Two NASCAR Cup drivers penalized after Las Vegas qualifying

Christopher Bell and John Hunter Nemechek must both drop to the rear ahead of Sunday's Pennzoil 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Pennzoil 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NASCAR
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing, Pennzoil 400, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NASCAR | Jonathan Bachman/GettyImages

Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell is aiming to become the first driver to win four consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races since Jimmie Johnson in 2007, as he is set to enter Sunday's Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway coming off of wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Circuit of the Americas, and Phoenix Raceway.

He initially qualified in 13th place for the 267-lap race around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Las Vegas, Nevada oval, but he will have to start at the back after the No. 20 team changed a throttle body.

Legacy Motor Club's John Hunter Nemechek, another Toyota driver, was issued the same penalty, as the No. 42 team also changed a throttle body. He initially qualified in 30th place and is set to join Bell on the back row to take the green flag.

Because of how "to the rear" penalties work in the Cup Series, drivers penalized pre-race simply drop to the tail end of their lane.

As a result, everybody who was set to start behind Bell on the inside lane is set to move up one row, meaning that the driver who qualified 15th is now technically set to start above the driver who qualified 14th.

Every driver who qualified on the outside lane behind Nemechek is set to move up a row as well.

Here is an updated Pennzoil 400 starting lineup at Las Vegas.

1st - Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

2nd - Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

3rd - Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

4th - Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

5th - Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

6th - Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

7th - Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

8th - William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

9th - Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford

10th - Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

11th - Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

12th - Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford

13th - Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

14th - Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

15th - Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

16th - Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

17th - Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

18th - A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

19th - Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford

20th - Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

21st - Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

22nd - Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

23rd - Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

24th - Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

25th - Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford

26th - Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford

27th - Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

28th - Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

29th - Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

30th - Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford

31st - Justin Haley, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

32nd - Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota

33rd - Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Ford

34th - Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

35th - Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

36th - John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

Fox Sports 1 is set to provide live coverage of the Pennzoil 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET this afternoon. Begin a free trial of FuboTV now and catch all of the action!