NASCAR travels to Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the Playoffs continue after an exciting weekend at Bristol where four drivers in the Cup Series were eliminated from championship contention.
It will be the first race in the Cup Series Round of 12.
The Xfinity Series will begin its Playoffs at Las Vegas as 12 drivers compete for the title. The post-season title contenders include AJ Allmendinger, the Xfinity Series Regular Season Champion, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley, Jeb Burton, Daniel Hemric, Harrison Burton, Myatt Snider, Jeremy Clements, Riley Herbst, Noah Gragson and Brandon Jones.
Friday night, the Camping World Truck Series will begin its Round of 8. John Hunter Nemechek leads the way with 3050 points followed by Sheldon Creed, Ben Rhodes, Zane Smith, Chandler Smith, Matt Crafton, Carson Hocevar and Stewart Friesen.
There will be no qualifying or practice this weekend and starting lineups will be determined by the metrics formula established by NASCAR.
Thursday, Sept. 23
11 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series West Star Nursery 150 TV: Trackpass
Friday, Sept. 24
9 p.m.: Truck Series Victoria’s Voice Foundation 200 presented by Westgate Resorts Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps) Stage 1 ends on Lap 30, Stage 2 ends on Lap 60, Final Stage ends on Lap 134 Pole: John Hunter Nemechek TV: FS1 – Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
Saturday, Sept. 25
7:30 p.m.: Xfinity Alsco Uniforms 302 Distance: 302 miles (201 Laps) Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 201 Pole: Austin Cindric TV: NBCSN – Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
Sunday, Sept. 26
7 p.m.: Cup Series South Point 400 Distance: 400.5 miles (267 Laps) Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), Stage 2 ends on Lap 160, Final Stage ends on Lap 267 Pole: Kyle Larson TV: NBCSN – Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Data
Season Race #: 30 of 36 (09-26-21) Track Size: 1.5-miles Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 20 degrees Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 20 degrees Banking/Frontstretch: 9 degrees Banking/Backstretch: 9 degrees Frontstretch Length: 2,275 feet Backstretch Length: 1,572 feet Race Length: 267 laps (400.5 miles) Stage 1 & 2 Length: 80 laps (each) Final Stage Length: 107 laps
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Qualifying Data
Track Qualifying Record: Kurt Busch, Chevrolet (196.328 mph. 27.505 secs.) on March 4, 2016. 2020 Playoff Race Pole Winner: Metric Qualifying, Kevin Harvick started from the first position.
Kevin Harvick leads the NASCAR Cup Series in starts at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with 24 starts.
Daniel Hemric leads the series in average starting position at Las Vegas a 5.5 in two starts.
Chase Elliott leads all active drivers in the series in average starting position at Las Vegas an 8.778 in nine starts.
Kyle Busch (2008, 2009) and Kurt Busch (2010, 2016) lead all active drivers in poles at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with two each.
Kyle Busch is the only driver to win consecutive Cup Series poles at Las Vegas from 2008-2009.
Five different manufacturers have won a pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series led by Ford (11), and followed by Chevrolet (four), Dodge (four), Toyota (three) and Pontiac (one).
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Race Data
Track Race Record: Brad Keselowski, Ford (154.633 mph, 2:35:24) on March 9, 2014. 2020 Playoff Race Winner: Kurt Busch, Chevrolet (131.420 mph, 03:03:32) on September 27, 2020.
Brad Keselowski leads all active drivers in NASCAR Cup Series wins at Las Vegas with three (2014, 2016, 2018).
The youngest LVMS winner: Kyle Busch (March 01, 2009 – 23 years, 9 months, 27 days).
Kyle Busch became the first and only driver to win from the pole at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series on March 1, 2009.
Five of the 27 Las Vegas races (18.52%) have been won from the front row.
The second starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field producing more winners (four) than any other starting position at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (14.81%).
Roush Fenway Racing leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Las Vegas with seven victories: Mark Martin (1998), Jeff Burton (1999, 2000), Matt Kenseth (2003, 2004), Carl Edwards (2008, 2011).
Four manufacturers have visited Victory Lane in the NASCAR Cup Series at Las Vegas, led by Ford (13 wins), Chevrolet (nine), Toyota (four) and Dodge (one).
From OddsChecker: Kyle Larson favorite to win South Point 400
Larson is given +350 odds, or an implied 22.2% chance to win the race. He’s followed by Kyle Busch, who is given +650 odds or an implied 13.3% chance. Denny Hamlin is given +700 odds, Chase Elliot +800, and Martin Truex Jr. +900. Those are the 5 favorites. Even among them, it’s clear that oddsmakers are separating Larson from the pack.
