Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell is aiming to be the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2007 to win four consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races. Entering Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he is coming off victories at Atlanta, Circuit of the Americas, and Phoenix.
Bell initially secured the 13th starting position for the 267-lap race at the 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, he will have to drop to the back of the field after his No. 20 team replaced a throttle body.
Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek, another Toyota driver, received the same penalty after his No. 42 team also changed a throttle body.
Nemechek originally qualified in 30th place but, like Bell, will now have to start from the rear when the race begins.
In the NASCAR Cup Series, drivers who receive “to the rear” penalties before a race simply move to the back of their respective lanes.
This means that all drivers originally slated to start behind Bell in the inside lane will move up one position. As a result, the driver who qualified 15th will now technically start ahead of the driver who qualified 14th.
Similarly, all drivers who were set to start behind Nemechek in the outside lane will also move up one row.
Here is the updated starting lineup for the Pennzoil 400 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
