Kevin Harvick will lead the field to green in the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. Here’s the starting grid for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.
The starting lineup is set for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and there are some quirks in it that will likely both amuse and intrigue fans of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
Kevin Harvick is the pole sitter, making it the second consecutive year that a Stewart-Haas Racing driver has been up front at Atlanta. Last year’s pole sitter and last week’s race winner Kurt Busch starts Sunday back in 13th place.
The defending race winner is Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet will have even more work to do after he qualified 18th. Teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be looking to rebound from his rough ride at Daytona from the 12th spot.
Two people who have reason to smile are Ryan Newman and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who bettered their positions from last year’s race. Newman went from 4th to 2nd while Stenhouse rose from 5th to 4th.
Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski round out the Top 5 after not even cracking the Top 15 in 2016. It will all make for a very interesting competition on Sunday.
Below is the complete starting grid for the 2017 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500:
1 – Kevin Harvick
2 – Ryan Newman
3 – Kyle Busch
4 – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
5 – Brad Keselowski
6 – Joey Logano
7 – Jamie McMurray
8 – Kyle Larson
9 – Martin Truex Jr.
10 – Denny Hamlin
11 – Chase Elliot
12 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
13 – Kurt Busch
14 – Ryan Blaney
15 – Trevor Bayne
16 – Matt Kenseth
17 – Paul Menard
18 – Jimmie Johnson
19 – Austin Dillon
20 – AJ Allmendinger
21 – Daniel Suarez
22 – Matt DiBenedetto
23 – Erik Jones
24 – Danica Patrick
25 – Clint Bowyer
26 – Ty Dillon
27 – Landon Cassill
28 – Chris Buescher
29 – Kasey Kahne
30 – Eric Almirola
31 – Gray Gaulding
32 – Corey LaJoie
33 – Reed Sorenson
34 – David Ragan
35 – Jeffrey Earnhardt
36 – Michael McDowell
37 – Cole Whitt
38 – Derrike Cope
39 – Cody Ware
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The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 takes place at 2:30 p.m. ET from Atlanta Motor Speedway. Find out how to watch the race live in our live stream post here, and stay tuned to the NASCAR section at FanSided for updates during the race.