1. Kyle Larson: Larson won Stage 2 and passed Kevin Harvick late to win at Bristol for his sixth win of the year.
“I got a really good run on Harvick with three laps to go,” Larson said. “I saw an opening and went for it. Ironically, in the Bristol Night Race, I saw daylight.”
2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won Stage 1, finished 2nd in Stage 2, but faltered in the final stage when contact with Kyle Larson left Hamlin with a flat right-front tire. Hamlin still finished ninth and starts Round 2 of the playoffs seeded third.
“Luckily,” Hamlin said, “my spot in the next round was already clinched. So my heart rate was pretty calm according to my Whoop fitness tracker. Let me tell you, that ‘beats’ not knowing if I’m headed to the next round.”
3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex started on the pole at Bristol and finished seventh.
“I’m still not sure what formula NASCAR uses to determine the pole sitter,” Truex said. “My guess it’s the same method they use to determine whether a debris caution is necessary—a coin flip.”
4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick led late at Bristol before being passed by Kyle Larson, who had a little help from Hendrick teammate Chase Elliott, who previously suffered a flat tire after contact with Harvick. Elliott and Harvick confronted each other after the race.
“Like I said in post-race interviews,” Harvick said, “I wanted to ‘rip somebody’s head off.’ I’ll amend that to say I wanted to ‘put a shoe up someone’s behind,’ because it’s an absolutely perfect tie-in to Subway’s ‘foot-long’ menu.”
5. Ryan Blaney: Blaney led 45 laps at Bristol and finished fourth. He will start the second round of the playoffs in fourth.
“Next year’s ‘Clash’ will be run at the Los Angeles Coliseum,” Blaney said. “In NASCAR circles, they’re calling L.A. ‘The Next To Last Coliseum.’”
6. Chase Elliott: Elliott suffered a flat right-front tire while battling Kevin Harvick for the lead late at Bristol. After pitting for tires, Elliott found himself three laps down and finished 25th. Elliott and Harvick had a heated discussion after the race.
“Did I intentionally block Harvick when he was trying to hold off Kyle Larson?” Elliott said. “Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. But I probably did. And, as the driver of the No. 9 Hooter’s Chevy, the closest I’ll come to apologizing to Harvick is to say, ‘Tough titty.’”
7. Joey Logano: Logano overcame a slow first pit stop to post an 11th at Bristol.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how this Chase Elliott-Kevin Harvick feud plays out,” Logano said. “So far, I give the edge to Chase, if for no other reason than he wasn’t the one wearing prescription eyeglasses while engaged in a heated argument.”
8. Kyle Busch: Busch suffered a flat tire with 44 laps to go and fell two laps down. He finished 21st, one lap down, and will start the playoffs in fifth.
“I encouraged the fans at Bristol to boo me at driver introductions,” Busch said. “And they happily obliged. Now, is anyone really surprised that NASCAR fans respond favorably to ‘hate speech?’”
9. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished fifth at Bristol and clinched a spot in the next round of the playoffs.
“I’m in!” Bowman said. “All I can say is ‘Woo hoo!’ Actually, considering how close it was, I should say ‘Whew hoo!’”
10. William Byron: Byron grabbed the final transfer spot with a clutch third-place finish at Bristol.
“I think everyone was entertained by both Kevin Harvick’s and Chase Elliott’s accusatory post-race interviews,” Byron said. “But come on guys, you’ve got to give the fans what they want, and what they want is not for you to throw shade, but to throw hands.”
With an abundance of late battles, drama and tempers flaring around every corner, Kyle Larson took advantage of a late dust-up between teammate Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick to overtake Harvick with three laps remaining and drive away to win the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, September 18.
Larson, who had clinched his spot to the Round of 12 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs coming into the event, claimed his sixth victory of the season as he is one of 12 competitors who will continue to pursue the 2021 Cup title in the following Playoff round.
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, Martin Truex Jr., winner of last weekend’s Playoff event at Richmond Raceway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Denny Hamlin.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Truex flew away with the lead on the outside lane and proceeded to lead the first lap. Behind, Chase Elliott moved into second while Joey Logano battled Hamlin for third.
Through the first five laps of the event, Truex was out in front by a tenth of a second over Elliott while Hamlin, Logano and Christopher Bell were in the top five. Behind, Kyle Busch retained 10th ahead of Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola and William Byron.
