Chase Elliott will start at the rear of the 37-car field field Sunday at Dover International Speedway after his car failed inspection twice.
The reigning series champion, who seeks his first win of the year, was to have started eighth.
Elliott enters today’s race with back-to-back top-10 finishes. He placed fifth at Kansas and was seventh last week at Darlington. He’s not had three top 10s in a row this season. He is the last Hendrick Motorsports driver to win at Dover. Elliott won there in 2018. He has seven top-five finishes at Dover, his most top fives at any Cup track.
This is the second week in a row he has had to start at the rear. He gave up his starting spot last week at Darlington for unapproved adjustments before the race.
NASCAR announced shortly before the race that Ryan Newman’s car will go to the rear because of unapproved adjustments.
The only other car that will start at the rear Sunday will be the No. 77 of Spire Motorsports with Josh Berry. He’ll make his Cup debut in place of Justin Haley, who is out because of COVID-19 protocols. That car was to have started 29th in the field.