NASCAR: Chase Elliott penalized before Phoenix race

Chase Elliott is set to drop to the rear ahead of this afternoon’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway, the Instacart 500.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott is set to join teammates Kyle Larson and William Byron as well as Petty Ware Racing’s Cody Ware and Rick Ware Racing’s Garrett Smithley at the back of the pack ahead of today’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix Raceway, the Instacart 500.

Elliott was initially slated to start this 312-lap race around the four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) oval in Avondale, Arizona in sixth place behind the wheel of the #9 Chevrolet.

He will not get to do so as a result of unapproved adjustments. But in the most recent race at Phoenix Raceway in November, he was slated to start from the pole position as one of the four Championship 4 drivers and sent to the rear after his car failed pre-race inspection. He rallied to win the race and the 2020 title.

Larson, Byron and Ware are set to drop to the rear after their cars failed pre-race inspection twice.

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Smithley is set to drop to the rear after a driver change, as J.J. Yeley was initially slated to drive the #53 Chevrolet in this afternoon’s race. Like Elliott, StarCom Racing’s Quin Houff is also set to drop to the rear due to unapproved adjustments on his #00 Chevrolet. He had been slated to start in 35th place so will not lose much ground.

Here is the updated starting lineup for today’s Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway with all pre-race penalties factored in.

NOTE: Because Kyle Larson was slated to start the race on the front row, it is yet to be determined who will join polesitter Brad Keselowski in Larson’s spot. That depends on which lane Keselowski chooses. If he chooses the inside lane, Christopher Bell will move up to second from fourth. If he chooses the outside lane, Denny Hamlin will move up to second from third.

Starting Lineup
1st – Brad Keselowski
2nd – Christopher Bell
3rd – Denny Hamlin
4th – Ryan Blaney
5th – Martin Truex Jr.
6th – Kurt Busch
7th – Kyle Busch
8th – Erik Jones
9th – Joey Logano
10th – Michael McDowell
11th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
12th – Kevin Harvick
13th – Austin Dillon
14th – Matt DiBenedetto
15th – Ryan Preece
16th – Ross Chastain
17th – Chris Buescher
18th – Cole Custer
19th – Ryan Newman
20th – Chase Briscoe
21st – Alex Bowman
22nd – Anthony Alfredo
23rd – Tyler Reddick
24th – B.J. McLeod
25th – Bubba Wallace
26th – Aric Almirola
27th – Daniel Suarez
28th – Josh Bilicki
29th – Justin Haley
30th – James Davison
31st – Corey LaJoie
32nd – Kyle Larson
33rd – Timmy Hill
34th – Chase Elliott
35th – Cody Ware
36th – William Byron
37th – Quin Houff
38th – Garrett Smithley

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Fox is set to broadcast the Instacart 500 live from Phoenix Raceway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET this afternoon.

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