2020 NASCAR Cup Series Champion Chase Elliott and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Aric Almirola will have to start at the rear of the field for Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, according to NASCAR.
Elliott’s No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will start at the rear of the field for the third-time this season – also started at the rear in events at Phoenix and Atlanta — because of unapproved adjustments made to the Hendrick Motorsports entry. The Dawsonville, Georgia-native was scheduled to start in sixth.
According to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, the Hendrick Motorsports team realized that left a packer in the car, therefore, removing it from the car after technical inspection is an unapproved adjustment.
On Elliott car, they realized they had left a packer in the car that they had failed to remove. So removing that after tech is an unapproved adjustment.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 9, 2021
For Aric Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield | Winn-Dixie Ford Mustang, the problems came from pre-race technical inspection, in which the Stewart-Haas Racing entry failed twice, both times failing in a different area. The Tampa, Florida-native was scheduled to start 27th, after a dismal run at Kansas Speedway.
Entering Darlington, Elliott and Almirola currently sit seventh and 28th in points, respectively, with neither driver having visited victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series this season.
