TEN Cup Series drivers demoted by NASCAR at Chicago Street Race

Ten drivers have been sent to the back of the field at the NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Race on Sunday.

A full one quarter of the field have been relegated to the back ahead of the Grant Park 165, after a dramatic Saturday qualifying saw a number of cars damaged.

READ MORE: NASCAR Race Today: Chicago Street Race start times, schedule and how to watch live on tv

Some of the ten (Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott and William Byron, specifically) already knew they'd be at the tail end of the field after failing to set a time in qualifying, with Hamlin's engine blowing up on his first practice lap and the latter two hitting the unforgiving street circuit's walls.

The rest all qualified, but have had to have repair work done on their cars overnight thanks largely to their own collisions with the track's barriers.

Larson and Bowman among demoted drivers

The other affected drivers are Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Noah Gragson, Ty Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Katherine Legge.

Bowman was the highest qualifier of that group, originally setting the 11th fastest lap time to put himself on the sixth row before his demotion to 31st.

Shane van Gisbergen will start the race from pole after dominating qualifying, with Michael McDowell and Carson Hocevar rounding out the top three.

Van Gisbergen took a great victory in Saturday's Xfinity Series race, passing Connor Zilisch after a late restart having dropped down the field in Stage 2 thanks to a tactical mistake.

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