Change is inevitable but it can often serve as a catalyst for self-reflection and rejuvenation. Kyle Larson and NASCAR are proof of that.
Most of the NASCAR post-season reviews will focus primarily on statistics such as races won and laps led as a way to assess a particular driver’s season. And, by any measure, 2021 Cup Series champion, Kyle Larson, had an extraordinary year.
But Larson’s racing prowess goes far beyond his 10 NASCAR Cup Series victories with 20 top fives, 26 top 10s and 2581 laps led, the most laps led by any driver since Jeff Gordon led 2,610 in 1995. During his off time, he also won a variety of dirt track events including the Chili Bowl, Knoxville Nationals, World of Outlaws Sprint Cars and World of Outlaws late models.
Those numbers, however, only tell half the story.
Larson’s road to success began in April 2020 after using a racial slur during an iRacing event. His subsequent suspension from NASCAR and release from Chip Ganassi Racing sent him on a journey to redemption that led him to Hendrick Motorsports in 2021.
His first steps began much earlier with a personal introspection that inspired him to go beyond NASCAR’s mandated sensitivity training.
In an essay posted on his website in October, Larson said, “Since April, I’ve done a lot of reflecting. I realized how little I really knew about the African-American experience in this country and racism in general,” Larson writes. “Educating myself is something I should’ve done a long time ago because it would’ve made me a better person — the kind of person who doesn’t casually throw around an awful, racist word. The kind who makes an effort to understand the hate and oppression it symbolizes and the depth of pain it has caused Black people throughout history and still to this day. It was past time for me to shut up, listen and learn.”
Larson was reinstated by NASCAR for the 2021 season and found a home at Hendrick Motorsports. He has continued to educate himself and others about racial injustice.
After winning the championship title at Phoenix Raceway, an emotional Larson, said, “I cannot believe it. I didn’t even think I’d be racing a Cup car a year and a half ago.”
As Larson has worked to rebuild his life and cleanse his tarnished reputation NASCAR was on a similar quest to redefine itself amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
NASCAR President Steve Phelps addressed the media, the fans and the organization in his state of the sport address before the weekend championship finale. He spoke about not only finding a way around the obstacles that were a result of the pandemic but thriving despite the circumstances.
With the cooperation and dedication of everyone involved, NASCAR took the lead in the sports industry by completing its full schedule of races while adhering to stringent protocols to provide a safe environment. In 2020 NASCAR was acknowledged as the Sports Business Journal League of the Year.
“It really took an industry coming together in order to make that happen. It took race teams, our broadcast partners, our sponsors, tracks that we own or tracks that we don’t own, that all came together to create an opportunity for our sport to grow, which is exactly what’s happening.
“Every single person who is part of this industry, including the folks in this room, were part of that. Last year wasn’t an easy year. But we persevered. Frankly, we are a stronger sport today than we were pre-pandemic. I would argue with anyone who would say otherwise.
“I think it’s good for our sport, I really do. I think it’s healthy to infuse it not just with new fans but new ownership, new brands that are coming into the sport. We’re seeing all those things.”
As NASCAR looks ahead to the 2022 season and the implementation of the NextGen car, they are anticipating an ongoing trend of resurgence to bring more fans into the sport with a commitment to continually evolve.
Change is inevitable but it can often serve as a catalyst for self-reflection and rejuvenation. Kyle Larson and NASCAR are proof of that.
1. Kyle Larson: Larson used a quick late pit stop to take the lead at Phoenix, and held on to win and claim his first Cup championship.
“I owe it all to my pit crew,” Larson said. “On that last stop, I came in fourth and left in first. I call that ‘service with a smile,’ with the smile being mine.”
2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished third at Phoenix, again coming up short in his quest to win his first championship.
“It just wasn’t to be,” Hamlin said. “Maybe I’m just cursed. That’s a real possibility because if you took a poll of NASCAR fans, about 85% of them would say they have ‘cursed’ me, often more than once.”
3. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished fifth at Phoenix.
“I was going for my second Cup championship in a row,” Elliott said. “So, I was going for the repeat. Kyle Larson has spent the last two years trying not to ‘repeat.’”
4. Kyle Busch: Busch finished seventh at Phoenix.
“NASCAR told me I have to take sensitivity training,” Busch said. “That came after I used the ‘R’ word after Martinsville. Fortunately, they told me I only have to take it, and not necessarily pass it.”
5. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex came up just short at Phoenix, finishing second to race winner and Cup champion, Kyle Larson.
“It stings to come this close,” Truex said. “I finished less than a second behind Larson, yet I feel like I was five laps behind him. I guess what I’m saying is it sucks to feel like Quin Houff.”
6. Joey Logano: Logano finished 11th at Phoenix.
“Three of the championship drivers’ crew chiefs were ejected for multiple inspection failures,” Logano said. “NASCAR is a competitive sport, so you really have to cheat to win. And you have to deal with the consequences, which is being called a cheater. That doesn’t bother most drivers. We have very thick skin, especially on our wrists, which get slapped all the time.”
7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished fourth in the Xfinity 500 at Phoenix.
“Next year,” Blaney said, “I’m dedicating myself to winning the championship. Up until that point, I’m going to try really hard to convince myself to believe that.”
8. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 10th at Phoenix.
“This was my final race for Penske Racing,” Keselowski said. “It would have been nice to go out with a win. But I didn’t. So, I didn’t go out with a bang. Instead, I went out with a ‘Dang!’”
9. William Byron: Byron finished 17th at Phoenix.
“If Kyle Busch has to take sensitivity training,” Byron said, “should everyone else be required to take training on how not to be like Kyle Busch?”
10. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished 18th in the Xfinity 500 at Phoenix.
“I was born in Tucson, Arizona,” Bowman said. “So, this is my home race. And that made Denny Hamlin an enemy of the state.”
After spending the previous season on the sidelines, Kyle Larson made the most of his second opportunity with the powerhouse organization of Hendrick Motorsports and emerged as the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion after winning the season finale race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon.
The Elk Grove, California, native qualified on the pole position Saturday and led seven times during the race for a total of 107 laps, including the final 28. He beat Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott to win his first Cup title in his first full-time season at Hendrick Motorsports along with claiming his season-high 10th race victory in the desert state.
Qualifying occurred on Saturday, November 6, to determine the starting lineup and Kyle Larson, a nine-time race winner vying for his first Cup title, won the pole position with a pole-winning lap at 137.847 mph. Joining him on the front row was Chase Elliott, Larson’s teammate and the reigning series champion who qualified with an initial fast speed at 136.939 mph.
With Larson and Elliott starting on the front row, Denny Hamlin, vying for his first Cup title, lined up in sixth place to contend for his first Cup title while teammate Martin Truex Jr., going for his second title, rolled off the starting grid in 12th place.
Larson, Hamlin and Truex entered the finale without their regular car chiefs after their respective cars failed the pre-race technical inspection process twice, but they all retained their starting spots for the main event. On the other hand, Josh Bilicki and Timmy Hill started the finale at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments to their cars.
When the green flag waved and the finale commenced, Larson briefly broke ahead through the frontstretch, but Elliott fought back entering the backstretch. As both Hendrick Motorsports teammates dueled coming back to the start/finish line, Larson led the first lap. Elliott, however, had other plans as he rocketed to the lead entering Turns 1 and 2 during the following lap.
By the fifth lap, Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was ahead by half a second over teammate Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
Two laps later, the first caution of the finale flew when Bubba Wallace got hit by Corey LaJoie, spun and backed into the Turn 3 outside wall with extensive rear-end damage. After exiting his damaged No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry, Wallace expressed his displease to LaJoie before making the mandatory trip to the infield care center.
Under caution, Larson elected to pit for four fresh tires and fuel while the rest of the field led by Elliott remained on the track.
When the finale restarted under green on Lap 11, Elliott retained the lead ahead of the field, which fanned out through the frontstretch. Behind, Ryan Blaney was in second followed by Denny Hamlin, William Byron and Kevin Harvick while Kurt Busch challenged Christopher Bell for sixth. Truex, meanwhile, was situated in the top 10.
Four laps later, the caution returned when LaJoie made contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. entering Turn 3, which sent both competitors spinning towards the outside wall as LaJoie sustained heavy rear-end damage.
Under caution, a majority of the field led by Elliott pitted while the rest led by Blaney remained on the track.
The finale restarted under green on Lap 20 as Blaney and teammate Brad Keselowski occupied the front row. At the start, Blaney retained the lead while Larson, who moved back into the top 10, made a bold move through the dogleg to move up to fourth ahead of Michael McDowell.
With the field continuing to fan out and jostle for positions, Larson settled in fourth behind Blaney, Ross Chastain and Keselowski while Elliott moved up to sixth. Truex was in eighth in between Chris Buescher and Kevin Harvick while Hamlin was in the top 15.
By Lap 25, Blaney was the race leader and Larson was the championship leader in second place just ahead of teammate Elliott, Chastain and Keselowski. Meanwhile, Truex was in sixth while Hamlin was mired back in 12th.
Through the first 30 laps of the finale, Blaney was leading by more than a second over Larson and Elliott, both of whom continued to challenge hard against one another for the championship lead early. Harvick was in fourth, trailing the lead by two seconds, while Truex remained in fifth. Keselowski, Byron, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch and Hamlin were in the top 10.
Five laps later, Harvick, who is pursuing his first victory of the season, moved up to second place on the track, thus dropping Larson and Elliott to third and fourth while Truex continued to run in fifth.
Another five laps later, Harvick, who cut Blaney’s advantage to a tenth of a second, started to challenge Blaney for the top spot around every turns and straightaway in his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang. Behind, Elliott moved up to third while Truex challenged and passed Larson for fourth.
Through the first 50 laps of the event, a three-wide battle for the lead ensued between Harvick, Blaney and Truex through the frontstretch, with the latter gaining ground and catching the top-two leaders. Behind, teammates Elliott and Larson were in fourth and fifth while Hamlin moved up to sixth, thus placing all four Cup championship contenders in the top six.
Following their intensive battle at the front, Truex emerged with the lead on Lap 51 over Harvick, who led Lap 49, and Blaney, who led Laps 17-48 and 50.
