After Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin took the pole position for Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway, it was announced that he would have to drop to the rear of the field to start the race due to the fact that the team fixed damage caused underneath the No. 11 Toyota by a flat tire in practice.
Hamlin was initially set to drop to the tail end of the inside lane to start the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.0-mile (3.219-kilometer) Brooklyn, Michigan oval, but he won't start 37th (last) now, as several other drivers are set to drop to the rear as well.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell, Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron, Legacy Motor Club's Erik Jones, Team Penske's Austin Cindric, and Wood Brothers Racing's Josh Berry are also set to drop to the rear. They had been slated to start eighth, ninth, 10th, 31st, and 37th, respectively.
Bell and Jones had been set to line up on the outside lane, so they are set to drop to the tail end of the outside lane and start 34th and 36th, respectively.
Hamlin is set to drop to the rear, but to row 16, rather than row 19, as Byron, Cindric, and Berry are set to line up behind him in 33rd, 35th, and 37th, respectively. Berry had been slated to start at the back anyway after not turning a qualifying lap.
Notably, Spire Motorsports' Carson Hocevar, who qualified second, is set to start first, even though he will not get lane choice and is set to roll off on the outside of 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, who is set to start on the inside of the front row after qualifying third.
Here's an updated look at how the 37 drivers in the field are set to line up to take the green flag.
Updated NASCAR Cup lineup at Michigan
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
2 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
3 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
4 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
5 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
6 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
7 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
8 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
9 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
10 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
11 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
12 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
13 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
14 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
15 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
16 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
17 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
18 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
19 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
20 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
21 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
22 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
23 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
24 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
25 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
26 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
27 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
28 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
29 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
30 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
31 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
32 | J.J. Yeley, No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet |
33 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
34 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
35 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
36 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
37 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
Tune in to Amazon Prime Video for live coverage of the FireKeepers Casino 400 from Michigan International Speedway.
Add us as a preferred source on Google