Starting Lineup Rules: NASCAR instituted a new procedure that started in 2005 for establishing the starting race field in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Starting positions one through 42 in the Sprint Cup Series still will be determined by qualifying speed, the new system will assure the highest-ranked 35 positions of the Sprint Cup Series owner championship points that have entered the event prior to the entry deadline one of those starting positions in the field, providing they have made an attempt to qualify [which usually means the team at least practiced and made an effort to qualify].

The remaining seven positions will be assigned to those drivers with the fastest qualifying speeds whose car owners are not among the top 35. The final starting position  the champion's provisional  can be utilized by a car owner whose driver is a current or past NASCAR Sprint Cup champion who participated as a driver during the previous season and was entered in the event for that owner in that car prior to the entry deadline [usually 13 days before the race]. If there is more than one series champion vying for the position, it will be given to the most recent series champion [so Terry Labonte (1996) would get the spot over Bill Elliott (1988)].

If the final provisional starting position  43rd in the NASCAR Sprint Cup  is not filled by a current or past series champion, it will be assigned to the next eligible car owner according to qualifying results.

Through the first five races of the season for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the top 35 in the NNCS of the previous season owner championship points entered in the event prior to the entry deadline will be assured one of the 42 starting positions in the field, provided they have made an attempt to qualify. From the sixth race on, the current owner championship points will be used to determine the top 35 each race week. In the event that conditions prevent qualifying from being run, starting positions will be assigned according to the respective series' Rule Book.

Qualifying Cancelled? so what happens if qualifying is cancelled?

If it is the first five races of the season, the previous season OWNERS points are used:

#1) - Previous season Owner Points [position 1-35][top 35 teams do NOT need to attempt ALL the races]
#2) - Race winners from the previous and current season not already in the field
#3) - ALL Past Sprint Cup Champions not in by 1 or 2
#4) - Current season Owner Points [Top 35][not in by rules 1-3]
#5) - Current season race attempts ties broken by current owners points standings [not in by rules 1-4]
(if the first race of season, would be race attempts from the previous season)

After the 5th race of the season, the current season OWNERS points are used:
#1) - First 35 by current Owner Points [position 1-35][top 35 teams do NOT need to attempt ALL the races]
#2) - Last Years Cup Champ or the Event Champion if not already in the field
#3) - Car Owners whose team has won in the previous and current season not already in the field
#4) - Drivers who have won in the previous and current season not already in the field
#5) - ALL Past Sprint Cup Champions not in by 1 thru 4 [is NOT charged against the 6 past champ provisionals]
#6) - Qualifying Attempts [not starts] with Owners points as the tie breaker
#7) - Qualifying Order Position
(all above apply as long as the team was entered by the entry deadline - usually 7-13 days before the race)

The Daytona 500 is a different with the Qualifying Races,
but the Top 35 are still guaranteed a starting spot
, see the rules on my Daytona International Speedway Track News page.