NASCAR: Martin Truex Jr. penalized before Atlanta race
By Asher Fair
Martin Truex Jr. will start Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway from the rear of the field after inspection issues.
Joe Gibbs Racing were slated to have all four of their drivers start inside the top five in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart.
But Martin Truex Jr., who was slated to start in fifth place behind the wheel of his #19 Toyota, will no longer be a part of that group.
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After his #19 Toyota failed pre-race inspection twice, Truex is set to start this afternoon’s 260-lap race around the four-turn, 1.54-mile (2.478-kilometer) oval in Hampton, Georgia from the rear of the field.
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Because he was set to start the race on the inside lane of the third row and he is set to drop to the rear of that lane, all drivers slated to start behind him on the inside lane are now set to move up by one row each.
For example, Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick was set to start in seventh place behind the wheel of his #8 Chevrolet. He is now set to start in fifth. Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson is still set to start in sixth behind the wheel of his #5 Chevrolet, as the outside lane will be unaffected by Truex’s penalty.
Truex is listed at +800 to win this race after finishing in ninth place at Atlanta Motor Speedway when the series made its first trip to the track this season back in March.
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Here is the updated starting lineup for the 2021 Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Starting Lineup
1st – Chase Elliott
2nd – Kyle Busch
3rd – Denny Hamlin
4th – Christopher Bell
5th – Tyler Reddick
6th – Kyle Larson
7th – Ross Chastain
8th – Kurt Busch
9th – Chase Briscoe
10th – Joey Logano
11th – Austin Dillon
12th – Matt DiBenedetto
13th – Ryan Blaney
14th – Brad Keselowski
15th – Alex Bowman
16th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
17th – William Byron
18th – Chris Buescher
19th – Kevin Harvick
20th – Aric Almirola
21st – Cole Custer
22nd – Erik Jones
23rd – Michael McDowell
24th – Bubba Wallace
25th – Daniel Suarez
26th – Corey LaJoie
27th – Ryan Newman
28th – Justin Haley
29th – Cody Ware
30th – Josh Bilicki
31st – Bayley Currey
32nd – Anthony Alfredo
33rd – Quin Houff
34th – Ryan Preece
35th – Garrett Smithley
36th – B.J. McLeord
37th – Martin Truex Jr.
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Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 3:30 p.m. ET this afternoon for the live broadcast of the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart from Atlanta Motor Speedway.