NASCAR: 3 drivers penalized ahead of inaugural Nashville race
By Asher Fair
Three drivers are set to drop to the rear of the field ahead of the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, the Ally 400.
Following this morning’s qualifying session, just the fourth qualifying session of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, for this afternoon’s inaugural Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, three drivers have been issued pre-race penalties.
Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, Richard Petty Motorsports’ Erik Jones and StarCom Racing’s Quin Houff are all set to drop to the rear of the field ahead of this 300-lap race around the four-turn, 1.333-mile (2.145-kilometer) oval in Lebanon, Tennessee.
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All three of these drivers were issued these penalties as a result of unapproved adjustments made to their cars ahead of the season’s 17th race.
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Changes were made to the #43 Chevrolet of Jones and the #00 Chevrolet of Houff after their cars scraped the wall in qualifying. The change to the #24 Chevrolet of Byron was a track bar change made ahead of his qualifying lap.
Byron had been set to start the race in fourth place while Jones had been set to start in ninth. Houff was set to start in 39th (last) anyway because he did not post an official qualifying time, as he came into the pits after making contact with the wall.
Byron is set to drop to the tail end of the outside line and start in 38th place while Jones and Houff are set to drop to the inside line, meaning they are set to start in 37th and 39th, respectively.
Here is the updated starting lineup for the 2021 Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Starting Lineup
1st – Aric Almirola
2nd – Kyle Busch
3rd – Joey Logano
4th – Chase Elliott
5th – Kyle Larson
6th – Alex Bowman
7th – Cole Custer
8th – Ryan Blaney
9th – Matt DiBenedetto
10th – Kevin Harvick
11th – Denny Hamlin
12th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
13th – Brad Keselowski
14th – Chase Briscoe
15th – Chris Buescher
16th – Anthony Alfredo
17th – Ross Chastain
18th – Ryan Preece
19th – Bubba Wallace
20th – Daniel Suarez
21st – Michael McDowell
22nd – Corey LaJoie
23rd – Christopher Bell
24th – Tyler Reddick
25th – Justin Haley
26th – Austin Dillon
27th – Ryan Newman
28th – Kurt Busch
29th – B.J. McLeod
30th – J.J. Yeley
31st – Chad Finchum
32nd – Josh Bilicki
33rd – Martin Truex Jr.
34th – Garrett Smithley
35th – Joey Gase
36th – David Starr
37th – Erik Jones
38th – William Byron
39th – Quin Houff
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Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 3:30 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the inaugural Ally 400 from Nashville Superspeedway.