NASCAR at ISM Raceway 2018: Starting grid, lineup for TicketGuardian 500(k)

Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field from pole position for Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at the ISM Raceway just outside of Phoenix. The defending NASCAR Cup Series champion earned his first pole of the season with an average lap speed of 136.945 mph. The race is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET, and will be broadcast on Fox (live streaming online via Fox Sports GO).

Kevin Harvick, currently third in the standings, is still going to have most of the eyes on him. He managed to qualify 10th, and has added scrutiny after the NASCAR sanctioning body to impose penalties on him and his team following his win at Las Vegas. There were violations on his car, though whether or not they could have feasibly resulted in a performance advantage is debatable.

Behind the Toyota of Truex Jr. are Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, wit Alex Bowman and Joey Logano rounding out the top five of the starting grid. Between Logano and Harvick are Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Jamie McMurray and Erik Jones.

Big names like Brad Keselowski (25th) and Jimmie Johnson (16th) both struggled at times during qualifying.

Logano is the points leader, ahead of Ryan Blaney in second. Behind Harvick in third is Truex Jr., the aforementioned pole sitter. Below you can find the full starting grid for the TicketGuardian 500.