A lap later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the lead over Truex’s No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry.
By Lap 10, Elliott stretched ahead with the lead by half a second over Truex while Hamlin, Logano and Kyle Larson were in the top five. Brad Keselowski was in sixth followed by Kevin Harvick, Bell, Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney. By then, all 16 Playoff competitors were in the top 20, with Kurt Busch mired in mid-pack.
Ten laps later, Elliott continued to lead by six-tenths of a second over runner-up Hamlin and by two seconds over third-place Logano. Larson and Keselowski were in fourth and fifth followed by Harvick while Truex fell back to seventh. Blaney, Kyle Busch and Bell were in the top 10 while Alex Bowman, teammate William Byron, Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell were in the top 15. Tyler Reddick and Kurt Busch were in 17th and 22nd.
Another 10 laps later, Elliott stabilized his advantage to four-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Larson trailed by nearly two seconds in third. Meanwhile, Logano fell back to sixth behind Harvick and Truex continued to fall back in 10th in between teammate Bell and Bowman.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 40, Elliott remained in the lead over Hamlin and Larson.
Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Elliott retained the lead ahead of Hamlin, Larson, Keselowski, Harvick and Truex.
When the race restarted on Lap 48, Elliott retained the lead following a strong start on the outside lane while teammate Larson also retained the runner-up spot ahead of Hamlin, Keselowski and Harvick. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch muscled his way to sixth followed by Ryan Blaney and the field.
Through the first 60 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by nearly half a second over Hamlin, who managed to overtake Larson earlier for the runner-up spot. Keselowski and Harvick were in the top five followed by Blaney, Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex and Bowman while Bell, Reddick, Aric Almirola, McDowell, Kurt Busch and Logano were in 12th, 13th, 15th, 17th, 21st and 23rd. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon was the highest non-title contender in 11th while Erik Jones was in 14th and rookie Chase Briscoe was in 16th. In addition, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Matt DiBenedetto were in the top 20 while Ryan Newman was in 22nd.
Fifteen laps later, Elliott continued to lead by two-tenths of a second over teammate Larson, who overtook Hamlin earlier and was slowly pursuing his Hendrick Motorsports’ teammate for the top spot.
Another nine laps later, Larson used the lapped car of David Starr to overtake teammate Elliott and take the lead. Shortly after, Hamlin moved his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry into the runner-up spot. Behind, Keselowski retained fourth ahead of Harvick, Blaney, Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex and Austin Dillon.
On Lap 91, Hamlin emerged as the fourth different leader of the event after overtaking Larson.
At the Lap 100 mark, Hamlin was leading by three-tenths of a second over Larson while Elliott, Keselowski and Blaney were in the top five. Harvick was in sixth followed by Byron, Kyle Busch, Truex and Bell while Bowman, Almirola, Reddick, McDowell, Kurt Busch and Logano were in 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th, 21st and 22nd.
Five laps later, Hamlin, the leader, nearly got turned by Cole Custer while trying to lap him, rookie Anthony Alfredo and a bevy of competitors. Despite the contact, Hamlin continued to lead by a decent margin over Larson and Elliott.
By Lap 120, the battle for the lead ignited between Hamlin and Larson, both of whom were trapped behind Logano and Bubba Wallace as both were trying to remain on the lead lap. Two laps later, Larson took the lead. Another lap later, however, Hamlin returned the favor and overtook Larson while also lapping Wallace.
Following his late battle with Larson amid lapped traffic, Hamlin was able to retain the top spot and claim the first stage victory on Lap 125, thus claiming his ninth stage victory of the season. Larson ended up in second followed by Elliott, Keselowski, Blaney, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Bell, Truex and Byron. By then, 22 competitors were scored on the lead lap as Kurt Busch and Logano were spared from being lapped while Wallace received the free pass. On the other hand, names like Ryan Newman, Cole Custer, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece and Corey LaJoie were lapped.
Under the stage break, the leaders made the turn to pit road and Larson emerged as the leader followed by Elliott, Keselowski, Hamlin, Harvick and Blaney. Following the pit stops, however, Elliott was penalized for speeding on pit road.
The second stage started on Lap 135 and Larson rocketed away with a strong start followed by Keselowski while Hamlin spun the tires on the inside lane, though he settled in third ahead of Harvick, Bell, Blaney and Kyle Busch.