By Lap 60, Truex extended his advantage to more than a second over Harvick. Behind, Elliott retained third place ahead of teammate Larson while Hamlin moved up to fifth place ahead of Blaney.
Ten laps later, Truex continued to extend his advantage to more than three seconds over Harvick while Elliott, Hamlin and Larson were situated in third, fourth and fifth. Behind, Blaney was trying to fend off Cole Custer and William Byron for sixth while Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 10.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 75, Truex, who won at Phoenix in March, received the early upper hand in his quest for his second Cup title by motoring his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry to his sixth stage victory of the season. Harvick settled in second followed by Elliott, Hamlin, Larson, Byron, Custer, Blaney, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Elliott emerged with the top spot following a stellar work from his pit crew. Truex exited in second followed by Harvick, Hamlin, Larson and Kurt Busch.
The second stage started on Lap 83. At the start and with the field fanning out through the dogleg, Elliott retained the lead by a narrow margin over Truex. The following lap, Larson made a bold three-wide move in between Hamlin and Harvick to move up to third.
By Lap 85, the final four championship contenders were running first through fourth and separated by less than a second as Elliott was leading ahead of Truex, Larson and Hamlin.
Five laps later, the four title contenders were separated by more than a second as Elliott stabilized himself in the lead by nearly six-tenths of a second over Truex. Third-place Larson trailed by more than a second while fourth-place Hamlin trailed by one-and-a-half seconds as Harvick started to close in on Hamlin.
Through the first 100 laps of the finale, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over Truex, two seconds over teammate Larson and more than three seconds over Harvick, who overtook Hamlin a few laps earlier. Byron, Blaney, DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch and Aric Almiorla were in the top 10 while Kurt Busch, rookie Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer and Christopher Bell were in the top 15. Meanwhile, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Alex Bowman were mired in the top 20 while Daniel Suarez and Ryan Newman were in 21st and 22nd.
Twenty laps later, Truex and Elliott battled for the top spot, with the former succeeding during the following lap. Harvick was in third, trailing by more than two seconds, while Larson and Hamlin remained in the top five.
On Lap 129, the caution flew when Quin Houff lost a right-front tire and smacked the outside wall hard right-side in Turn 3. The incident was enough to end Houff’s run in the garage and in the final NASCAR event for Starcom Racing.
Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Elliott exited with the lead followed by Harvick, Larson, Truex and Byron while Hamlin fell back to ninth.
When the finale restarted under green on Lap 135, Elliott retained the lead on the outside lane while teammate Larson challenged and overtook Harvick for second place through the first two turns. Behind, Byron closed in on Harvick for third as Truex joined the party.
Five laps later, the caution returned when Stenhouse hammered the outside wall in Turn 3 after blowing a left-front tire.
Another five laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start and with the field fanning out through the dogleg and entering the first two turns, Elliott just managed to clear Harvick through the backstretch as Larson made another strong move to the outside of Harvick to take second. The following lap, Truex overtook Harvick for third as Harvick was being pressured by Blaney for more.
Through the first 150 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by a second over teammate Larson while Truex was in third and slowly catching Larson for more. Harvick, Blaney, DiBenedetto and Byron were running fourth through seventh while Hamlin was mired in eighth in front of Keselowski and Aric Almirola.
By Lap 155, the caution flew when rookie Chase Briscoe, who cut down a left-rear tire, got bumped by Kyle Busch, spun and wrecked into the Turn 3 outside wall.
Under caution, nearly all of the lead lap cars pitted as Larson exited his pit stall with the lead followed by Elliott, Truex, Harvick and Hamlin. Back on the track, however, Tyler Reddick, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman and Daniel Suarez remained on the track.
With 30 laps remaining in the second stage, Larson, who restarted in the second row, used the dogleg to thunder past Kurt Busch and Reddick to reassume the lead as the field fanned out through the frontstretch. Behind, Elliott also muscled his way to second behind teammate Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet as Truex and Hamlin also charged their way to the front.
A few laps later, the final four title contenders were back running first through fourth as Larson continued to lead by a narrow margin over teammate Elliott.
By Lap 175, title rivals Larson, Elliott, Hamlin and Truex remained in first through fourth, separated by two seconds, as Larson continued to lead ahead of teammate Elliott while Hamlin started to make his charge to the front after struggling early. Blaney settled in fifth ahead of Harvick, Logano, Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Byron.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 190, Larson took his stance in his quest to achieve his first Cup title by capturing his season-high 18th stage victory of the season. Teammate Elliott settled in second followed by Hamlin and Truex while Blaney ended up in fifth, trailing by more than three seconds. Harvick, Keselowski, Logano, Kyle Busch and Byron were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Larson exited his pit stall with the lead ahead of teammate Elliott, Hamlin, Truex and Kyle Busch.
With 115 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Larson peeked ahead and cleared teammate Elliott through the frontstretch and the first two turns. While Hamlin tucked in third behind the two Hendrick competitors, Truex battled Harvick for fourth place as Blaney and Kyle Busch kept both Cup champions within their sights.
Down to the final 100 laps of the finale, Larson stabilized himself with the lead by four-tenths of a second over teammate Elliott. Hamlin was in third, trailing by more than two seconds, while Truex was mired back in fourth, three seconds behind. Harvick and Blaney were in fifth and sixth as both closed in on Truex for more while Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Logano and Almirola were in the top 10.
Under the final 80 laps, the battle for the championship between two Hendrick Motorsports teammates ignited as Elliott, who tracked and methodically caught Larson, overtook Larson with 76 laps remaining. Though Elliott emerged with the lead, he had teammate Larson within close sights of his rearview mirror.
Near the final 70 laps of the event, Keselowski surrendered his spot in the top 10 to short pit under green.
Back on the track, Elliott was leading by more than half a second over teammate Larson as Hamlin, who was in third, started to close in on the two leaders in the fight for the championship. Truex, meanwhile, was in fourth and trailing by more than two seconds.
With 66 laps remaining, Hamlin was up into second place after overtaking Larson, all while Elliott continued to lead by nearly a second.
Just then and while a few more competitors including Truex pitted under green, the caution flew when rookie Anthony Alfredo went dead straight and pounded the outside wall in Turn 2. The caution served as a huge moment for Truex, who completed his service and remained on the lead lap.
Under caution, the lead lap competitors led by Elliott pitted and Hamlin exited in first followed by Elliott, Logano, Larson and Almirola. Back on the track, however, Truex, who pitted prior to the caution, cycled to the lead followed by Blaney.
With 58 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Hamlin dueled through the frontstretch until Truex cleared Hamlin entering the backstretch. Behind Blaney was in third followed by Elliott, Logano and Larson as the field jostled for positions.
Five laps later, the final four title contenders were back running first through fourth as Joe Gibbs Racing’s Truex and Hamlin led Hendrick Motorsports’ Elliott and Larson. In the midst of this, Elliott challenged Hamlin for the runner-up spot.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Truex was leading by nearly a second over Hamlin and Elliott, both of whom continued to battle for second place, while Larson trailed by more than a second. Blaney was in fifth followed by Logano, Harvick, Almirola, Ross Chastain and Christopher Bell.
Ten laps later, Truex stabilized himself with the lead by nine-tenths of a second over teammate Hamlin while third-place Elliott, who was losing ground to Hamlin, was nearly two seconds behind, and fourth-place Larson, who was gaining no ground on the leaders, was behind by more than three seconds.
Just then, the caution flew with 30 laps remaining due to debris reported in Turn 3 and coming off of David Starr’s car, with the driver reporting a broken rotor off of his car.
Under caution, the leaders pitted for four fresh tires and fuel. At the end of the services, Larson’s crew under the leadership of sophomore crew chief Cliff Daniels got the job done as he exited with the top spot followed by Hamlin, Truex and Elliott.
Down to the final 24 laps of the finale, the field restarted under green. At the start, Larson rocketed away with the lead as Truex also muscled his way into second place on the outside lane. Behind, Hamlin and Elliott battled for third.
With 20 laps remaining, Larson was leading by more than two-tenths of a second over Truex while Hamlin and Elliott persevered in his battle with Hamlin for third place.
Five laps later, Larson remained as the leader by four-tenths of a second over Truex as the battle for the win and the championship continued to ignite between both. Meanwhile, third-place Elliott trailed by more than a second while Hamlin was mired in fourth and more than a second behind.
Down to the final 10 laps of the finale, Larson slightly increased his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Truex while Elliott and Hamlin continued to battle for third ahead of Blaney.
With five laps remaining, Larson continued to lead by more than eight-tenths of a second over Truex. Behind, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry to third while Elliott was mired back in fourth and losing ground, trailing by less than three seconds, as Blaney started to challenge Elliott for more.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson was still leading by three-tenths of a second over Truex, who nearly got into the left-rear quarter panel of Larson’s No. 5 Chevrolet entering the backstretch earlier, lost ground and was trying to narrow the deficit. While Truex got as close as he could, Larson kept himself at the front and was able to hold off the Joe Gibbs Racing driver through the final turn as he came back to the frontstretch and took the checkered flag to win both the race and the championship.
With the victory, Larson became the 35th different competitor to achieve a Cup Series championship and the fifth to do so while driving for Hendrick Motorsports as HMS, which won 17 of 36 races in this year’s schedule, achieved its 14th Cup title. Larson also joined Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch as the only Cup regular season champions to go on to win the overall season championship.
By claiming his season-high 10th victory of the 2021 Cup season and notching his 16th Cup career victory, Larson became the first championship-winning competitor to achieve double-digit victories in a championship-winning season, the last of which was made by Jimmie Johnson in 2007 when he beat teammate Jeff Gordon. Larson also racked up a career-high 20 top-five results, 26 top-10 results, nearly 2,600 laps led and a personal-best average-finishing result of 9.1.
This marked the eighth consecutive season where a competitor won the race in order to win the Cup championship in the current elimination-style Playoff format.
The championship also completed Larson’s redemptive road back to the top level in NASCAR after being released by Chip Ganassi Racing and indefinitely suspended from the sport for using a racial slur during a live iRacing event a year ago. Spending the majority of 2020 racing in sprint cars and the dirt, Larson was able to complete NASCAR’s Road to Recovery program and be reinstated prior to the 2021 season. By then, he was given an opportunity to reinstate his career when Hendrick Motorsports acquired him in October 2020, 13 months prior to Larson’s title.
