Nearly one quarter of the rare 41-car field will have to drop to the rear before the green flag flies to get the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season underway with Sunday afternoon's 67th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson, Joe Gibbs Racing's Ty Gibbs, 23XI Racing's Riley Herbst, Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen, RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski, Spire Motorsports' Justin Haley, Trackhouse Racing's Daniel Suarez, and Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman are all set to go to backup cars.
They had initially qualified 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 26th, 34th, 35th, 36th, and 38th, respectively.
Trackhouse Racing's Helio Castroneves is set to go to a backup engine; he was set to start the race in 41st place anyway, since he fell back on his "world-class driver" provisional after not successfully qualifying in the single-car qualifying session or in his Duel at Daytona qualifying race.
And finally, Hyak Motorsports' Ricky Stenhouse Jr. failed pre-race technical inspection twice, so he too is set to drop to the back. Van Gisbergen also failed tech twice but was already slated to drop to the back after going to a backup car. Stenhouse had qualified 31st.
Drivers who drop to the rear of the field are simply set to drop to the tail end of the row in which they were slated to start.
As a result, here is an updated Daytona 500 starting lineup.
1st - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
2nd - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
3rd - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
4th - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
5th - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford
7th - Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
8th - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
9th - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
10th - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford
11th - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
12th - Corey LaJoie, No. 01 Rick Ware Racing Ford
13th - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet
14th - Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
15th - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
16th - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
17th - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
18th - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
19th - Justin Allgaier, No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet
20th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
21st - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
22nd - Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford
23rd - Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
24th - Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford
25th - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
26th - Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford
27th - Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
28th - Jimmie Johnson, No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
29th - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
30th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
31st - Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford
32nd - Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota
33rd - Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 Tricon Garage Toyota
34th - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
35th - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
36th - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
37th - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
38th - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
39th - Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
40th - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
41st - Helio Castroneves, No. 91 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
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