The middle race of the round of 8 of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is scheduled to take place at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday afternoon, and seven drivers are set to attempt to join Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin in the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway with a win.
Three drivers not in playoff contention, however, will have to drop to the rear of the field before the start of the 188-lap YellaWood 500 around the four-turn, 2.66-mile (4.281-kilometer) high-banked Lincoln, Alabama oval.
23XI Racing's Riley Herbst qualified ninth and Legacy Motor Club teammates John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones qualified 28th and 30th, respectively, but they will not retain their starting positions.
Herbst is set to drop to the tail end of the inside lane after his No. 35 team replaced the clutch, while Nemechek and Jones are set to drop to the tail end of the outside lane. Nemechek's No. 42 team had to replace a piece at the rear of his car, while Jones' No. 43 team made unapproved adjustments.
All drivers who had been slated to line up on the inside lane behind Herbst are set to move up a row, and all drivers who had been slated to lineup on the outside lane behind Nemechek and Jones are set to move up two rows.
Here's an updated look at the YellaWood 500 starting lineup.
NASCAR Cup Series starting lineup at Talladega
1st - Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
2nd - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
3rd - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
4th - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
5th - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
6th - Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
7th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
8th - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
9th - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
11th - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
12th - Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
13th - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
14th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
15th - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
16th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
17th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
18th - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
20th - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
21st - Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
22nd - Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
23rd - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
24th - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
25th - Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
26th - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
27th - Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
28th - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
29th - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
30th - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
31st - Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
32nd - Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
33rd - Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
34th - Anthony Alfredo, No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet
35th - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
36th - Casey Mears, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford
37th - B.J. McLeod, No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet
38th - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
39th - Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
40th - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
NBC is currently airing live coverage of the YellaWood 500 from Talladega Superspeedway. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss any of the action!