Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain has reduced his deficit to the NASCAR Cup Series playoff cut line in recent weeks, and he now sits 45 points outside of the top 16 in the point standings with six races remaining on the 26-race 2026 regular season schedule.
But making up further ground at North Wilkesboro Speedway in this Sunday night's Window World 450 will not be easy for the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet.
After the No. 1 car failed pre-race inspection two times, Chastain had his car chief ejected and lost pit stall selection for the 450-lap race around the four-turn, 0.625-mile (1.006-kilometer) North Wilkesboro, North Carolina oval. The same penalty was issued to teammate Connor Zilisch and Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill for the same reason.
But because the No. 1 Chevrolet failed for a third time, Chastain is required to drop to the rear of the field to start the race, and he is required to serve a drive-through penalty on the race's first green flag lap.
When NASCAR canceled qualifying and set the starting lineup based on the qualifying metric, Chastain secured the 13th starting position, but that was never going to matter because the penalty had already been determined. He would not have been allowed to turn a qualifying lap had qualifying not been canceled and thus would have been lined up to start 37th anyway.
Instead, he is set to drop to the tail end of the inside lane, meaning that the 12 drivers who had been slated to start behind him on the inside lane are each set to move up one row (two spots) each, beginning with Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron (15th to 13th). Drivers set to start the race on the outside lane are unaffected by this penalty.
Factoring in Chastain's penalty, here is how the 37-car field is set to begin Sunday night's Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Updated NASCAR Cup lineup at North Wilkesboro
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
2 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
3 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
4 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
5 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
6 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
7 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
8 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
9 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
10 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
11 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
12 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
13 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
14 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
15 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
16 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
17 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
18 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
19 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
20 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
21 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
22 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
23 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
24 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
25 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
26 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
27 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
28 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
29 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
30 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
31 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
32 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
33 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
34 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
35 | Chad Finchum, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
36 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
37 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
TNT's live coverage of the Window World 450 is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET this evening. Tune in and don't miss the fourth of five races of this year's NASCAR In-Season Challenge tournament!
