After Saturday's qualifying session for Sunday's Window World 450 NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway was canceled due to rain, Team Penske's Ryan Blaney was set to start on pole.
Blaney earned the pole position for this 450-lap race around the four-turn, 0.625-mile (1.006-kilometer) North Wilkesboro, North Carolina oval by virtue of the qualifying metric, which factors in each driver's finish in the most recent race and each car's rank in the owner standings.
But Blaney will not start from P1 on the grid after the No. 12 team made an unapproved adjustment to his car due to a power steering issue.
Ryan Blaney penalized at North Wilkesboro
As a result, Blaney is set to drop to the tail end of the inside lane, although he's still set to start ahead of Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain, who is set to drop to the rear after having been slated to start 13th due to three pre-race inspection failures. Chastain must also do a drive-through penalty on the race's first green flag lap.
Blaney is set to take the green flag in 35th, so everybody who had been slated to start behind him on the inside lane (minus Chastain) is set to move up by one row (two spots) each.
Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell is set to move up from third to first, but it's the No. 54 Toyota of teammate Ty Gibbs, who had been slated to start second, that is set to be the control car. Gibbs is still set to start on the outside, since neither driver will have lane choice after Blaney's penalty.
While dropping from the front to the back is significant, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin dropped to the rear after taking pole at Michigan International Speedway in June, and he rallied to win. He also won at Nashville Superspeedway one week prior, after jumping the start from pole and being forced to serve a drive-through penalty that dropped him to last right away.
Here's a look at the updated Window World 450 starting lineup at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Updated NASCAR Cup lineup at North Wilkesboro Speedway
Order | Driver |
|---|---|
1 | Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
2 | Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
3 | Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota |
4 | Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
5 | Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
6 | Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
7 | Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford |
8 | Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
9 | Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford |
10 | Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
11 | William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
12 | Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
13 | Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
14 | Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford |
15 | John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota |
16 | Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet |
17 | Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford |
18 | Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
19 | Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford |
20 | Cole Custer, No. 41 Haas Factory Team Chevrolet |
21 | Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
22 | Ty Dillon, No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
23 | Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet |
24 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet |
25 | Zane Smith, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
26 | Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota |
27 | Noah Gragson, No. 4 Front Row Motorsports Ford |
28 | Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford |
29 | Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet |
30 | Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota |
31 | A.J. Allmendinger, No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet |
32 | Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
33 | Chad Finchum, No. 66 Garage 66 Ford |
34 | Riley Herbst, No. 35 23XI Racing Toyota |
35 | Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford |
36 | Cody Ware, No. 51 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet |
37 | Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet |
TNT is currently providing live coverage of the Window World 450 from North Wilkesboro Speedway. Don't miss any of the action from the semifinal round of the NASCAR In-Season Challenge tournament!
