In addition to Beard Motorsports' Anthony Alfredo being removed from the Daytona 500 after it was discovered that a transaxle cooling hose was loose and a driver cooling hose wasn't attached properly following his 18th place finish in Thursday night's second America 250 Florida Duel race, four drivers have already been penalized ahead of Sunday's 68th running of the "Great American Race".
Drivers who move to backup cars are required to drop to the tail end of their starting lane, and four teams have confirmed the move to backup cars following the two 60-lap Duel races around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) high-banked Daytona Beach, Florida oval.
All four drivers were involved in incidents during the first Duel race.
4 drivers moving to backup Daytona 500 cars
Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain, Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron, and RFK Racing's were already scored 21st, 22nd, and 23rd in the 23-car race, so they were already slated to start 37th, 39th, and 41st, respectively, the final three spots on the inside lane from rows 19 through 21.
So their "to the rear" penalties end up affecting absolutely nothing, though the fact that Byron's three-peat bid is set to come from the 20th row in a backup car has certainly added an unexpected new twist to Sunday's race. Byron won the Daytona 500 in a backup car following a Duel race wreck two years ago.
Trackhouse Racing's Daniel Suarez, on the other hand, is set to drop well down the order. Despite his No. 7 Chevrolet being damaged in the multi-car melee on the back straightaway during the first Duel race's final lap of overtime, he was able to finish seventh to secure the 15th starting position for Sunday's 200-lap race.
However, with his move to a backup car having been confirmed, he is set to drop down to 35th, placing him ahead of only Chastain, Byron, and Buescher on the inside lane for the green flag, back in the 18th row.
There could still be more drivers forced to drop to the rear between now and race day, whether due to unapproved adjustments or other pre-race infractions that necessitate the sacrifice of their original Duel race-earned starting positions.
A full official 41-car Daytona 500 starting lineup can be found here.
Fox's live coverage of Sunday's Daytona 500 is set to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET, with the race scheduled to go green shortly after 2:30 p.m. ET, weather permitting. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action from Daytona International Speedway!