Martin Truex Jr., Austin Cindric to start at rear of Brickyard 400 after pre-race issues

Martin Truex Jr. and Austin Cindric are two drivers who will be up against it in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Both will start from the rear of the field, Truex due to his team making an unapproved adjustment to the car after initially passing tech, and Cindric after he hit the wall twice in qualifying requiring repairs to his No. 2 Ford.

Truex will have to do a few things Sunday. In addition to starting from the rear, he loses his car chief and pit stall selection. He will also have to serve a pass-through penalty under green. Truex had qualified 14th but will now have to come from the back in hopes of securing his first victory in his final full-time Cup Series season. Though winless, Truex remains 137 points ahead of the playoff cutline with just five regular season races remaining.

Martin Truex Jr., Austin Cindric off to rough starts at Indy

Cindric, meanwhile, is locked into the playoffs courtesy of his win at Gateway last month. Cindric had one of the fastest cars in practice and his team were reluctant to go to a backup car because of it. Outside of his victory, Cindric has largely struggled this season. He has posted just one other top-10 finish this season, a P4 result at Atlanta in February.

This will be Cindric’s first career Brickyard 400, something that’s very special to him.

“I do love this racetrack and I’ve watched way more laps on the oval than I’ve driven,” Cindric said this week, via WRTV. “You know, I haven’t experienced the Brickyard 400 myself, so I’m certainly excited to see what it’s all like and at least drive the correct direction around the track.”