On Lap 138, the No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang piloted by Brad Keselowski moved into the lead beneath Larson’s No. 5 Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. At the same time, Hamlin overtook Larson for second while Harvick and Blaney kept Larson in their sights.
Seven laps later, Hamlin reassumed the lead while Larson challenged Keselowski for the runner-up spot. Behind, Blaney moved his No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang up to fourth and closed in on the three leaders while Harvick, sporting the Subway Restaurants colors on his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang, was in fifth ahead of Kyle Busch.
By Lap 150, Hamlin extended his advantage to a second over Larson while Keselowski, Blaney and Harvick were in the top five. Kyle Busch, Bell, Byron, Almirola and Reddick were in the top 10 while Larson was mired in 21st behind Kurt Busch. Logano, meanwhile, was in 18th.
On Lap 167, the caution flew when Newman made contact with Cole Custer in the outside wall in Turn 4 and proceeded to smack the outside wall in Turn 2, collecting Custer again. Behind, Suarez was hit by Wallace while he checked up to avoid the incident while Chris Buescher barely avoided the carnage.
Under caution, the leaders returned to pit road and Larson returned to the lead followed by Hamlin, Keselowski, Harvick, Blaney and Kyle Busch. During the pit stops, Almirola, who had reported smoke earlier, returned to his pit stall after being told that fluid was discovered inside the left-front tire. His pit crew then popped the hood up and diagnosed the issue before sending him back on the track in 28th place, the final car on the lead lap. Shortly after, Almirola pitted again for mechanical repairs as fuel from his car was reported on the track.
On Lap 181, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson retained the lead on the outside lane while Hamlin moved up to second and Harvick battled Keselowski for third. Behind, Blaney and Kyle Busch battled for fifth ahead of Reddick and Bell.
By Lap 190, Larson was leading by half a second over Hamlin while Blaney, Harvick and Keselowski were in the top five. Kyle Busch retained sixth ahead of Reddick, Bell, Logano and Elliott. Meanwhile, Byron was in 11th, Truex was in 15th, McDowell and Kurt Busch were in 17th and 18th behind Bowman and Almirola, following his fluid and mechanical issue, was in 24th, still on the lead lap but now below the top-12 cutline to the Playoffs.
Through the first 200 laps of the event, Larson continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Blaney, Harvick and Keselowski remained in the top five. By then, Elliott was up in eighth in between Bell and Byron while Logano battled Erik Jones for 11th.
On Lap 220, the caution flew when rookie Anthony Alfredo got sideways in Turn 3 with help from Corey LaJoie and made contact with the outside wall in Turn 4, where his No. 38 Dude Wipes Ford Mustang was hit by an oncoming BJ McLeod and Justin Haley. The incident was enough for NASCAR to red-flag the event.
When the red flag was lifted, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.
On Lap 232, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson fended off Keselowski to remain as the leader while Hamlin battled Keselowski for the runner-up spot. Behind, Elliott was in fourth ahead of Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace while Byron battled Harvick for seventh.
A few laps later, Byron, a competitor trying to remain in the Playoffs, engaged in a battle with Kyle Busch for sixth place while Wallace and Elliott moved up to fourth and fifth.
With less than 10 laps remaining in the second stage, Larson continued to lead by a narrow margin over Hamlin and Keselowski while teammates Elliott and Byron were scored in the top five ahead of Harvick, Wallace and the field. Soon after, Alfredo scrapped the outside wall, but managed to pit without drawing a caution.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 250, the halfway mark, Larson captured his 14th stage victory of the season. Hamlin and Keselowski settled in second and third followed by Byron, who managed to overtake teammate Elliott. Harvick settled in sixth ahead of Blaney, Bell, Reddick and Kyle Busch. By then, Logano, Blaney and Harvick secured their spots for the Round of 12 in the Playoffs.
Under the stage break, some led by Larson pitted while the rest led by Harvick and Blaney remained on the track. During the pit stops, Reddick, a Playoff competitor, pitted a second time to have a lug nut on the right rear of his car tightened.
With 241 laps remaining, the final stage commenced. At the start, Harvick took off with the lead on the outside lane followed by Blaney, who battled Bell as Truex joined the battle. Behind, the field fanned out to three lanes as Hamlin and Larson, both racing on fresh tires, bolted their way back to the front.
Six laps later, Blaney emerged as the new leader of the event. Behind, Hamlin was battling Almirola for fifth while Larson was in eighth behind Logano. Elliott was in 10th ahead of Chase Briscoe while Byron was in 12th ahead of Wallace and Keselowski.
