NASCAR has revealed that a total of five cars will have to drop to the rear of the field prior to the start of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Starting Lineup: NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400
Denny Hamlin, who crashed hard during his qualifying run on Saturday, was already slated to start from the 39th and final spot on the starting grid, but will drop to the rear following his team’s move to a backup car on Saturday afternoon.
Joining Hamlin at the back of the grid will be four drivers, who suffered slight damage, which necessitated unapproved adjustments following Saturday’s Brickyard 400 qualifying session.
The four going to the rear for unapproved adjustments include 22nd-place qualifier Michael McDowell, the driver of the No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, 27th-place qualifier Zane Smith, the driver of the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford, 35th-place qualifier Jesse Love, the driver of the No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet, and 36th-place qualifier John Hunter Nemechek, the driver of the No. 42 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota.
Despite dropping to the rear, all five drivers will be officially credited with their earned starting spots in the official race results (file that away for daily fantasy racing purposes).
Chase Briscoe secured the pole for the Brickyard 400 and will lead the field of 39 cars to the green flag on Sunday afternoon. Bubba Wallace will start from the outside of the front row. The Brickyard 400 will be televised on TNT with coverage set to kick off at 2:00 PM ET. The command to fire engines is scheduled for 2:08 PM ET, and the green flag is set for an approximate time of 2:20 PM ET.
