NASCAR: Chase Elliott penalized before Busch Clash
By Asher Fair
Chase Elliott will start tonight’s Busch Clash NASCAR exhibition race from the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments on his #9 Chevrolet.
The starting lineup for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening exhibition race, the Busch Clash, was set yesterday evening via a random draw, and it was Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney who drew the pole position for his #12 Ford.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, the reigning series champion, was set to start this 35-lap race around the 14-turn, 3.61-mile (5.810-kilometer) Daytona International Speedway road course in Daytona Beach, Florida in seventh place behind the wheel of his #9 Chevrolet.
That will not happen.
Due to unapproved adjustments, his #9 Chevrolet is slated to start at the rear of the field.
NEWS: @chaseelliott's No. 9 car will start at the rear of the field for tonight's #BuschClash due to unapproved adjustments. pic.twitter.com/fk3rdr2dna
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 9, 2021
There are 21 drivers set to compete in this race out of the 24 who are eligible. Eligibility was determined based on the following criteria: 2020 Busch Pole Award winners, past Busch Clash winners, past Daytona 500 winners who competed full-time in 2020, past Daytona 500 polesitters who competed full-time in 2020, 2020 Cup Series playoff drivers, 2020 Cup Series race winners and 2020 Cup Series stage winners.
Clint Bowyer, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson are the three eligible drivers who will not compete in tonight’s event after retiring following the 2020 season.
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The last time Elliott was sent to the rear was in the 2020 Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway, when he was slated to have started from the pole position. It didn’t matter, as he battled back to secure the race and the title.
Elliott is the reigning winner at the Daytona International Speedway road course, having dominated the inaugural Cup Series race there last August after the track replaced Watkins Glen International, where he is the two-time reigning winner, on the schedule as a result of coronavirus pandemic-related restrictions in the state of New York.
Due to his penalty, everybody in the odd positions (inside lane) behind where Elliott was slated to have started will move up by one row.
Here is the full updated starting lineup for the 2021 Busch Clash at the Daytona International Speedway road course.
Starting lineup
1st – Ryan Blaney
2nd – Alex Bowman
3rd – Denny Hamlin
4th – Brad Keselowski
5th – William Byron
6th – Tyler Reddick
7th – Erik Jones
8th – Cole Custer
9th – Ryan Newman
10th – Joey Logano
11th – Chris Buescher
12th – Matt DiBenedetto
13th – Kurt Busch
14th – Ty Dillon
15th – Kevin Harvick
16th – Kyle Busch
17th – Austin Dillon
18th – Martin Truex Jr.
19th – Aric Almirola
20th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21st – Chase Elliott
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Tune in to Fox Sports 1 at 7:00 p.m. ET this evening for the live broadcast of the 2021 Busch Clash from the Daytona International Speedway road course.