With 220 laps remaining, Blaney was leading by half a second over Harvick while Bell, Hamlin and Larson were in the top five. Almirola was riding strong in sixth followed by Logano, Elliott, Byron and Truex while Bowman was in 11th ahead of Kyle Busch, and Keselowski. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch was mired in 22nd, McDowell was in 25th and Reddick was back in 26th.
Down to the final 200 laps of the event and while the leaders were mired behind lapped traffic, Blaney retained the lead over Harvick by a narrow margin. Bell was in third followed by Hamlin and Larson while Almirola, Logano, Elliott, Byron and Bowman were in the top 10. By then, McDowell, who was in 26th, was trying to remain on the lead lap.
Eight laps later, Harvick made his way into the lead over Blaney. By then, Bell, Larson and Hamlin were slowly catching the two leaders. Meanwhile, Elliott and Byron remained in seventh and eighth behind Almirola while Logano battled with Bowman, Kyle Busch and Keselowski for ninth place. By then, McDowell was lapped.
With 175 laps remaining, Harvick continued to lead by eight-tenths of a second over Larson while Blaney, Bell and Hamlin were in the top five ahead of Elliott, Byron, Bowman, Almirola and Kyle Busch.
Twelve laps later, Larson returned to the lead after overtaking Harvick. He then went to work to lap Playoff contender Kurt Busch, though Busch refused to give in. As Busch remained on the lead lap, Harvick closed back in on Larson’s rear bumper while Hamlin attempted to catch the two leaders.
Another eight laps later, Larson succeeded in lapping Kurt Busch as he went to work to lap Tyler Reddick, another Playoff contender.
With 150 laps remaining, Larson’s advantage was nearly a second over Harvick while Hamlin, Blaney and Bell were in the top five. By then, Larson lapped Austin Dillon as Dillon’s teammate, Reddick, was next on his radar.
Thirteen laps remaining, the caution returned for Quin Houff, who spun and wrecked in Turn 4 after cutting a left-rear tire. By then, Playoff contenders McDowell, Kurt Busch and Reddick were lapped while Larson was still leading ahead of Harvick.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Larson retained the lead ahead of Hamlin, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Blaney and Elliott.
With 130 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the start, Larson powered away with another strong start on the outside lane while Hamlin overtook Harvick for second. With the field shuffling and fanning out to three lanes behind, Kyle Busch battled Blaney for fourth ahead of Elliott, Byron was in eighth behind Bowman and Almirola was shuffled out of the top 10. By then, Bubba Wallace and Matt DiBenedetto, two non-Playoff contenders, were in ninth and 10th ahead of Truex.
Fifteen laps later, Larson was leading by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Harvick, Elliott and Blaney were in the top five. Teammates Bowman and Byron battled for seventh behind Kyle Busch while Wallace and DiBenedetto were in the top 10.
A few laps later, the caution returned for another incident involving Quin Houff, who cut the left-front tire this time. The incident was enough to terminate the remainder of his night race.
Under caution, some led by Blaney pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.
With 104 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Larson retained the lead entering the first turn while Hamlin issued a challenge on Harvick for the runner-up spot.
Then, with 101 laps remaining, Hamlin, who challenged Larson for the lead, made contact with Larson in Turn 4, which resulted with Hamlin going dead straight into the outside wall in Turn 1 with a flat right-front tire and drew the caution.
Down to the final 93 laps of the event, the race restarted. At the start, Larson cleared teammate Elliott with a push from Harvick to retain the lead. While teammates Larson and Elliott battled for the lead, Kyle Busch used the high lane to move up to fourth in between Harvick and Bowman. Meanwhile, Erik Jones was up in eighth behind Truex and Byron while DiBenedetto and Wallace continued to run in the top 10.
Six laps later, Elliott returned to the lead after overtaking teammate Larson on the inside lane.
With 75 laps remaining, Elliott was leading by four-tenths of a second over teammate Larson while Harvick, Kyle Busch and Byron were in the top five. By then, Byron was scored a single point outside of the top-12 cutline behind Almirola, who was in 17th in between Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick, who also remained in the hunt for a transfer spot.
Under the final 60 laps of the event, the battle for the lead intensified as Harvick challenged Elliott for the top spot. By then, Byron overtook Kyle Busch for fourth and was scored a single point inside the top-12 cutline over Almirola, who was back in 18th.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Elliott was still leading by two-tenths of a second over Harvick while Larson trailed by nearly six-tenths of a second. Byron, currently scored inside the top-12 cutline, was in fourth in front of Blaney, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Bell, Keselowski and Erik Jones. Truex and Logano were in 11th and 12th while Reddick was in 16th, Hamlin was in 18th ahead of Almirola and Kurt Busch was in 22nd.
