Kyle Larson will drop to the rear of the field ahead of the Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Hendrick Motorsports tweeted following Saturday’s qualifying session.
Larson, the most recent winner at Phoenix and defending Cup Series champion, was battling a steering issue despite qualifying seventh.
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https://twitter.com/Hendrick5Team/status/1502757205086400512
The team’s decision to fix the problem sends the No. 5 Chevrolet to the rear of the field. Larson won two weeks ago at Auto Club Speedway after having to drop to the rear of the field for an unapproved adjustment.
In addition to Larson, Harrison Burton (unapproved adjustments) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (engine change) will also drop to the rear. Burton, a rookie driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford, was slated to start 24th. Stenhouse did not make a qualifying run as the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet team was starting the process to change engines and so he was slated to start last in the 36-car field.