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I cannot believe it,” Larson, who celebrated on the frontstretch and praised his pit crew, said on NBC. “I didn’t even think I’d be racing a Cup car a year-and-a-half ago. To win a championship is crazy. I’ve got to say first off thank you so much to Rick Hendrick, Hendrickcars.com, Jeff Gordon, NASCAR, every single one of my supporters in the stands watching at home, my family. I’ve got so many of my friends and family here. My parents, my sister, my wife and kids. [Son] Owen had been giving me crap a month-and-a-half ago about how I can’t win a Cup race when he’s there, so that added a lot of pressure. There were so many points in this race where I did not think we were going to win. Without my pit crew on that last stop, we would not be standing right here. They are the true winners of this race. They are true champions. I’m just blessed to be a part of this group. Every single man or person, man and woman at Hendrick Motorsports, this win is for all of us and every one of you. This is unbelievable. I’m speechless.”
“This event was crazy,” Larson added. “This format is wild. I’m glad we were able to get it done. And yes, a big shout-out to my parents for getting me involved in racing, my dad for everything he did, building my go-karts when I was young to get me playing around, my mom for videotaping every lap I ever raced and giving me something I could look at and study and get better. Gosh, so cool. I cannot believe it.”
Larson’s championship was one that received high praises from Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon, both of whom played instrumental roles in signing Larson for the 2021 season.
“I’ll tell you, we’ve always known he’s a wheelman, and he works so hard off the track,” Hendrick said on the championship stage. “Man, I just — he deserves this, and what a year, man. I never thought I was taking a risk [by signing Larson]. I mean, I know how good he is. I’m just fortunate we were able to get him, and man, what a wheelman he is. Ten races won, 11 with the All-Star Race. It’s unbelievable.”
“Unbelievable,” Gordon added. “By the whole team and Kyle Larson is a great talent. You give him a great race car and great race teams, and he does amazing things. We’ve seen it before, we’ve seen it in other forms of racing. He and this pit crew and this team, they did it all year long. They got to this point. What a battle. I just want to say Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR and all these fans that came out here today, this is what a championship weekend is supposed to feel like, and that was a championship battle. Great competitors and a great champion here.”
In addition, crew chief Cliff Daniels, who debuted atop the pit box midway into the 2019 season with Jimmie Johnson, achieved his first championship as a crew chief while the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team achieved its first title since the 1996 season with Terry Labonte.
“It’s an amazing moment,” Daniels said. “It’s been such a blessing just to be a part of this team, to be a part of Hendrick Motorsports. The thing that I think about the most is so many guys on our team have been there for so many years with Chad [Knaus] and with Jimmie [Johnson], and we learned from the best. We learned from those guys. Obviously, the last two, three years, just as a company, we were down a little bit. It was easy to get down as a team. It was easy for me to get down. It was easy for the guys to get down. For them to dig so hard all year long, to dig so hard today, because we were not the best car at times today. And then, for our pit crew to have a money stop on the money stop, I couldn’t be more thankful. I could not be more proud of those guys…They were ready.”
Truex, who initially had the race and the championship within his grasp until the late caution, concluded the season in second place on the track and in the standings for the third time in the previous four seasons. The runner-up result was one that left Truex disappointed in a season where he achieved four victories, 13 top-five results, 20 top-10 results and an overall average-finishing result of 12.0.
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“The clean air seemed to be a good bit of an advantage,” Truex said. “Whoever got out front was good for 20, 30, 40 laps, and then the long run cars would start coming around. I don’t know. Ultimately we needed to beat [Larson] off pit road. It’s unfortunate, but we win and lose as a team. And really proud of our efforts this year. That’s three times we’ve been second and that sucks. Second hurts I’m not going to lie, especially with the car we had and the job the guys did. That’s racing, as they say, and sometimes you’re just not on the right end of things. We were on the right end to things to get the lead there and weren’t able to hold on to it. If we could have had the lead, I think it would have been over, but that’s kind of how [Larson] did it, too. So, they had a hell of a season and congrats to them. Gosh, second sucks. I hate it.”
Teammate Hamlin, who was starting to catch Larson and Truex in the closing laps, settled in third place on the track and in the standings as his bid to win his first Cup title in his 16th full-time season highlighted with two postseason victories, 19 top-five results, 25 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 8.4 fell short.
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“Yeah, certainly, I really liked where we were at with about 25 [laps] to go,” Hamlin said. “We were just exceptional in the long run, which wasn’t too surprising, but started running [Truex] back down there and got within a couple car lengths and obviously that debris caution changed a lot. Special congrats to Larson and his team. Those guys, any time you can win 10 races in a year, you’re absolutely a deserving champion. They did a great job on the last pit stop and got him out there, and it was just set sail after that. Proud of my team. Really great effort adjusting on the car all day, getting it so much better, and thank our partners. Just a really good year. A really, really good year and things just didn’t pan out. We needed that thing to go green those last 25 laps, and it didn’t.”
Meanwhile, Elliott, who was overtaken by Blaney on the track, ended up in fifth place in the final leaderboard and in the final standings as he came up short in defending his series title. Despite the result, Elliott kept his head high in a season where he notched two victories, 15 top-five results, 21 top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 11.4.
Photo by Ron Olds for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I felt like our NAPA Chevy was really good and I thought our team did a really good job preparing this week,” Elliott said. “I was really proud of our group. I thought we brought a really good car and did a lot of things that we were wanting it to do today. Just didn’t work out and the sequence of the way all that went certainly was unfortunate for us, but look, proud of our team, a lot to build on and also, congrats to Kyle and Cliff. What an amazing season. Very, very deserving champions and glad to see Kyle have success. When you’re a good driver and a good person and you surround yourself with good people, success is warranted. It’s good to see that. But we’ll be back stronger next year and try to give them a run.”
Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell and Brad Keselowski completed the top 10 on the track.
Austin Dillon, who finished 15th in the finale, emerged as the highest non-Playoff contender in the final standings in 17th place.
Despite finishing in 35th place following his accident, Chase Briscoe captured the 2021 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title over Anthony Alfredo. With his accomplishment, Briscoe, who earned three top-10 results in his first full-time Cup season, became the third competitor to capture the rookie title across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck).
Brad Keselowski finished 10th in his 435th and final run in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford Mustang while Todd Gordon, crew chief for Ryan Blaney, called his 526th and final race as a crew chief between the Xfinity and Cup Series before retiring.
Ross Chastain and Kurt Busch finished 14th and 16th in Chip Ganassi Racing’s final race and season in NASCAR as the team’s assets will be transferred over to Trackhouse Racing, which will be expanding to two cars and welcome Chastain as a teammate alongside Daniel Suarez, for the 2022 season.
Ryan Newman finished 23rd in his 725th career start in the Cup circuit as he has yet to announce his plans for the 2022 season.
Matt DiBenedetto finished 12th in his 72nd and final run with the Wood Brothers Racing team, Ryan Preece finished 20th in his 108th and final run with JTG-Daugherty Racing and Justin Haley finished 26th in his 34th and final run with Spire Motorsports.
Meanwhile, 23XI Racing settled in 21st place in the final standings and as the highest of the new teams over Trackhouse Racing (25th) and Live Fast Motorsports (32nd). The team will be expanding to two cars next season with Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch set to drive for the team in 2022.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season was the ninth and final season for the current Generation 6 stock cars, thus paving the way for the new NextGen stock cars that will debut in NASCAR competition in February 2022. It was also the final season where the five lug nut pattern was implemented on the tires for the cars as the series will have a single, center-locked lug nut for the wheels next season.
There were 18 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured nine cautions for 51 laps.
Results:
1. Kyle Larson, 107 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Martin Truex Jr.,72 laps led, Stage 1 winner
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Ryan Blaney, 33 laps led
5. Chase Elliott, 94 laps led
6. Aric Almirola
7. Kyle Busch
8. Kevin Harvick, one lap led
9. Christopher Bell
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Joey Logano
12. Matt DiBenedetto
13. Cole Custer
14. Ross Chastain
15. Austin Dillon
16. Kurt Busch, one lap led
17. William Byron
18. Alex Bowman
19. Tyler Reddick, four laps led
20. Ryan Preece
21. Daniel Suarez
22. Erik Jones
23. Ryan Newman
24. Michael McDowell
25. Chris Buescher, one lap down
26. Justin Haley, two laps down
27. BJ McLeod, three laps down
28. Cody Ware, six laps down
29. Joey Gase, nine laps down
30. Josh Bilicki, nine laps down
31. Garrett Smithley, 11 laps down
32. Corey LaJoie, 31 laps down
33. David Starr – OUT, Brakes
34. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident
35. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident
36. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – OUT, Accident
37. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident
38. Timmy Hill – OUT, Handling
39. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident
Final standings.
1. Kyle Larson
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Chase Elliott
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Brad Keselowski
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Joey Logano
9. Kyle Busch
10. William Byron
11. Kurt Busch
12. Christopher Bell
13. Tyler Reddick
14. Alex Bowman
15. Aric Almirola
16. Michael McDowell
Bold indicates championship finale contenders.
With the 2021 season concluded, the NASCAR Cup Series competitors enter their off-season period before commencing the 2022 season with the inaugural Clash event at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which will occur on February 6 at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.
With the 2021 NASCAR season less than a week away from concluding, Austin Dillon is within reach of achieving a milestone start. By competing in this weekend’s Cup Series finale at Phoenix Raceway, the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE will reach career start No. 300 in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of Welcome, North Carolina, and the eldest grandson of NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress, Dillon made his inaugural appearance in the Cup circuit at Kansas Speedway in October 2011. By then, he was a full-time NASCAR Truck Series competitor for Richard Childress Racing and contending for the series’ championship. Driving the No. 98 Curb Racing Chevrolet Impala, Dillon started and finished 26th in his Cup debut.
