Polesitter Kyle Larson to Rear After Inspection Fail, McDowell and Alfredo Busted For Deck Lid Violations

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(Photo by Andrew Coppley/HHP for Chevy Racing)

Kyle Larson was slated to start from the front row of Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, but he’ll now drop to the rear of the field on the pace laps after his No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro failed pre-race inspection multiple times.

Larson now goes from the safest spot in a Superspeedway field, to potentially the most dangerous, if he chooses to mix it up early in an effort to work back to the front.

Regardless of what happens on Saturday night, Larson has earned a place in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, but he’s hoping to polish off the regular season championship as well, so he can snag the 15-Playoff points that go along with it. Heading into the Coke Zero Sugar 400, Larson has a 28-point lead over Denny Hamlin.

The No. 15 Rick Ware Racing car to be driven by Joey Gase (starting 37th) and the No. 16 Kaulig Racing car of Kaz Grala (starting 38th) also failed inspection multiple times and will drop to the rear before Saturday’s race.

Joining Larson, Gase and Grala at the rear of the field will be Front Row Motorsports teammates Michael McDowell and Anthony Alfredo.

Both of the FRM Fords were caught to have issues with their rear deck lids. Both team’s crew chiefs have been ejected from the speedway and the No. 34 and No. 38 team could suffer further penalties following the race weekend.

The Front Row Motorsports cars violated rule 20.4.11.5 of the NASCAR Rule Book, which pertains to the Deck Lid Extension.

The rule states in section a, only NASCAR-approved deck lid extensions, listed in the NASCAR Parts Database, will be permitted.

McDowell, who won the season-opening Daytona 500, was slated to roll from 18th on the grid, while Alfredo was set to start from 32nd.

For Daily Fantasy purposes, all drivers will be officially scored from their original starting spots despite dropping to the rear before Saturday night’s race.

Here is the official starting lineup for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona:

Starting Lineup: 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

Toby Christie

Toby is the Founder of TobyChristie.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. Toby is also the co-host of The Final Lap Weekly Podcast. Additionally, he is an award-winning writer, and has followed the sport as a fan since 1993.