JR Motorsports' Connor Zilisch took the pole position for the first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway in 21 years, but the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet will not start from P1 after his impressive 22.630-second (149.536 miles per hour) qualifying lap.
As a result of a post-qualifying tire change, Zilisch is set to drop to the rear of the field for Saturday afternoon's 250-lap North Carolina Education Lottery 250 around the four-turn, 0.94-mile (1.513-kilometer) Rockingham, North Carolina oval.
Three other drivers have also been penalized ahead of Saturday's race. J.J. Yeley qualified the No. 53 Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen Chevrolet in 31st place in the 38-car field, but he was swapped out for Katherine Legge, so Legge is set to drop to the rear as well.
NASCAR Xfinity Series lineup changed at Rockingham
Other penalties were issued to Young's Motorsports' Anthony Alfredo, who was set to start 34th in the No. 42 Chevrolet, and Joey Gase Motorsports with Scott Osteen's Greg Van Alst, who was already set to start last in the No. 35 Chevrolet. Unapproved adjustments were made to Alfredo's No. 42 entry, and the engine was changed in Van Alst's No. 35 car.
Because of how "to the rear" penalties work in NASCAR, drivers simply drop to the tail end of their initial lane. So Zilisch is set to drop to the back of the inside lane, though because that is also where the No. 53 qualified, he is set to start in 35th place ahead of Legge in 37th. Van Alst is still set to start in 38th, while Alfredo is now set to start in 36th instead of 34th.
Everybody else who initially qualified in the same lane behind any penalized drivers simply moves up a row, meaning that third place qualifier Nick Sanchez of Big Machine Racing is now set to start on the front row in Zilisch's place in the No. 48 Chevrolet, alongside second place qualifier Parker Retzlaff of Alpha Prime Racing in the No. 4 Chevrolet.
Tune in to the CW Network now for live coverage of the North Carolina Education Lottery 250. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action from North Wilkesboro Speedway!