After making one Cup start in 2012, where he finished 24th at Michigan International Speedway in June, Dillon made his Daytona 500 debut in 2013, where he finished 31st in RCR’s No. 33 Chevrolet SS. He competed in 10 additional Cup races throughout the 36-race schedule, piloting between the No. 33 RCR Chevrolet SS and the No. 51 Phoenix Racing Chevrolet SS. He also made two starts in the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS as an interim competitor for three-time Cup champion Tony Stewart, who suffered a broken right leg following a sprint car accident at Iowa in August and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season. Throughout the 11-race schedule, Dillon’s best Cup results were a pair of 11th-place finishes in both Michigan International Speedway scheduled events (June and August). At Talladega Superspeedway in October, Dillon, who was driving the No. 14 SHR Chevrolet, was running in third place on the final lap and was primed at a run for the win until slipping sideways in front of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., spinning in the middle of the backstretch and being t-boned by Casey Mears that sent Dillon’s car airborne before landing on all four wheels. Despite the accident, Dillon, who survived, nursed the car back to the garage and in 26th place.
A month after the 2013 NASCAR season concluded, where Dillon achieved his first Xfinity Series championship despite going winless, RCR promoted Dillon as the driver of the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet SS for the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series season. The 2014 season marked the return of the No. 3 in the Cup Series since the 2001 Daytona 500, where the late seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Sr. died after an accident on the final lap.
In Dillon’s first run in the No. 3 car in the Cup circuit, he won the pole position for the Daytona 500, thus becoming the fifth rookie competitor to achieve the 500 pole and the fourth overall to do so in the No. 3 car. Despite finishing ninth, Dillon went on to achieve one top-five result and three additional top-10 result throughout the 36-race schedule before finishing in 20th place in his rookie Cup season and missing out on the Rookie-of-the-Year title to Kyle Larson.
Dillon’s sophomore Cup season, 2015, was overshadowed by a harrowing last-lap accident at Daytona International Speedway in July, where Dillon hit the spinning Toyota Camry of Denny Hamlin across the finish line at the tri-oval, launched over a handful of cars and smashed into the catchfence while upside down. After coming to rest on his roof, his battered No. 3 Chevrolet was then hit by a spinning Brad Keselowski before coming to a full stop on the roof. With several crew members running across the track to aid to Dillon, Dillon was able to exit the carnage uninjured, where he was diagnosed with a broken tailbone and a bruised forearm. In the midst of the incident, Dillon managed to finish in seventh place, which was one of five total top-10 results he achieved throughout the 2015 Cup season. Managing a season-best result of fourth place at Michigan International Speedway in August, Dillon was unable to make the Playoffs as he finished in 21st place in the final standings.
The 2016 Cup season was one of Dillon’s consistent seasons to date, where he earned two poles, four top-five results, 13 top-10 results and a career-best average-finishing result of 15.9, throughout the 36-race schedule. He also made the Playoffs for the first time in his career and advanced into the second round of the Playoffs before his title hopes came to an end prior to the penultimate round, where he was beaten by Hamlin in a tie-breaker for the final spot to the third round. Nonetheless, Dillon settled in 14th place in the final standings. By then, Dillon surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
Commencing the 2017 Cup season in 19th place in the Daytona 500, Dillon achieved his first NASCAR Cup Series career victory in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May after he overtook Jimmie Johnson when Johnson ran out of fuel with two laps remaining before fending off Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. at the finish line. With his first Cup career victory, Dillon returned the iconic No. 3 to Victory Lane in the Cup circuit since Dale Earnhardt won at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2000. He also became the seventh different competitor to achieve a first Cup win in the Coke 600. Dillon went on to achieve a total of three top-five results and four top-10 results throughout the season before making the Playoffs and settling in a career-best 11th-place result in the final standings.
Dillon opened the 2018 Cup season on a high note by winning the 60th annual Daytona 500 in February and claiming his second Cup career victory after he turned Aric Almirola on the final lap and muscled away from the field entering the frontstretch. The victory made Dillon the 38th different competitor to achieve a victory in the 500 as he also recorded the third 500 win for Richard Childress Racing and the first for the No. 3 since Dale Earnhardt won his first and only Daytona 500 title in 1998 following a 20-year effort. To go along with a total of two top-five results and eight top-10 results, Dillon made the Playoffs, but was eliminated from title contention following the first round. He went on to finish in 13th place in the final standings. By then, he was nearing 200 Cup career starts.
Coming off a disappointing 2019 Cup season, where he earned a total of six top-10 results and finished 21st in the final standings despite winning three poles, Dillon, who earned four top-10 results through the first 17 events of the 2020 season, achieved his third Cup career victory at Texas Motor Speedway in July following a late two-tire strategic pit stop and a battle with teammate Tyler Reddick. Despite being absent for the inaugural Cup event at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course due to a positive COVID-19 test in August, Dillon qualified for the Playoffs for the fourth time in his Cup career. Despite being eliminated from title contention following the second round, he went on to finish in 11th place in the final standings and cap the season with four top-five results and nine top-10 results.
This season, Dillon, who won the second of two Bluegreen Vacations Duel events at Daytona in February following a final lap, slingshot move on Bubba Wallace approaching the tri-oval, has recorded one top-five result and eight top-10 results, with his best on-track result occurring in the Daytona 500. Though he did not make the 2021 Cup Playoffs, he is currently ranked in 17th-place in the standings, the highest-ranked position for the remaining competitors whom did not make the Playoffs.
Through 299 previous Cup starts, Dillon has accumulated three career victories, six poles, 16 top-five results, 57 top-10 results, 333 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.8 with his best points result being 11th (2017 and 2020).
Dillon is primed to make his 300th Cup career start at Phoenix Raceway, host of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship event, on Sunday, November 7. The event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.
Most NASCAR Cup Series Races to Air on Broadcast Since 2009; USA Network to Debut as Cable Home to Cup Series and Xfinity Series During NBC Sports Season
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 2, 2021) – Today NASCAR, FOX Sports and NBC Sports jointly announced 2022 race start times and networks for the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series seasons.
Nineteen total NASCAR Cup Series races will air on FOX and NBC throughout the season. This marks the first time since 2009 in which more Cup Series points events will air on broadcast than cable. Ten of those will air on FOX, including the DAYTONA 500 (Sunday, Feb. 20, 2:30 p.m. ET) and eight of the next nine points events to start the season. Bristol Dirt will air in primetime (Sunday, Apr. 17, 7 p.m. ET) on Easter, while Talladega (Sunday, Apr. 24, 3 p.m. ET) and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Sunday, May 29, 6 p.m. ET) round out the races airing on broadcast during the FOX portion of the NASCAR Cup Series season.
“Working with the broadcast partners, tracks, teams and industry stakeholders, we will be able to deliver the best racing in the world to an even broader audience in 2022,” said Brian Herbst, NASCAR Senior Vice President of Media and Productions. “Based on data and fan feedback from the past several years, shifting afternoon start times back allows more of our fans – whether at home or at the track – to take in NASCAR racing on Sundays. In addition, airing the most Cup Series races on broadcast in more than a decade is consistent with our strategy of distributing our content to as many fans as possible during key moments in the season.”
The remaining nine broadcast races will air on NBC, one more than 2021, including the kickoff of the NBC Sports portion of the season when the NASCAR Cup Series visits Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday, June 26 at 5 p.m. ET. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (Sunday, July 31, 2:30 p.m. ET) and regular season-ending tilt at Daytona International Speedway (Saturday, Aug. 27, 7 p.m. ET) will be the other regular season races airing on the network. Finally, the final six playoff races will air on NBC beginning with Talladega on Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. ET and culminating with the crowning of a champion at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. ET.
Additionally, five NASCAR Xfinity Series races will air live on broadcast in 2022. FOX will be home to the high-speed action from Talladega Superspeedway (Saturday, Apr. 23, 4 p.m. ET) while NBC will carry the Xfinity Series four times, including three playoff races: the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (Saturday, July 30, 3:30 p.m. ET), the Charlotte Roval (Saturday, Oct. 8, 3 p.m. ET), Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Saturday, Oct. 15, 3 p.m. ET) and Martinsville Speedway (Saturday, Oct. 29, 3 p.m. ET).
As previously announced, USA Network will be the new home for 26 NBC Sports cable races in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2022. NASCAR will debut on USA, which is available in approximately five million more homes than NBCSN, when the Xfinity Series hits the track at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday, June 25 at 3:30 p.m. ET. The NASCAR Cup Series will make its USA Network debut on Sunday, July 3, at 3:00 p.m. ET from Road America.
All 23 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will air on FS1 in 2022, 16 of them in primetime, highlighted by the playoffs opener at new track Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis on Friday, July 29 at 9 p.m. ET and the season finale at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. ET.
Complete times and network schedules for all three national series are below. All times eastern and subject to change.
1. Kyle Larson: Larson suffered a pit road speeding penalty and finished 14th at Martinsville.
“They call Martinsville’s half-mile track the ‘Paperclip,’” Elliott said. “And it’s a ‘staple’ on the NASCAR schedule.”
“My confidence is at an all-time high. I’m going to Phoenix with the intention of taking what is rightfully mine, which is the 2021 Cup championship. I hope my confidence doesn’t come off as arrogance. The last thing I want to do is say something I’m going to regret.”
2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin was leading at Martinsville with six laps to go when Alex Bowman slid up into Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota, sending it into the wall. Hamlin finished 24th, which was still good enough to advance him to the final round.
“I tried to block Bowman’s victory burnout,” Hamlin said. “But that’s not my final revenge. If he’s gonna steal a grandfather clock from me, I’m gonna ‘take my time’ and plan an elaborate revenge scenario. He won’t know what hit him. Well, actually he will.”
3. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 16th in the Xfinity 500 and clinched a spot in the championship round.
“I actually clinched a spot after sweeping the first two stages,” Elliott said. “That has to be the first time I’ve said ‘my day is done’ with 240 laps left and I was happy about it.”
4. Joey Logano: Logano came home 10th at Martinsville, which wasn’t good enough to advance as a championship contender.
“As you would expect,” Logano said, “I feel ‘left out.’ Not necessarily left out of the playoffs, but out of these developing feuds that will almost certainly carry over into next year. I just don’t feel like myself when I’m not battling for a championship, and also don’t feel like myself when I’m not the object of hatred.”
5. Kyle Busch: Busch finished second at Martinsville, but it wasn’t enough to advance to the championship round. Busch tangled with Brad Keselowski on the final lap, and the two traded insults in interviews after the race.
