NASCAR Cup Series at Charlotte starting lineup: Qualifying results, stages explained and how to watch

Following Christopher's Bell's All-Star Race win at North Wilkesboro, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to points-paying competition at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night for the running of the prestigious Coca-Cola 600.

This will be the 13th race of the regular season and mark the halfway point. The race tests drivers and teams as it begins in the daytime hours and ends under the lights around four hours later. The 600-miler is the longest race on the schedule and pays tribute to fallen service members in a pre-race show like no other and during the race with the name of a fallen service member on each car's windshield.

So, let's dive right into the Coca-Cola 600 with the starting lineup as well as all the info about the TV broadcast, start time and more than fans need to know ahead of the green flag.

Full Coca-Cola 600 starting lineup: Full NASCAR qualifying results

Here's a look at the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying results at Charlotte and the starting lineup as a result:

Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe is on the pole for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte on Sunday. With a time of 182.852 mph (29.532 seconds), Briscoe earned his first pole at Charlotte, his second pole of the season (Daytona 500) and the fourth of his career. Behind him in the top five are Hendrick Motorsports teammates Kyle Larson (second), William Byron (third), Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing's Chris Buescher (fourth) and Kaulig Racing's AJ Allmendinger (fifth).

This will be the second race of the day for Larson after he competes in the Indianapolis 500 prior to taking the green at Charlotte several hours later. Other notables in the field include Joey Logano (16th), Jimmie Johnson (17th), Denny Hamlin (20th), Ryan Blaney (21st), Chase Elliott (22nd), Kyle Busch (24th), Bubba Wallace (32nd), Connor Zilisch (33rd), Brad Keselowski (35th) and Ross Chastain (40th).

Johnson is making his 700th career start while the Xfinity Series rookie Zilisch is back in action after suffering a lower back injury at Talladega in April and is competing in a Cup race on an oval for the first time. Busch heads into the 600-miler after he and Richard Childress Racing announced on Saturday that he would be returning to the organization in 2026. Chastain backed into the Turn 4 wall in practice and did not post a qualifying lap while Hocevar posted the quickest single lap in practice before spinning off Turn 4 in qualifying.

NASCAR race start time today: When does the Coca-Cola 600 green flag wave?

Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte will begin shortly after 6 p.m. ET. According to AccuWeather, the temperature is forecasted to be around 70 degrees for the start of the race with temperatures dropping into the low 60s by the conclusion. There is a 40 percent chance of rain.

Coca-Cola 600 stages explained

Due to the length of the race, there will be four stages instead of the usual three. Here is what the stage breakdown looks like based on the number of laps being run in the Coca-Cola 600:

For those who don't know, most of the points for the season-long NASCAR Cup Series standings will be awarded for the final stage. Stages 1, 2 and 3, though, will give teams three additional opportunities to score points at Charlotte, as well as extra breaks for pit stops (and for the TV product, commercial breaks).

Ten points go to the stage winners, and the remainder of the top 10 receive points in decreasing order with the 10th-place finisher getting one point. The stage victories and additional points can prove valuable throughout the season as drivers try to qualify for the 10-race playoffs that begin at Darlington Raceway on Aug. 31.

Coca-Cola 600 TV channel, broadcast and streaming info

The NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte on Sunday will be the first Cup Series race streamed exclusively on Prime Video with the pre-race coverage of the Coca-Cola 600 beginning at 5 p.m. ET. Fans can also catch the race on PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and streaming on Max.