NASCAR at Texas live updates: Chase Elliott dropping to the rear for Cup race start

The NASCAR Cup Series races today at Texas Motor Speedway. The Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 race is at 2 p.m. on NBC.

The race is 501 miles (334 laps) with stages ending on laps 105, 210 and 334.

Follow along here for lap-by-lap updates. Refresh this page for the latest updates and follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex.

Stage 1

2:19 p.m., Lap 20: Kyle Larson is still the race leader. William Byron, who was eliminated from playoffs after the last round, is in the top five in fifth. Hendrick Motorsports cars are showing their speed.

2:15 p.m., Lap 13: Chase Elliott is up to 17th after dropping to the rear. Kyle Larson, who started on the pole, has led all laps so far. Kevin Harvick, who started 24th, has dropped a few positions to 27th. Denny Hamlin has dropped to sixth.

NASCAR Cup points pre-Texas

Order	Driver	Points
1	Kyle Larson	+42
2	Denny Hamlin	+7
3	Martin Truex Jr.	+6
4	Ryan Blaney	+1
5	Kyle Busch	-1
6	Chase Elliott	-2
7	Joey Logano	-11
8	Brad Keselowski	-16

Pre-race

Pre-race ceremonies complete

2:05 p.m.: Alex Bowman and Justin Haley will also drop to the rear for the race start due to unapproved adjustments. Bowman was eliminated from the playoffs after the race at the Charlotte Roval last weekend and was slated to start 14th. Haley was slated to start 32nd.

2 p.m.: Texas native and professional singer Sarah Hobbs performs the national anthem at Texas Motor Speedway. NFL Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett and Tim Brown give the command to fire engines. There will be a competition caution on Lap 25.

Elliott trying to focus ahead after Harvick drama

Chase Elliott didn’t comment much on last week’s drama with Kevin Harvick, which manifested in Harvick hitting Elliott to send him spinning into the wall at the Charlotte Roval in retaliation for an earlier move by Elliott at Bristol. The AP reported earlier this week that NASCAR held a call with both parties, warning about consequences from the santioning body if the feuding continued.

Elliott deflected a question about the situation on NBC before the race, saying that his No. 9 Chevrolet team is, “keeping our eyes and our focus where it needs to be, which is getting to Phoenix and trying to win another championship.”

“So that’s where our head is, still currently where my head’s at,” Elliott said.

He was also asked about dropping to the rear for his No. 9 team twice failing pre-race technical inspection, to which he noted that Texas Motor Speedway is, “definitely a tough place and one of, if not the most, challenging track to move forward in large chunks.”

“We’ll try to get what we can. Hopefully our car has pace,” Elliott said. “Like we always say, if you’re fast and you’re able to make some good lap time, your options become more abundant so hopefully that’s the case for us today. And try to be smart, control what’s in our hands and head to work.”

He was previously slated to start sixth. Kyle Larson is starting on the pole.

Elliott dropping to the rear for inspection failures

NASCAR announces that five cars have twice failed pre-race technical inspection, including the No. 9 Chevrolet driven by Chase Elliott. Elliott was slated to start sixth and was the only playoff team to twice fail pre-race inspection. He will drop to the rear for the start of today’s race.

Additionally, the cars driven by Chase Briscoe, Corey LaJoie, Garrett Smithley and David Starr will drop to the rear for multiple inspection failures. There were no three-time failures.

How to watch the NASCAR playoff race at Texas

• Race: Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500

• Distance: 501 miles (334 laps) with stages ending on laps 105, 210 and 334

• Where: Texas Motor Speedway

• When: Sunday, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. EST

• TV: NBC

• Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

NASCAR at Texas starting lineup

Order	Driver	Car No.
1	Kyle Larson	5
2	Denny Hamlin	11
3	Kyle Busch	18
4	Ryan Blaney	12
5	Joey Logano	22
6	Chase Elliott	9
7	Brad Keselowski	2
8	Martin Truex Jr.	19
9	Tyler Reddick	8
10	Chris Buescher	17
11	Christopher Bell	20
12	William Byron	24
13	Matt DiBenedetto	21
14	Alex Bowman	48
15	Austin Dillon	3
16	Michael McDowell	34
17	Kurt Busch	1
18	Bubba Wallace	23
19	Daniel Suárez	99
20	Cole Custer	41
21	Erik Jones	43
22	Aric Almirola	10
23	Ryan Preece	37
24	Kevin Harvick	4
25	Ross Chastain	42
26	Chase Briscoe	14
27	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	47
28	Anthony Alfredo	38
29	Corey LaJoie	7
30	Quin Houff	0
31	Ryan Newman	6
32	Justin Haley	77
33	Josh Bilicki	52
34	Cody Ware	51
35	BJ McLeod	78
36	Garrett Smithley	15
37	Joey Gase	53
38	David Starr	66
39	Timmy Hill	13