“I know Brad’s going to Roush Fenway Racing next season,” Busch said, “but he’ll always be a big ‘No. 2’ in my book.”
6. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished third at Martinsville, and tangled with Kyle Busch on the final lap.
“Kyle and I talked trash back and forth after the race,” Keselowski said. “That’s pretty much what Cup Series feuds have become—drivers talking a lot of smack, but no actual smack ever occurring.”
7. Alex Bowman: Bowman spun Denny Hamlin from the lead and went on to win the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville.
“Not only did I cost Denny the win,” Bowman said, “I prevented Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski from advancing. I don’t deserve criticism; I deserve praise, for keeping two a-holes out of the championship round.”
8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex eked out a fourth-place finish at Martinsville despite a damaged car that tagged the wall on lap 471 after contact with Aric Almirola. Truex nabbed the final playoff transfer spot.
“When you put 40 cars on a half-mile track,” Truex said, “there’s bound to be 20 that don’t belong there. One of those was Aric Almirola. He put me into the wall in the car with ‘IHOP’ on it. Luckily, for him, I still advanced. I just might go to IHOP and have myself a ‘Breakfast Of Potential Champion.’ Aric can just ‘eat it.’”
9. William Byron: Byron finished fifth at Martinsville, posting his 12th top five of the season.
“It was Halloween,” Byron said, “and a lot of drivers experienced scares. But if you really want a Halloween scare at Martinsville, then ask for the ingredients list of a Martinsville hot dog.”
10. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 11th at Martinsville and failed to advance in the playoffs.
“Penske Racing won’t have a car in the Final 4,” Blaney said. “That’s sad, but I expect a Penske car will have an ‘impact’ on the championship round, probably when Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch continue their feud at Phoenix and take out a championship driver.”
The conclusion of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, October 31, saw several competitors left with wrecked race cars and some expressing ill feelings towards others. Among those included several Playoff contenders fighting to remain in contention for the Championship 4 finale and the race winner, who had nothing to lose.
In the midst of the carnage and late chaos, Alex Bowman rallied from a late dust-up with Denny Hamlin to hold off Kyle Busch and claim his first triumph at Martinsville. The Tucson, Arizona, native served as the spoiler on a day where the Championship 4 field was set for next weekend’s finale at Phoenix Raceway.
The starting lineup was based on a performance metric formula, weighing the driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup event, the owner points position and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, Kyle Larson, winner of the last three Cup scheduled events in the Playoffs, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Chase Elliott, Larson’s teammate and the reigning Cup Series champion.
Prior to the event, Denny Hamlin, one of the remaining eight Playoff contenders who was scheduled to start in third place, dropped to the rear of the field after his No. 11 FedEx Toyota failed pre-race inspection twice.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Larson, who started on the outside lane, jumped ahead with an early advantage and cleared teammate Elliott for the top spot through the first two turns. As he led the first lap, Truex also moved up to second, dropping Elliott to third in front of Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch.
Through the first 10 laps of the event, Larson’s No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was out in front by eight-tenths of a second over Truex’s No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry while Elliott, Keselowski and Logano were in the top five. Kyle Busch was in sixth followed by Logano, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell and Kevin Harvick. By then, Hamlin was in 29th behind Ryan Newman.
Ten laps later, Larson, who started to encounter lapped traffic, extended his advantage to more than a second over Truex, who had Elliott pressuring him for the runner-up spot. Playoff contenders Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Logano and Blaney were all still in the top 10 while Hamlin was preparing to move into the top 25.
Another 10 laps later, Larson continued to lead by more than a second over Truex and Elliott. With seven of the eight remaining Playoff contenders running first through seventh, Hamlin was mired in 25th behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto.
By Lap 40, Larson was in heavy traffic despite leading by more than a second. Meanwhile, teammate Elliott overtook Truex for second place while Hamlin was still mired outside the top 20 in 23rd behind Cole Custer and within Larson’s sights of being lapped.
Through the first 50 laps of the event, Larson had his advantage decreased to less than half a second amid lapped traffic and with teammate Elliott catching him. While Truex, Keselowski and Kyle Busch were in the top five, Hamlin was in 21st behind Erik Jones. Logano was in sixth and teammate Blaney was in ninth.
Six laps later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the lead after overtaking teammate Larson through Turns 3 and 4.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 60, Elliott retained the lead ahead of teammate Larson and Truex while Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Logano, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Blaney and Austin Dillon were in the top 10. By then, Hamlin, who remained on the lead lap, was in 20th behind Erik Jones. In addition, only 22 of 38 competitors were on the lead lap.
Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Larson reassumed the lead after exiting his pit stall in first place ahead of teammate Elliott, Truex, Keselowski, Logano and Kyle Busch. Following the pit stops, Hamlin was penalized for speeding on pit road and sent to the rear of the field once again.
Seven laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson received another strong start on the outside lane to retain the lead through the first two turns and coming back to the start/finish line. Behind, Elliott battled Keselowski for second while Truex battled Byron for fourth. Soon after, Elliott cleared the field to retain second while Truex went to work on Keselowski for third. The following lap, Truex cleared Keselowski to retain third while Logano challenged Byron for fifth.
Just past the Lap 70 mark, the caution returned when Daniel Suarez made contact with Ryan Newman, sending Newman spinning in Turn 4 as he collected Michael McDowell while Hamlin carved his way through the incident.
On Lap 76, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson again rocketed ahead with a strong start on the outside lane before moving back to the inside lane. Behind, Elliott retained second while Truex challenged Keselowski for third.
A few laps later, Keselowski dropped to fifth as Truex and William Byron moved up the leaderboard. While Kyle Busch and Blaney were in eighth and ninth, Hamlin was in 21st behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
On Lap 85, Elliott returned to the lead after overtaking teammate Larson for the top spot.
By Lap 90, Elliott was leading by eight-tenths of a second over teammate Larson while Truex, Byron and Keselowski remained in the top five. Kyle Busch, Logano and Blaney were in sixth, seventh and eighth while Hamlin was in 20th behind Erik Jones.
A few laps later, Blaney made contact with Austin Dillon entering the frontstretch and while battling in the top 10, which resulted with the left-rear fender of Blaney’s No. 12 Menards/Richmond Ford Mustang sustaining cosmetic damage near the fuel cell.
Through the first 100 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over teammate Larson while Truex, Byron and Keselowski were in the top five. Kyle Busch and Logano were in sixth and seventh while Blaney, who was struggling with he left-rear damage, was back in 11th behind Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell. Meanwhile, Hamlin was in 16th behind Kevin Harvick, Bubba Wallace and Stenhouse.
Twenty laps later, Elliott, who was surrounded in lapped traffic, continued to lead by half a second over teammate Larson while Truex, Byron, Keselowski and Kyle Busch were in the top six. Logano was in eighth, Blaney was in 12th and Hamlin was in 14th behind Harvick.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 130, Elliott claimed his fifth stage victory of the season. Teammate Larson settled in second followed by Truex, Byron, Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Bowman, Logano and Aric Almirola. Blaney was in 12th behind Bell and Hamlin remained in 14th behind Harvick.
Under the stage break, the leaders returned to pit road and upon exiting the pits, Larson reassumed the lead followed by teammate Elliott, Truex, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Byron. However, early disaster struck for Larson, who was busted for speeding on pit road and sent to the rear of the field.
The second stage started on Lap 140 as Elliott and Truex occupied the front row. At the start, Elliott retained the lead over Truex through the first two turns as Kyle Busch battled Keselowski for third.
A few laps later, Keselowski, who was mired on the outside lane, settled in sixth in between Bell and teammate Logano as Elliott led a long single-file line around the circuit.
By Lap 150, Elliott continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Truex while Kyle Busch, Byron and Bell were in the top five. Keselowski settled in sixth ahead of Bowman, Logano, Harvick and Almirola. Behind, Hamlin was in 11th in front of Bubba Wallace, Blaney was in 18th in between Tyler Reddick and rookie Chase Briscoe, and Larson was in 21st behind Austin Dillon.
Ten laps later, Elliott stabilized his advantage to seven-tenths of a second over Truex while Byron was up in third. By then, Hamlin cracked the top 10 in 10th while Logano was back in 12th. In addition, Larson was back up in the top 20 while Blaney was still mired in 18th.
Another 15 laps later, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over Truex while Byron, Bowman and Kyle Busch were in the top five. Keselowski was in seventh, Hamlin was up in ninth, Logano was back in 13th, Larson was in 15th and Blaney was back in 19th.
Nearing the Lap 200 mark, the caution flew due to an incident involving Austin Dillon in Turn 2, where Dillon lost a right-front tire and smacked the outside wall. At the time of caution, Blaney, who was 19th, was just able to remain ahead of the race leader Elliott and on the lead lap.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Truex emerged with the lead after exiting the pits in first followed by Elliott, Byron, Bowman and Kyle Busch. Following the event, Tyler Reddick was penalized for speeding on pit road.
When the race restarted on Lap 202, Truex briefly retained the lead through the first two turns until Elliott fought back entering Turn 3 on the outside lane. After remaining dead even through the frontstretch, past the start/finish line and entering the first turn, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Chevrolet back to the lead through the backstretch on Lap 205.
With Elliott leading, Truex retained second ahead of Byron while Kyle Busch was in fourth ahead of Bowman, Bell and Keselowski. Hamlin and Larson were in eighth and ninth while Logano was falling back in 17th ahead of teammate Blaney.
By Lap 225, Elliott was leading by more than a second over teammate Byron while Truex, Bowman and Kyle Busch were in the top five. Bell, Hamlin, Keselowski, Almirola and Larson were in the top 10 while Team Penske’s Blaney and Logano were mired back in 17th and 18th.
Fifteen laps later, three Hendrick Motorsports competitors (Elliott, Bowman and Byron) were leading three Joe Gibbs Racing competitors (Truex, Bell and Hamlin). Keselowski and Larson were in ninth and 11th, Kyle Busch was in eighth behind Aric Almiorla, Blaney was in 14th behind Chris Buescher and Logano was still mired in 18th behind Bubba Wallace and Erik Jones.
