NASCAR is conducting qualifying sessions during its next two racing weekends. The first session was Sunday morning at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) near Austin, Texas.
On-track qualifying is a rarity this season; NASCAR decided to limit the amount of time teams needed to spend at the track amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Only eight races will have practice and qualifying in 2021, and they'll take place only at new tracks on the schedule, such as COTA, or for premier events, such as the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.
And while teams will be able to test their cars on COTA's 3.41-mile road course prior to the Echo Park Texas Grand Prix, they won't have much time to study the data from it. The race is scheduled to begin about two hours after qualifying.
Below is the starting lineup, which was set with qualifying, for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Circuit of the Americas.
MORE: Watch Sunday's NASCAR race live with fuboTV (free 7-day trial)
Who won the pole for the NASCAR race at COTA?
Tyler Reddick won the pole on Sunday, his first pole in 52 career starts. Because NASCAR is running for the first time at the Circuit of the Americas, he also set the course record at 2:12.911. He beat Kyle Larson for the pole position by .1 seconds.
"I want this to be my next @HomesteadMiami!" @TylerReddick has high hopes for his performance today at @NASCARatCOTA. #BuschPole pic.twitter.com/DRE9Yzd2Ro
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 23, 2021
NASCAR starting lineup at COTA
| Start pos. | Driver | Car No. | Time | Team |
| 1 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | 2:12.911 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 2 | Kyle Larson | 5 | 2:13.011 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 3 | Austin Cindric | 33 | 2:13.697 | Team Penske |
| 4 | Kyle Busch | 18 | 2:13.708 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 5 | William Byron | 24 | 2:13.760 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 6 | Joey Logano | 22 | 2:13.791 | Team Penske |
| 7 | A.J. Allmendinger | 16 | 2:13.842 | Kaulig Racing |
| 8 | Chase Elliott | 9 | 2:14.117 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 9 | Ryan Blaney | 12 | 2:14.518 | Team Penske |
| 10 | Christopher Bell | 20 | 2:14.548 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 11 | Kevin Harvick | 4 | 2:14.792 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 12 | Alex Bowman | 48 | 2:14.894 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 13 | Kurt Busch | 1 | 2:14.708 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 14 | Cole Custer | 41 | 2:15.025 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 15 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | 2:15.118 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 16 | Austin Dillon | 3 | 2:15.325 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 17 | Martin Truex Jr. | 17 | 2:15.375 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 18 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 2:15.416 | 23XI Racing |
| 19 | Denny Hamlin | 11 | 2:15.528 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 20 | Ross Chastain | 42 | 2:15.685 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | 2:15.852 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 22 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | 2:15.852 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 23 | Michael McDowell | 34 | 2:15.902 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 24 | Brad Keselowski | 2 | 2:15.929 | Team Penske |
| 25 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | 2:16.245 | Spire Motorsports |
| 26 | Aric Almirola | 10 | 2:16.558 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 27 | Chase Briscoe | 14 | 2:16.686 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 28 | Chris Buescher | 17 | 2:16.728 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 29 | Erik Jones | 43 | 2:17.032 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 30 | Justin Haley | 77 | 2:17.051 | Spire Motorsports |
| 31 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | 2:17.246 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 32 | James Davison | 15 | 2:17.563 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 33 | Ty Dillon | 96 | 2:17.682 | Gaunt Brothers Racing |
| 34 | Ryan Newman | 6 | 2:18.067 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 35 | Cody Ware | 51 | 2:18.194 | Petty Ware Racing |
| 36 | Ryan Preece | 37 | 2:18.252 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 37 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | 2:18.701 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 38 | Garrett Smithley | 53 | 2:18.804 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 39 | Kyle Tilley | 78 | 2:20.361 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 40 | Quin Houff | 00 | 2:20.985 | StarCom Racing |