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No joke: Daniel Hemric and David Ragan to start 1-2 at Kansas

nick bromberg
College football and motorsports writer
Daniel Hemric checks his phone in his garage before the start of a NASCAR auto race practice at Daytona International Speedway, Thursday, July 4, 2019, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)
Daniel Hemric got the first pole of his career on Saturday. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

Sunday’s playoff race at Kansas Speedway will have a front row made up of drivers outside of the top 20 in the points standings.

Daniel Hemric got the pole Saturday while David Ragan will start alongside him in second. Hemric is 25th in the standings while Ragan 31st and has the fewest points among full-time drivers earning points in the Cup Series.

Both drivers aren’t returning to their teams in 2020 either. Hemric isn’t being retained after his one and only season in the Cup Series at Richard Childress Racing and is getting replaced by Tyler Reddick. Ragan, a driver who has won two Cup Series races and has finished in the top 20 in the points standings just once, is retiring from driving at the end of the 2019 season.

They’ll also likely both fall back through the pack in the first stage of Sunday’s race. It’s a safe bet that both drivers’ cars were built more for raw speed than handling. And with teams unable to make adjustments between qualifying and the race, expect better handling cars to sweep past them in the first part of the race.

Kevin Harvick didn’t make a qualifying attempt and will start last on Sunday. His car didn’t get through inspection after multiple attempts. Talladega winner Ryan Blaney starts third alongside teammate Brad Keselowski in fourth. Kyle Larson, the other driver clinched into the third round in addition to Blaney, will start fifth.

The race is set to go green just after 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. It’s the final race of the second round of the playoffs as the playoff field will get cut from 12 to eight after the race.

Points standings

1. Kyle Larson [won at Dover]

2. Ryan Blaney [won at Talladega]

3. Denny Hamlin, 3,114 points

4. Martin Truex Jr., 3,106

5. Kyle Busch, 3,099

6. Kevin Harvick, 3,094

7. Brad Keselowski, 3,078

8. Joey Logano, 3,076

9. Alex Bowman, 3,058

10. Chase Elliott, 3,054

11. Clint Bowyer, 3,052

12. William Byron, 3,049

Starting lineup

1. Daniel Hemric

2. David Ragan

3. Ryan Blaney

4. Brad Keselowski

5. Kyle Larson

6. Michael McDowell

7. Ryan Newman

8. Daniel Suarez

9. Austin Dillon

10. Bubba Wallace

11. Martin Truex Jr.

12. Jimmie Johnson

13. Aric Almirola

14. Chase Elliott

15. Kurt Busch

16. Alex Bowman

17. Matt Tifft

18. Kyle Busch

19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

20. Erik Jones

21. Clint Bowyer

22. Paul Menard

23. Denny Hamlin

24. Ty Dillon

25. William Byron

26. Chris Buescher

27. Matt DiBenedetto

28. Ryan Preece

29. Joey Logano

30. Landon Cassill

31. Corey LaJoie

32. Parker Kligerman

33. Ross Chastain

34. Reed Sorenson

35. Garrett Smithley

36. JJ Yeley

37. Josh Bilicki

38. Timmy Hill

39. Joey Gase

40. Kevin Harvick