Nearing the final 40 laps of the event, Kyle Busch pitted under green after suffering a flat tire. By the time he returned to the track, he was two laps behind and was placed on the verge of missing the top-12 cutline.
With 35 laps remaining, Harvick used several lapped cars, including Kyle Busch, to take the lead following several attempts to intimidate Elliott. Shortly after, Elliott, who was hit by Harvick after Harvick got loose, cut a left-front tire and pitted under green.
Not long after, Bell, who was having a strong run in the making, pitted under green after cutting a tire and damaging the right-front side of his car. The incident also placed Bell in jeopardy of not advancing in the Playoffs.
Back on track, Harvick continued to lead by a narrow margin over Larson, who continued to close in for the top spot. Meanwhile, Byron was up in third followed by Blaney and Bowman. Reddick was in 13th, Almirola was in 17th behind Wallace and Ross Chastain, Kurt Busch was in 19th and Kyle Busch was in 21st.
Down to the final 10 laps of the event, Harvick remained as the leader by nearly a second over Larson while teammate Byron was in third.
Then in the closing laps, Larson started to close back in on Harvick, who was being mired and slowed behind the lapped car of Elliott. Earlier, Elliott, who had returned to the track, ran into the side of Harvick to express his displeasure for the contact that cut Elliott’s tire and knocked him out of contention for the win. Now, Harvick, who had an advantage of more than a second over Larson near the final 10 laps, was losing ground behind Elliott as Larson closed in.
After trying to establish a run on Harvick during the previous laps, Larson seized an opportunity through the backstretch with four laps remaining as he went below Harvick and pulled off a daring, sliding move in front of Harvick entering Turn 4 to take the lead. Harvick then tried to crossover, which nearly turned Larson, but Larson withstood his ground and assumed command of the race with three laps remaining.
With Larson out in front, Byron joined the battle as he went to work on Harvick for second.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Larson was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Harvick and Byron. By then, Elliott yielded to teammate Larson. With time running out for Harvick, who was again held up by Elliott, Larson thundered his way to the victory at Bristol for the first time in his career.
With his sixth checkered flag of the season, first at Bristol and his 12th NASCAR Cup Series career win, Larson took another step closer in contending for his first Cup championship. In addition, he achieved the 275th NASCAR Cup win for Hendrick Motorsports.
“That was an awesome race!” Larson said on the frontstretch on NBCSN. “It was so cool to be able to race there for the win. Obviously, Harvick and Chase got together and Chase was upset and kind of held him up. It got Harvick having to move around and use his tires up off the bottom. I started to get some dives-in working off of [Turns] 1 and 2 and just got a big run, decided to pull the trigger, slide him and squeeze him a little bit. Then he had me jacked up through the frontstretch. It was wild. Had my hands full. Thanks to Valvoline and everybody who helps on this Hendrick Motorsports car. So cool. I love this place. This is, by far, my favorite track and this is why. You guys [fans] are amazing, loud. We feel the energy while we’re out there racing…I look forward to the rest of the year.”
While Larson celebrated on the frontstretch, tempers flared on pit road as Harvick and Elliott, both of whom pulled up together on pit road, climbed out of their cars and engaged in a heated face-to-face conversation. With NASCAR officials and crew members surrounding both competitors, the conversation turned heated as both competitors had to be separated by the officials and crew members, with Harvick tossing his glove towards Elliott and slamming his helmet on top of his own car.
Photo by Christian Gardner for SpeedwayMedia.com.
“I told [Elliott] it was kind of a chicken [expletive] move that he did there at the end,” Harvick, who received a chorus of boos from the crowd, said. “We’re racing for the frickin win at Bristol. We’re three wide in the middle and he throws a temper tantrum, like I was just trying to get the lead and race him hard. Then he pulls up in front of me and just sits there until I lose the whole lead, so I just hate it for our Subway Ford Mustang team to be able to lose a race like that. I watched him let [Byron] go by and then anytime you run into him, it’s a problem. [The fans] can boo all they want. I don’t care…I’m ready to rip somebody’s freaking head off.”