At the halfway mark on Lap 250, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Bowman while third-place Byron trailed by more less than two seconds. Truex retained fourth while Hamlin cracked the top five in fifth ahead of teammate Bell. Almirola, Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Kurt Busch were in the top 10 while Larson, Blaney and Logano were in 11th, 14th and 18th.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 260, Elliott, who was mired in lapped traffic, captured his sixth stage victory of the season. Teammates Bowman and Byron settled in second and third followed by Truex and Hamlin while Bell, Almirola, Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch rounded out the top 10. Larson ended up 11th, Blaney was in 13th and Logano was mired in 18th. By then, half of the 38 starters were scored on the lead lap.
By virtue of capturing both stage victories of the event and accumulating maximum stage points, Elliott became the second competitor to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 round alongside teammate Larson as he will receive an opportunity to defend his series championship.
Following both stages, teammates Hamlin and Truex were scored inside the top-four cutline to transfer to the Championship 4 finale while Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Blaney and Logano were scored outside the cutline.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Elliott, Bowman, Hamlin, Almirola, Byron and Truex. Following the pit stops, Kyle Busch was sent to the rear of the field for speeding on pit road.
With 231 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Elliott managed to clear teammate Bowman on the outside lane to retain the lead. Behind, Bowman retained second while Hamlin battled Almirola for third. Behind, Truex battled Larson for sixth as Hamlin took over third ahead of Almirola and Byron.
Ten laps later, Elliott was leading by more than a second over Hamlin, who overtook Bowman for the runner-up spot. Byron and Almirola were in the top five followed by Truex, Bell, Larson, Kurt Busch and Keselowski. Blaney was in 11th behind teammate Keselowski, Logano was in 17th and Kyle Busch was mired back in 20th behind Reddick. By then, Justin Haley pitted under green after experiencing a major left-rear tire rub.
Another 10 laps later, Elliott continued to lead while teammates Bowman and Byron moved up to second and third, dropping Hamlin to fourth.
Down to the final 200 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by nearly two seconds over teammate Bowman while third-place Byron trailed by more than three seconds. Hamlin remained in fourth ahead of Almirola followed by Truex and Larson while Bell, Blaney and Kurt Busch were in the top 10. Keselowski was in 11th, teammate Logano was in 15th and Kyle Busch was in 19th.
Ten laps later, the caution returned when Michael McDowell made contact with Corey LaJoie entering Turn 3, which resulted with LaJoie getting into Josh Bilicki and sending Bilicki sideways and into the outside wall.
Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Elliott, Hamlin, Bowman, Byron, Truex and Almirola. Following the pit stops, Wallace was penalized for speeding on pit road.
With 181 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott rocketed away with the lead on the inside lane while Hamlin spun the tires on the topside lane as he was hit in the rear by Byron’s No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
While Elliott retained the lead, Bowman also remained in second while Hamlin battled Truex for third. Shortly after, the caution flew due to an incident in Turn 3 involving Bilicki and Quin Houff, who made contact into the outside wall after being bumped by Bilicki. Following the incident, Houff retaliated by turning Bilicki in the backstretch. As a result, Houff was held five seconds in his pit stall as a penalty.
With 171 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane over teammate Bowman while Hamlin stabilized himself in third ahead of teammate Truex and Byron. Behind, Almirola was in sixth while Larson battled with Bell for seventh.
Under the final 170 laps of the event, more issues came for Blaney, who was inside the top 15 but experiencing a left-rear tire rub near his damaged spot.
With 161 laps remaining, the caution returned when Newman, Cole Custer and Ross Chastain made contact entering Turn 2, which resulted with Newman getting sideways, clipping Chastain and making contact into the outside wall while Chastain went up the track in Turn 3 with a flat right-front tire and damage to the right side of his No. 42 Clover Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. As Chastain was trying to continue, Newman bumped into the side of Chastain’s car to express his displeasure for the contact.
Under caution, the leaders led by Elliott pitted while Joey Logano remained on the track.
With 155 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Logano, faced in a “must-win” situation to retain his title hopes, retained the lead through the backstretch ahead of Elliott. Behind, Bowman was in third while teammate Larson challenged Truex for fourth.
Six laps remaining, Elliott, racing on four fresh tires, reassumed the lead. Not long after, teammates Bowman and Larson methodically overtook Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang for second and third as Truex then issued a challenge on Logano.
With 142 laps remaining, the caution flew when Cole Custer spun in Turn 4. During the caution period, Truex radioed concerns about his car pushing water despite continuing in fourth.
Four laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Elliott aced the launch with a strong start on the outside lane, where he was pursued by Bowman, Truex and Larson. Behind, Byron moved into fifth while Hamlin challenged Logano for sixth.
With 122 laps remaining, the caution returned when Daniel Suarez spun in Turn 2.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Elliott exited as the leader followed by Truex, Hamlin, Byron, Logano and Kyle Busch. Following the pit stops, Larson was nabbed with his second pit road speeding penalty of the day. In addition, Matt DiBenedetto was being held a lap for pitting outside his pit box.
Back on the track, Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick remained on the track along with Custer while Elliott, the first competitor on four fresh tires, were in fourth.
With 116 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Austin Dillon briefly retained the lead for a full lap under green before Truex, who was ready to go on the restart and drew himself alongside Dillon, made his way into the lead the following lap. Behind, Hamlin made his way into the runner-up spot over Dillon while Elliott was mired in sixth behind Reddick and Logano.
With 111 laps remaining, Hamlin, following his eventful drive to the front all race long, emerged with the lead.
A few laps later, Elliott made contact with Logano in Turn 1, where he nearly turned Logano before he took over the fourth spot. Meanwhile, Hamlin continued to lead ahead of teammate Truex and Austin Dillon.
Down to the final 100 laps of the event and with the field scrambling around the track, Hamlin was leading by half a second over teammate Truex while Elliott, Austin Dillon and Bowman were in the top five. Logano was in sixth while Kyle Busch, Keselowski and Byron battled for positions. Blaney was in 16th while Larson was in 21st.
Ten laps later, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to half a second over teammate Truex while third-place Elliott continued to trail by more than a second. Logano, Keselowski and Kyle Busch remained in the top 10 while Blaney and Larson remained inside the top 20.
Another 15 laps later, Hamlin continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Truex. Bowman was up in third ahead of teammate Elliott while Keselowski, currently situated on the outside of the top-four cutline, was in fifth. Austin Dillon continued to ride strong in sixth while Logano, Byron, Almirola and Bell were in the top 10. Kyle Busch, who continued to deal with handling issues to his No. 18 M&M’s Halloween Toyota Camry, was in 11th ahead of brother Kurt while Blaney and Larson were in 15th and 16th.
With 64 laps remaining, the caution flew when Austin Dillon blew a right-front tire and made contact with the Turn 2 outside wall for a second time.
Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Hamlin exited with the lead followed by Bowman, Elliott, Truex and Keselowski.
With less than 60 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin retained the lead ahead of Bowman. While Elliott was in third, Truex was in fourth ahead of Byron and Keselowski.
Shortly after, Bowman issued a challenge on Hamlin for the lead. Despite Bowman’s efforts in overtaking Hamlin for the lead, Hamlin retained the lead. Behind, Keselowski, now within striking distance of making the top-four cutline to the finale, was mired in fourth and aggressively racing against Elliott for more. Meanwhile, Truex slipped to sixth in front of teammate Kyle Busch as he started to experience a left-front tire rub to his car.
With 46 laps remaining, the caution flew when Keselowski ran into the side of Elliott as Elliott spun in Turn 3, though he continued and pitted to have the damage repaired on his car. The incident occurred as both Cup champions were repeatedly battling for third place, with Keselowski wasting no time making his way to the front.
Six laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin retained the top spot ahead of Bowman and Keselowski. Not long after, the caution returned when Stenhouse spun in Turn 4 beneath Larson while Wallace sustained heavy damage to the front nose of his No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry after running into the rear of Elliott’s car.
Down to the final 34 laps of the event, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin rocketed away with another strong start while Keselowski battled Bowman for the runner-up spot.
Soon after, Truex, who was running behind Keselowski and Bowman with both making contact and resulting with Bowman getting a left-front tire rub, began to challenge both for second place. He attempted to make a three-wide move on both, but backed out and lost time and a handful of spots outside of the top five.
Then, Almirola made contact with Truex while battling him for sixth in Turn 1, which sent Truex wide. As Truex was trying to come back down to his rhythm, Kurt Busch made contact into him as Truex smacked the outside wall and lost more spots on the track. Soon after, the caution returned when Ryan Preece spun in Turn 2. By then, Truex was scored outside of the top-four cutline along with Keselowski while Kyle Busch found himself inside the cutline by a single point.
With 23 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Hamlin received another strong start on the inside lane to retain the lead while Bowman overtook Keselowski for second. The following lap, Bowman made his way into the lead. Hamlin, however, fought back in Turn 1 and bumped into Bowman to reassume the lead.
Behind Hamlin, Kyle Busch challenged Bowman for second along with Keselowski and Byron. Truex, meanwhile, was in 10th.
With 15 laps remaining, Hamlin continued to lead by a narrow margin over Bowman while Kyle Busch was trying to fend off Keselowski and Byron for third. Truex was in eighth, Logano was in 10th and Blaney was in 12th.
A few laps later, Bowman issued another side-by-side challenge for the lead against Hamlin, but he was unable to seal the deal as Hamlin retained the lead.
Down to the final 10 laps, Hamlin continued to lead by a narrow margin over Bowman. Kyle Busch and Keselowski were in third and fourth while Truex was in eighth while challenging Kurt Busch for a position. Once Truex overtook Kurt Busch for seventh, he moved back into the cutline by a single point over Kyle Busch with Keselowski trailing by six.
Then, the caution returned three laps later when Bowman, following his late intense, repetitive battle with Hamlin, made contact into Hamlin, sending Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota spinning into the Turn 3 outside wall, though Hamlin continued with little left-rear damage. The incident now placed Hamlin, who pitted for repairs, within the bubble zone of remaining inside the top-four cutline.
