Hendrick Motorsports
28Austin Cindric2Team Penske
29Chase Briscoe14Stewart-Haas Racing
30Austin Dillon3Richard Childress Racing
31Harrison Burton21Wood Brothers Racing
32BJ McLeod78Live Fast Motorsports
33JJ Yeley15Rick Ware Racing
34Josh Bilicki77Spire Motorsports
35Ty Dillon42Petty GMS Motorsports
36Cody Ware51Rick Ware Racing

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.