“Well, it’s something [Harvick] does all the time,” Elliott said. “He runs into your left side constantly at other tracks. Sometimes it does cut down your left side, other times it doesn’t. Did it to me in Darlington a few weeks ago because he was tired of racing me. Whether he did it on purpose doesn’t matter. At some point, you have to draw a line. I don’t care who he is or how long he’s been doing it. I’m going to stand up for myself and my team and we’re going down the road…I’m happy for Team Hendrick. Wish I could have got our Hooters Chevrolet in Victory Lane. But we’ll try again next week.”
The heated conversation between both competitors continued as Harvick and Elliott went inside Elliott’s hauler to further review and discuss the incident in private.
Meanwhile, Byron’s third-place result was enough for him to clinch the 12th and final transfer spot to the Round of 12 by two points over both Tyler Reddick and Aric Almirola, both of whom were eliminated from the Playoffs.
“Honestly, I don’t think I breathed for 100 laps,” Byron said. “It was, honestly, just trying to go as hard as you could. I had the best seat in the house for the leaders getting together. I was just trying to make as much speed as I could and felt like that was what our car had. We’re just trying to hold off [Blaney]. Just driving it as hard as you can. That’s a pretty awesome moment that we could pull through, being 18 points out coming into this race and finish third and advance is pretty amazing…I feel like we just had to get through this round. We had a really unfortunate start to it and made up for it tonight. Thanks to AXALTA, Chevrolet, Mr. Hendrick, everybody back at the shop. It’s pretty awesome.”
“Frustrating,” Almirola said. “Disappointed to have [our Playoff run] end like that just because we battled so much adversity throughout the night and got ourselves in position to where we’re running top 10 and doing what we needed to do. That caution came out there at the end where we had 18 laps on our tires. We stayed out and for whatever reason, when we re-fired on those tires, the car was on top of the race track, scathing, wouldn’t turn, didn’t have any side bite and just struggling. I don’t know. That’s not the way we wanted it to end, but we’ll keep going and battle it out the rest of the Playoffs and see if we can finish inside the top 10 in points.”
“Unfortunately, we certainly gave up more than two spots over the course this first round,” Reddick added. “Darlington or getting stuck down a lap at Richmond. Not just one key opportunity, but there was a number that was the difference. One situation, the situation tonight doesn’t really stick out as the one that makes it sting. It was just unfortunate that, getting in the Playoffs, we don’t have the pace that we had to just point our way into the Playoff leaderboard. To miss it by two [points]…Had the races that we did, it kind of adds up and for us to miss it by two and run the way we did, it isn’t a surprise. It stings, but we still get to go race the last six, seven races that we have on the schedule. Good tracks for us…Everything else on the race track will be the same, so we’ll go make the most out of those races.”
Despite their late on-track incidents, teammates Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell, both of whom finished 21st and 29th, managed to transfer to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs along with Alex Bowman, who achieved a strong fifth-place result.
“That was disappointing,” Bell said. “Overall, we still accomplished what we wanted to accomplish today. We were on our way to a nice finish and then, the flat tire really cost a lot of panic. Thankfully, we did our job. Got some stage points, performed well at Richmond last week, gave us a little bit of a buffer, and moving on…Take some momentum and move on to Vegas.”
“We just weren’t very good at being able to make up time on the leaders there,” Busch said. “[I] Was only going to be about fifth quick. We fought hard there all day long and had a flat there at the end and got way behind. I guess we made it [into the Round of 12], so that’s all that matters.”
“It was an interesting night, for sure,” Bowman said. “We were pretty awful to start the race and [crew chief] Greg [Ives] threw everything, including his laptop at it. I just started really at the race track and took a lot of adjusting on [the car] to get where we needed it. Obviously, it was really fast there at the end. Just proud of everybody on this No. 48 team for not giving up. My mistake at Darlington kind of put us in this box. Us and [Byron]. Really glad that [Byron] made it because I feel like, if they wouldn’t have, that would’ve been on me too. Just appreciative to make it through to this next round. Good track’s coming up for us this round. Just got to go do my job, not make any more mistakes and have a good rest of the Playoffs.”
Blaney finished fourth on the track while Keselowski, Truex, Erik Jones, Hamlin and Matt DiBenedetto completed the top-10 results.
There were 23 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 71 laps.
Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch and William Byron have transferred to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs. Tyler Reddick, Aric Almirola, Kurt Busch and Michael McDowell have been eliminated from title contention.
Results.
