All four Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets will start from the rear for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Chicago Street Course (2 p.m. ET, TNT Sports/truTV, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) due to incidents sustained in practice and qualifying on Saturday.
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The four-car fleet joined a sizable list of 10 cars that will drop to the rear during pace laps, according to NASCAR competition officials. Of those, nine will drop to the back for unapproved adjustments. The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for Denny Hamlin will fall to the rear because of an engine change, stemming from an issue that halted his on-track time just minutes into opening practice.
The full list of teams dropping to the rear of the field:
- No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford, driver Noah Gragson
- No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driver Kyle Larson
- No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driver Chase Elliott
- No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, driver Ty Dillon
- No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, driver Denny Hamlin
- No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota, driver Bubba Wallace
- No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driver William Byron
- No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet, driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, driver Alex Bowman
- No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet, driver Katherine Legge
Byron posted the fastest time in Group 1 practice, but with less than two minutes remaining, the No. 24 machine hit the outside wall in Turn 10. In an interview with truTV, Byron explained that he carried too much speed into the corner and consequently suffered heavy left-rear damage. Byron did not turn a lap in qualifying as the team repaired its primary car.
In Group 2 practice, Elliott hit the wall in the short chute between Turns 3 and 4, just after the long back straightaway and past a heavy braking zone. He suffered left-side damage and, like Byron, did not turn a qualifying lap.
Bowman caught the wall and suffered suspension damage later in Group 2 practice. The No. 48 car turned a qualifying lap to better pit selection and posted the 11th-fastest time, but the team elected to repair the car before Sunday’s 75-lap race.
MORE: Full Saturday recap
Larson qualified 14th but sustained damage during his run. Like Bowman, the No. 5 team chose to repair the car and forfeit starting position.
Byron, Elliott and Larson own the top three spots in Cup Series points with five combined victories this season, including a win last weekend at EchoPark Speedway (formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway) for Elliott. Bowman, the defending winner in Chicago, is 12th in points.