Ryan Blaney drops to rear for North Wilkesboro Cup start

Polesitter Ryan Blaney will start Sunday's Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway from the rear after Team Penske fixed a power steering issue that counts as an unapproved adjustment. NASCAR confirmed the drop for the No. 12 car before the first points-paying Cup race at the track since 1996.

Blaney had earned the pole when weather wiped out qualifying, putting the Team Penske driver at the front of the grid for Sunday's 7 p.m. ET race on TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Instead, the power steering repair forces him to the back for the green flag of a historic night.

The move lands in the middle of a long, high-stakes short-track grind and joins other bizarre race-day twists that rewrite the starting order before fans even settle in.

Key Takeaways

• Ryan Blaney drops from polesitter to the rear after a power steering fix ruled an unapproved adjustment.
• NASCAR confirmed the penalty ahead of the Window World 450, the first points Cup race at North Wilkesboro since 1996.
• Blaney enters third in points, 65 behind Denny Hamlin for the No. 1 Chase seed.
• Ross Chastain also starts last after three failed pre-race inspections and a crew ejection.

Why is Ryan Blaney starting at the rear?

According to NASCAR.com, Blaney told TNT Sports that the No. 12 team needed to fix a power steering issue. That work falls under NASCAR's unapproved adjustments guidelines, so the polesitter must start at the back.

A NASCAR spokesperson later confirmed the drop before the Window World 450. The race is the first points-paying Cup event at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996, raising the stakes for any early grid reshuffle.

Who else is starting from the back on Sunday?

Blaney will not be alone at the rear. Ross Chastain's No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet failed pre-race inspection three times on Saturday. That triggered the ejection of car chief David Fero and a pass-through penalty after the green flag, plus a rear start for Chastain.

For Blaney, the contrast is sharp: he won last week at Atlanta and topped early betting boards for North Wilkesboro before the late mechanical drama.

What does this mean for the Window World 450?

Sunday's race is a 450-lap night event, the longest Cup race ever staged at North Wilkesboro. Drivers expect a physically demanding grind with tire management, congested traffic and a full 37-car field — far larger than recent All-Star fields at the track.

Blaney still sits third in the standings, only 65 points behind Hamlin for the top Chase seed. Starting last does not end his night, but it does force an early climb through traffic on a tight short track where passes are hard to complete.

Coverage begins around 7 p.m. ET. Expect the No. 12 Team Penske car to spend the opening stages digging out of the hole created by a fix that kept the car race-ready — at the cost of the pole.