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Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, will start at the rear of the field for the Ruoff Mortgage 500 on Sunday, March 13.
Larson’s team, Hendrick Motorsports, confirmed on social media that ’due to unapproved adjustments to address steering issue’, the driver has been relegated to the back of the grid. Larson finished 7th in qualifying for Sunday’s race, however, because of this steering issue, the #5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver will be forced to take the green flag further down the line.
Sharing an update, Hendrick Motorsports took to its Twitter account and tweeted:
“Due to unapproved adjustments to address steering issue, @KyleLarsonRacin will start at the rear of the field on Sunday.”
Starting a race at the rear of the field, however, doesn’t seem to bother Larson much. Just a few weeks ago in Fontana, the driver started 13th and ended up in front to take the win at Auto Club Speedway.
Meanwhile, Ryan Blaney won the pole with the fastest qualifying time (27.126 seconds) at a speed of 132.709 mph. Speed-wise, Team Penske drivers were the fastest in both Group A and Group B, with Austin Cindric (131.090) the fastest in the other group.
Last year’s Ruoff Mortgage 500 winner, Martin Truex Jr., will line up 20th on the starting grid.
Kyle Larson believes the starting position does not matter to win a race
In the second Cup Series race, Kyle Larson started his #5 Camaro at the rear of the field and ended up as a winner at WISE Power 400.
On race day, Larson's team found an ignition issue in his car. He had to give up his starting position and move to the rear of the field at Auto Club Speedway. Larson, however, gave his best until the very last lap, and the entire field couldn’t stop him from taking to the victory lane.
Speaking about the victory at 2-mile-long Auto Club Speedway, Larson said:
“Yeah, thankfully the races are so long that if your car is good, it doesn’t matter how far back you start. We were able to get to like 12th pretty quickly. I was very pleased with that.”
The 26-year-old is largely the favorite to win the Ruoff Mortgage 500 and his second Cup Series race of the season.