With the race sent into overtime, Bowman and Kyle Busch occupied the front row ahead of Keselowski and Truex. At the start, Bowman was able to retain the lead ahead of Kyle Busch, Keselowski and the field.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Bowman was still ahead by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Kyle Busch, who had to win to keep his title hopes alive. While Busch tried to establish a final lap effort, he could not close in to the rear bumper of Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet as Bowman continued to lead through Turn 3. Finally, through Turn 4 and while Busch had to maintain second ahead of Keselowski, Bowman was able to come back around and claim the checkered flag following an eventful turn of events.
The victory at Martinsville was Bowman’s fourth of the season and the sixth of his Cup career despite having his title hopes evaporated following the Round of 12. Bowman’s win was enough for Chevrolet to achieve its 40th Cup manufacturer’s title and first since 2015.
While trying to celebrate on the frontstretch, however, Bowman could not escape controversy as Hamlin, who ended the race in 24th place, pulled his car alongside Bowman’s. While Bowman attempted to pull away and tried to celebrate by looping the car around, Hamlin immediately pulled his car in front of Bowman’s and smoked his tires while pushing against Bowman’s and giving him two obscene gestures before he drove away under orders from his crew. Once Hamlin was gone, Bowman saluted the fans, who greeted him with a chorus of cheers, and claimed the checkered flag.
“I just got loose in,” Bowman said on NBC. “I got in too deep, knocked [Hamlin] out of the way and literally, let him have the lead back. For anybody who wants to think that I was trying to crash him, that obviously wasn’t the case, considering I literally gave up the lead at Martinsville to give it back to him. He’s been on the other side of that. He’s crashed guys here for wins. I hate doing it. Obviously, I don’t want to crash somebody. I just got in, got loose underneath him and spun him out. Regardless, we get a freakin’ Grandfather Clock. It’s pretty special. I’ve struggled here for a long time. I was trying to get the flag, do a backwards victory lap. Obviously, like I said, [I] hate we wrecked [Hamlin], but man, how about that for Chevrolet and Ally and everybody on this No. 48 team. The No. 48 car’s won here a bunch. It’s cool to do it again…Part of short track racing.”
Despite the incident, Hamlin’s 24th-place result was enough for him to earn a spot in the Championship 4 finale, where he will contend for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship. Hamlin, however, did not mince his words or ill feelings to Bowman following the incident and missing an opportunity of winning at his home track.
“[Bowman]’s just a hack,” Hamlin, who received a chorus of boos from the crowd, said. “He’s just an absolute hack. He gets his [expletive] kicked by his teammates every week. He’s [expletive] terrible, just terrible. He sees one opportunity and he takes it. Obviously, he’s got the fastest car every week and he runs 10th. He didn’t want to race us there. We had a good clean race. I moved up as high as I could on the racetrack to give him all the room I could and he still can’t drive. We got in [the Playoffs]. We did what we had to do, but I just wanted to race there at the end. He’s just terrible.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
Behind Bowman, Kyle Busch claimed second over Keselowski just before Keselowski, who made contact with Busch prior to the finish line, turned Busch in Turn 1 after the checkered flag. Truex held on for fourth place over Byron and was able to claim the fourth and final transfer spot to the Championship 4 finale by three points, where he will contend for his second Cup title. Busch and Keselowski, however, were eliminated from the Playoffs.
“The Auto-Owners Toyota Camry was good, first of all,” Truex said. “We had a solid day. We weren’t the winning car, but we were a third- or fourth-place car all day long and that’s where we ran. Everything’s going smooth and then, [Keselowski] and [Kyle Busch] came up there at the front kind of out of nowhere. I got some damage running side-by-side with [Keselowski], fell back and then, [Almirola] stuffed me three wide or whatever out of the groove down there in Turn 1 and 2 and then, the marbles and then, [Kurt Busch] come by and clip my left front, drove me into the fence off of [Turn] 2. I was like, ‘Oh damn, we’re in big trouble here.’ Then, [the crew] say we’re out. Just dig deep, fight back and do all we could do after that. [I] Got a little break after that last restart. A bunch of guys went to the bottom [lane] and I’d seen the hole up there and I was like, ‘I gotta go for it.’ That worked out for us. Just thanks to everybody that helps us all year long to get to this point, everybody at the shop…Hopefully, we can go to Phoenix next week and make [my partners] proud. We’re excited. That’s what we do this for. All these guys work so hard all week and all year long to have this opportunity. It’s a dream come true for me. I love racing with these guys. I love having this opportunity. We’ve had it before. We won one [championship] and lost a few really, really close. We’ll see what we can do. We had a great race at Phoenix in the spring and learned a lot about that racetrack. Hopefully, we can duplicate it.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
“We just missed last week [at Kansas Speedway],” Kyle Busch said. “That’s where we lost all the ground. Couldn’t come in here with 15 more points and we would’ve been fine on the cut, but it just wasn’t it and wasn’t meant to be. Obviously, it was Truex’s day. We had a Hail Mary opportunity there at the end and just didn’t materialize. All in all, just proud of the effort, for sure. We swung everything and anything at this thing today, and just couldn’t really make it come alive. Great effort. That was there, for sure. We just got to get better, with everybody included, the whole team, in order to be able to go race with the best and race for a championship, and we’re not gonna do that this year. Anytime you go into a season with Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing, this No. 18 M&M’s team, myself, you expect to be in contention and eligible [for the championship]. Anything other than that is a failure. I guess you get an F.”
“Well, at the start of the race, we were OK, and then, we got really tight in the middle of the race, finally got it freed up and the car started rolling,” Keselowski, who missed the cutline by eight points, said. “At the end, it was just super free. I was so loose. I got underneath [Elliott], got loose and spun him out, just all I could do to hold on to the car. We got it better and put ourselves in position. Just wasn’t quite strong enough there at the end. Disappointing. All in all, we gave it a great run here. Wished I could have last week at Kansas back, that’s for sure. I felt like I left the eight points that we were short there with some mistakes I made. All in all, proud of our team, proud of the effort that everybody put in. Disappointed for Team Penske to not get through to the final round, but we gave it our best. Frustrating day…Super proud of everything we’ve done together.”
Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. have made the Championship 4 round and will contend for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship. Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano have been eliminated from title contention.
“We’re moving on,” Elliott, who finished 16th, said. “That’s all that matters. I had a really fast NAPA Chevy early. I made a couple of mistakes and think led us down the wrong path for those last couple runs, unfortunately. The pace was certainly in the car. Great day for Hendrick Motorsports. Got two cars going into Phoenix and Alex getting the win. Wished we could’ve won it. I hate to be so fast all day and it not work out, but obviously, next week is what matters. That’s where our heads are at. Excited to get out there and have another shot at it…Really proud of this group to make it for a second consecutive year and being amongst those four cars is a big deal. Very excited to have a shot. I think we can run with the best of them and we’re looking forward to the opportunity.”
“Just a really bad job executing on my part,” Larson, who finished 14th, said. “Just way too aggressive on pit road, but me being locked in to the next round, I could be a little more aggressive. Just too aggressive too many times. My car was pretty decent the first half and I started getting tight in the middle. We adjusted on it. Then, I sped [on pit road] again and I was just stuck in traffic. [I] Knew I wasn’t gonna have a shot to win, so I was just trying not to piss anybody off. Came away with 14th. We’ll go on to Phoenix and try to get a championship.”
“From the get-go, we were struggling to get [the car] turning to two-thirds,” Logano, who finished 10th, said. “We raised the track bar and that made it loose everywhere except where I wanted it to turn. Put that back, tried something else and got at least closer, but all we’re doing is compromising at that point. We weren’t good enough. We didn’t get in, wasn’t close enough, didn’t fire off as fast enough. Now, we’ll got to Phoenix and try to finish as high as we can with the Shell/Pennzoil Mustang and this team. We fought hard this season. We just weren’t fast enough. We’ll fire away next week.”
“Overall, we just kind of missed it,” Blaney, who finished 11th, added. “We weren’t really great from the get-go. Worked hard on it all day. Had one run, I thought, we’d kind of got where we needed to be, drove up to eighth or seventh. I was like, ‘Alright, we got something now we can really work on.’ We made a change. The next run, we were back to where we were…Just wasn’t really the right combination today. Stinks, but appreciate everybody on the No. 12 group for working on it all night. It was wild out there, that’s for sure. Stinks we’re not gonna race for a championship at Phoenix, but I appreciate all the hard work this year…Still got one more race. Hopefully, we can go have a good run and maybe, get [crew chief] Todd [Gordon] one more win before he hangs it up.”
Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch, Erik Jones, Chris Buescher and Logano completed the top 10 on the track at Martinsville.
There were 15 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured 15 cautions for 91 laps.
With the Championship 4 field set, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to conclude next weekend at Phoenix Raceway. The finale is scheduled to occur on Sunday, November 7, at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, where a champion will be crowned.
NASCAR heads to Martinsville Speedway this weekend for the final races of the regular season. At the conclusion of each race, the Championship 4 field will be set for each series. Kyle Larson is the only NASCAR Cup Series driver who has already clinched a position in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
None of the Xfinity Series or Camping World Truck Series drivers have secured a place in the 4-driver championship field.
Season Race #: 35 of 36 (10-31-21) Track Size: 0.526-mile Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 12 degrees Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 12 degrees Banking/Frontstretch: 0 degrees Banking/Backstretch: 0 degrees Frontstretch Length: 800 feet Backstretch Length: 800 feet Race Length: 500 laps / 263 miles Stage 1 & 2 Length: 130 laps (each) Final Stage Length: 240 laps
Martinsville Speedway Qualifying Data:
Track Qualifying Record: Joey Logano, Team Penske Ford (100.201 mph, 18.898 secs.) on March 28, 2014. 2020 Playoff Race Pole Winner: Metric Qualifying – Brad Keselowski started from the first position.
Kurt Busch leads the series in starts among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway with 42; followed by Kevin Harvick (40) and Ryan Newman (39).
Joey Logano leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series with an average starting position at Martinsville Speedway at 7.640 in 25 starts.
Joey Logano leads the series among active drivers with the most poles at Martinsville Speedway with five (2015 sweep, spring 2016, fall 2017, spring 2019).
A total of 11 different manufacturers have won at least one NASCAR Cup Series pole at Martinsville and Chevrolet leads the series in poles with 53; followed by Ford with 35 and Toyota with six.
