HAMPTON, GEORGIA - MARCH 20: Austin Cindric, driver of the #22 Car Shop Ford, waits on the grid prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series EchoPark 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 20, 2021 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Austin Cindric (Sean Gardner/Getty Images photo)

Cindric To Start First For Talladega Xfinity Race

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Austin Cindric will lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series field to green for the fourth time in eight races this season during Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Cindric, the driver of the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, received the pole courtesy of the highest metric score among the 40 cars entered to compete.

Lap speed is weighted at 15 percent, previous race finish at 25 percent for the driver and owner results and owner points position at 35 percent to calculate the final metric score.

Cindric earned the pole with a metric score of 3.65, factoring in his sixth-place finish from Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, the fourth-fastest lap from that event and his third-place seeding in the point standings after seven of 33 races this season.

He’ll be joined on the front row by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Daniel Hemric, with Hemric’s teammate Harrison Burton and Noah Gragson making up row two of the starting grid.

Two-time defending Talladega winner Justin Haley starts fifth, followed by Josh Berry, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider.

Ty Dillon will return to the seat of Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 54 Toyota Supra, starting 16th.

To view the full starting lineup and metric qualifying breakdown, click here.

Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 is scheduled for an 4 p.m. ET start, with live coverage on FOX, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.