NASCAR Championship: Ford EcoBoost 400 starting grid for Homestead-Miami Speedway

Three of the four drivers racing for the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series championship will start from the first five positions on Sunday afternoon.

One of the longest seasons in professional sports has now been reduced to just one race for all the marbles. The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion will be decided on Sunday (guaranteed) at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with just four drivers still in the running. None will start from the pole for the Ford EcoBoost 400, but three will be within striking distance of the lead right off the bat.

Kyle Busch (second), Martin Truex Jr. (third) and Joey Logano (fifth) will roll off in close proximity to each other, likely needing not much help from their spotters to figure out where they stand in relation to each other in the opening laps. Kevin Harvick, meanwhile, has a little more work to do, as he’ll start his day from the 12th position.

Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin qualified on the pole as he desperately seeks a win to keep alive a streak of at least one Cup Series victory per season that’s been going since 2006. But he (or really, the brain trust at JGR) has already stirred up some minor controversy by passing on the first pit stall, allowing Busch to claim it instead.

Could starting position be important? It very well might be since neither the Truck Series nor XFINITY Series title races featured much passing in the final stages. If you can be out front, whether that’s by getting by cars on the track or making up spots in the pits, before the final 100 laps, that’s going to be a big key.

Coverage of the NASCAR Championship race is slated to begin at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC, with the green flag expected around 3:20 p.m.

2018 Ford EcoBoost 400 starting grid for Homestead-Miami Speedway

(p) – Driver still competing for championship

1. Denny Hamlin – No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota
2. Kyle Busch (p) – No. 18 M&M’s Toyota
3. Martin Truex Jr. (p) – No. 78 Bass Pro Shops/5-hour Energy Toyota
4. Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Discount Tire Ford
5. Joey Logano (p) – No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford
6. Kurt Busch – No. 41 Haas Automation/Monster Energy Ford
7. Erik Jones – No. 20 DeWalt Toyota
8. Ryan Newman – No. 31 E-Z-GO Chevrolet
9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – No. 17 Fastenal Ford
10. Aric Almirola – No. 10 Smithfield Ford
11. Kyle Larson – No. 42 Credit One Bank/DC Solar Chevrolet
12. Kevin Harvick (p) – No. 4 Jimmy John’s Ford
13. Alex Bowman – No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet
14. Chase Elliott – No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
15. Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford
16. Austin Dillon – No. 3 Dow UCON Chevrolet
17. Matt Kenseth – No. 6 Wyndham Rewards Ford
18. Daniel Suarez – No. 19 ARRIS Toyota
19. Jimmie Johnson – No. 48 Lowe’s Rookie Throwback Chevrolet
20. AJ Allmendinger – No. 47 Kroger ClickList Chevrolet
21. Jamie McMurray – No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet
22. Paul Menard – No. 21 Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
23. Bubba Wallace – No. 43 Transportation Impact Chevrolet
24. Michael McDowell – No. 34 Speedco/Rotella Ford
25. David Ragan – No. 38 1000bulbs.com Ford
26. Clint Bowyer – No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Haas Automation Ford
27. Chris Buescher – No. 37 Scott Comfort Plus Chevrolet
28. William Byron – No. 24 Hertz Chevrolet
29. Matt DiBenedetto – No. 32 Zynga Poker Ford
30. Regan Smith – No. 95 Dumont JETS Chevrolet
31. Ty Dillon – No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet
32. Landon Cassill – No. 00 Local Knowledge Chevrolet
33. JJ Yeley – No. 23 She Beverage Company Ford
34. Corey LaJoie – No. 72 Schluter Systems Chevrolet
35. Kyle Weatherman – No. 99 International Marine/Native Boatworks Chevrolet
36. BJ McLeod – No. 51 Jacob Companies Ford
37. Tanner Berryhill – No. 97 Brand South Africa Toyota
38. Timmy Hill – No. 66 Rewards.com Toyota
39. Ross Chastain – No. Xchange of America Chevrolet