Martinsville Speedway Race Data:
Track Race Record: Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (82.223 mph, 3:11:55) on September 22, 2006. 2020 Playoff Race Winner: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (71.581 mph, 03:40:27) on November 1, 2020.
Denny Hamlin leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway with five victories (2008, 2009, 2010 sweep, 2015).
Martin Truex Jr. is the most recent driver to win consecutive races at Martinsville (2019 Playoff race / spring of 2020).
21 of the 141 NASCAR Cup Series races (14.89%) at Martinsville Speedway have been won from the pole or first starting position, making it the most proficient starting spot in the field at Martinsville Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series, producing more wins than any other starting position.
The deepest in the field that a race winner has started is 36th, by Kurt Busch in the fall of 2002.
A total of 11 manufacturers have won in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway; led by Chevrolet with 57 victories, followed by Ford (30), Plymouth (12), Dodge (10), Toyota (10), Oldsmobile (8), Pontiac (8), Buick (3), Chrysler (3), Hudson (2) and Mercury (2).
Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Martinsville Speedway with 25 victories.
Martin Truex Jr. favored to end Kyle Larson’s winning streak
Truex Jr. is given +450 odds to win the Xfinity 500. That’s an implied 18.2% chance. He’s followed closely by Kyle Larson, who sits at +500 or an implied 16.7%. Oddsmakers see this as an exceedingly tight race, with 8 drives given +900 odds to better to win.
1. Kyle Larson: Larson won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, winning his third consecutive race.
“I’m looking forward to a nice, leisurely drive at Martinsville,” Larson said. “On my bicycle, on Saturday.”
2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fifth at Kansas and heads to Martinsville in third place in the playoff standings.
“Martinsville is my home track,” Hamlin said, “so I’m going there with the goal to both bring it home and send home four drivers.”
3. Chase Elliott: Elliott tried to chase down Kyle Larson late at Kansas, but couldn’t get close after hitting the wall. Elliott finished second and is second in the playoff standings.
“We’ve all been chasing Kyle this year,” Elliott said. “And we’re all hitting walls, both literally and figuratively. If Kyle wins at Martinsville and then doesn’t win at Phoenix, I bet he’ll be extremely mad, or, in other words, ‘huge upset.’”
4. Ryan Blaney: Blaney was wrecked when Austin Dillon made contact with 44 laps remaining at Kansas. Blaney finished 37th and is fifth in the point standings.
“I’m not sure what Dillon was thinking,” Blaney said. “I’m not even sure if he was thinking. Is there any point in getting revenge on a non-playoff driver? I mean, what does Dillon have to lose, except pretty much every race he enters?”
5. Joey Logano: Logano finished ninth at Kansas and likely needs a win at Martinsville to advance to the championship round.
“I like my chances to win at Martinsville,” Logano said. “I like my chances even more if I can get a signed affidavit verifying that Matt Kenseth won’t be there.”
6. Kyle Busch: Busch hit the wall twice at Kansas and limped to a 28th-place finish. He is fourth in the playoff standings.
“I did a lot of yelling over my team radio,” Busch said. “I know it’s not cool, but I’m trying to work on my attitude. In short, I need to temper my tantrums.”
7. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished third in the Hollywood Casino 400.
“Nothing would have made me happier,” Harvick said, “than to tap Chase Elliott’s bumper three times, knock him out of the race, and say ‘You’re not in Kansas anymore.’
8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished seventh in the Hollywood Casino 400.
“We’re going to need a big day at Martinsville,” Truex said. “With massive amounts of pressure on me, it’s up to me to drive my best and produce. So, I’m gonna have to come through not only in the clutch but also in the brake and gas pedals.”
9. William Byron: Byron finished sixth at Kansas.
“I’m not in the playoffs,” Byron said, “but I can only imagine the pressure and anxiety playoff drivers are going to feel at Martinsville. Their stomachs are going to be in knots. If fans want to experience that same feeling, they can eat a Martinsville hot dog.”
10. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski struggled at Kansas, finishing a lap down in 17th. He is seventh in the playoff standings.
“Martinsville is going to be a madhouse,” Keselowski said. “I predict wrecks, fights, and feuding. It’s going to be hell on the drivers, but the fans should absolutely love it. I think the state of Virginia should change its motto to ‘Virginia is for lovers of chaos.’”
With only one race remaining before the NASCAR Cup Series 2021 champion is crowned at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 7, Kyle Larson is the only driver in the Playoffs who has secured a spot in the championship finale.
As the series travels to Martinsville Speedway next week, the competition will be fierce with everything on the line for the remaining seven drivers in contention for the title.
Here’s what the Playoff drivers had to say following Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway.
Kyle Larson – Hendrick Motorsports:
Larson has nine victories this season. He has won three races in a row, twice, including the first two playoff races in the Round of 8 at Texas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. He is the only driver currently guaranteed a spot in the Championship 4. After the race, Larson spoke about the significance of the win today at Kansas as he dedicated it to the 10 lives lost in 2004 in a plane crash near Martinsville, Virginia. The victims lost included Rick Hendrick’s son Ricky and his brother, John.
“Yes, I want to dedicate this win to Rick and Linda (Hendrick). I didn’t ever get to meet Ricky (Hendrick) or the other men and women who lost their lives that day, but I felt the importance of this race, no doubt. It’s crazy how it kind of all worked out there for me to win. I know they were all looking down and helping me out there with all the restarts and stuff after getting into the wall. Again, thank you to Rick Hendrick. I know this means a lot to you and I’m glad I could get it done.
“It’s cool to get another win and I don’t really know how that happened but, our HendrickCars.com Chevy was really fast. I thought we were like a third-place car, really. William (Byron) was really good. I hate to see that unfortunate luck there again for that team. They’ve been really, really strong. I’m glad we could capitalize and get another win. I hope we can go to Martinsville and get a clock.”
Chase Elliott – Hendrick Motorsports:
Elliott finished second in the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas and is second in the Playoff standings entering the last race in the Round of 8 at Martinsville Speedway next weekend. He has two wins this year and six runner-up finishes including a second-place finish at Martinsville in April.
Although he appears to be in position to make the cut for the Championship 4, with a cushion of +34 points, Elliott is taking nothing for granted.
“I don’t know if it allows you to do much of anything now. As you saw today, I am not sure that any amount of points is safe. I think anyone in this Round can win next week. So, we are really going to have to be on it, but looking forward to the opportunity and excited for the challenge.”
Denny Hamlin – Joe Gibbs Racing:
Hamlin drove his No. 11 Toyota for a fifth-place finish at Kansas. Since the Playoffs began, his consistency has been a key factor, capturing wins at Darlington Raceway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He has only finished outside the top ten once with 11th place at Texas, five top-fives and three top-10s. Heading to Martinsville, he is third in the standings with a 32-point buffer.
After the race, he emphasized the importance of minimizing mistakes, earning stage points and finding some extra speed as the team prepares for the next race at Martinsville.
“Just tried to optimize our day, that’s really all we could do. The second half we were much, much better, but by then it’s just so hard to pass. Decent day overall. The FedEx Camry was okay, we optimized. We didn’t make a whole lot of mistakes and we really swung a whole lot of things at it to try to make it better, but fourth or fifth is about where we were at.
“A nice, solid day next week will be okay. You just never know what can happen. Just need to make sure I get some stage points and don’t give it away early and I think we’ll be alright. “We just don’t have the speed. We’re just off on the 550 tracks. We have too much drag and not enough downforce. We’ve had these bodies on these Camrys for a really long time and it doesn’t do what we want it to do on the 550s.”
Kyle Busch – Joe Gibbs Racing:
Busch and the team head to Martinsville in a precarious position, up by only 1 point in the standings after finishing 28th today at Kansas as he struggled with the handling of his Toyota. With only two top-fives since the Playoffs began, it’s been an uphill battle.
He spoke about his finish today, saying, “I was expecting much worse. Still a shot, it’s just going to be tough. Just going to be a hard-fought dog fight for that final spot.” When asked about his strategy for next week at Martinsville and if he would have to go for a win, Busch was non-committal.
“I wouldn’t say that. I don’t know, I haven’t seen what it looks like. Third to seventh looks pretty tight I guess so there’s still a race. It’s going to come down to points. If there’s a winner from below us, so we’re going to have to beat them.”
While all eyes will be on the top four contenders, there are four more drivers who will be fighting for those spots. Win and they’re in. Ryan Blaney (-1), Martin Truex Jr. (-3), Brad Keselowski (-6) and Joey Logano (-26) will each hope to play the spoiler as they attempt to pull off the upset for their shot at the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series title.
Ryan Blaney – Team Penske:
Blaney has two runner-up finishes at Martinsville in 2020 and is hoping to make up the points he lost at Kansas when he was hit by Austin Dillon and sent into the wall, ending his day early.
He was frustrated after the race and said, “Obviously it hurts. Finishing 37th is not prime. We didn’t have a great day but we did a good job of fighting back and getting back into the top-10 but then just got wiped out when we had plenty of room.”
Martin Truex Jr. – Joe Gibbs Racing
Truex won at Martinsville earlier this year in April and is looking for a repeat next week.
“I feel good about that. We’re going to have a good starting position now and good pit selection. The place has been good to us. If we can get up there and win a couple stages and battle for the win, I think we’ll be able to get ourselves in. We’ll wait and see how it goes; you never know how these things are going to play out. Excited for the opportunity and thankful for everybody for all their hard work.”
Brad Keselowski – Team Penske:
Keselowski had a disappointing day as he finished 17th at Kansas but is hopeful that he can make the cut at Martinsville.
“That was a heck of a race. We are all just fighting to hard. I am bummed I didn’t get more out of it. I had a heck of an opportunity to score a lot of points and make next week easy. We still aren’t in a bad spot but not as good as spot as we could be.”
Joey Logano – Team Penske:
Logano made up some points today with a ninth-place finish but is concerned that it may not be enough.
“It is pretty far out still. All things considered, it isn’t just that it is 20-something points out, but I am still eighth. I have three or four cars in front of me that I have to get in front of, assuming there isn’t a different winner. It is still pretty much a must-win situation. It would be far-fetched for it to happen. But hey, look at today. Maybe it could happen.”