1. Kyle Larson, 175 laps led, Stage 2 winner
2. Kevin Harvick, 71 laps led
3. William Byron
4. Ryan Blaney, 45 laps led
5. Alex Bowman
6. Brad Keselowski, 10 laps led
7. Martin Truex Jr., five laps led
8. Erik Jones
9. Denny Hamlin, 65 laps led, Stage 1 winner
10. Matt DiBenedetto
11. Joey Logano
12. Tyler Reddick
13. Chase Briscoe
14. Ross Chastain
15. Austin Dillon
16. Bubba Wallace
17. Ryan Preece
18. Aric Almirola
19. Kurt Busch
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
21. Kyle Busch, one lap down
22. Daniel Suarez, two laps down
23. Chris Buescher, two laps down
24. Michael McDowell, two laps down
25. Chase Elliott, three laps down, 129 laps led
26. Corey LaJoie, three laps down
27. JJ Yeley, five laps down
28. Cole Custer, six laps down
29. Christopher Bell, seven laps down
30. Garrett Smithley, 13 laps down
31. Josh Bilicki, 18 laps down
32. David Starr, 18 laps down
33. James Davison, 26 laps down
34. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident
35. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident
36. Justin Haley – OUT, Accident
37. BJ McLeod – OUT, Accident
38. Ryan Newman – OUT, Dvp
Bold indicates Playoff contenders.
Playoff standings.
1. Kyle Larson – Advanced
2. Denny Hamlin – Advanced
3. Martin Truex Jr. – Advanced
4. Ryan Blaney – Advanced
5. Kevin Harvick – Advanced
6. Joey Logano – Advanced
7. Chase Elliott – Advanced
8. Brad Keselowski – Advanced
9. Alex Bowman – Advanced
10. Christopher Bell – Advanced
11. Kyle Busch – Advanced
12. William Byron – Advanced
13. Tyler Reddick – Eliminated
14. Aric Almirola – Eliminated
15. Kurt Busch – Eliminated
16. Michael McDowell – Eliminated
The Round of 12 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the South Point 400. The event will occur on Sunday, September 26, at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
From an opening lap penalty to Victory Lane, Martin Truex Jr. punched his ticket into the Round of 12 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs after the former Cup champion led the final 51 laps and beat teammate Denny Hamlin by more than a second to win the Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, September 11.
The victory came as Truex, who lined up on the front row, started the race by serving a pass-through penalty on pit road after jumping the initial start of the race over teammate Hamlin. Despite the penalty, Truex remained on the lead lap and methodically worked his way towards the front before leading three times for a total of 80 of 400 laps and running away from his teammates and fellow Playoff contenders as he took another step forward in pursuing his second championship.
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. Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion, was scheduled to start on pole position. However, his car failed pre-race inspection twice and as a result, he was sent to the rear of the field. With that, Denny Hamlin, winner of last weekend’s Cup Playoff opener at Darlington Raceway, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Martin Truex Jr.
Along with Larson, Cole Custer started at the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice. Garrett Smithley also dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change.
During the pace laps, the crew members and fans raised their American flags and passed for a moment of silence to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks while honoring the first responders affected by the event.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Truex jumped ahead of teammate Hamlin at the start/finish line and took off with an early lead. Not long after, Truex was penalized with a restart violation for crossing the start/finish line and starting the race ahead of the pole-sitter. As a result, Truex surrendered the lead to teammate Hamlin while serving his penalty by driving through pit road.
Back on the track, Hamlin was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch while the Team Penske trio — Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski — were in the top five. Kevin Harvick was in sixth ahead of Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Tyler Reddick and Alex Bowman, all of whom were in the Playoffs. Teammates Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott were in 11th and 12th followed by Kyle Busch while Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon, the first two non-Playoff contenders were in 14th and 15th. Michael McDowell was in 16th ahead of Ryan Preece, Matt DiBenedetto, Corey LaJoie and Chris Buescher.
By Lap 10, Hamlin was still leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch followed by the Penske trio, Harvick and Bell. Another ten laps later, Hamlin extended his advantage to nearly two seconds over Kurt Busch.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 30, Hamlin continued to lead by nearly three seconds over Kurt Busch. By then, Harvick and Bell overtook Keselowski for fifth and sixth while Elliott was in the top 10. Meanwhile, Larson, who started at the rear of the field, was up in 19th while Truex, who was sent to the rear of the field following the start of the race, was in 29th, still on the lead lap.
Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Kurt Busch emerged with the lead following a quick four-tire pit stop, where he was followed by Hamlin, Logano, Harvick and Blaney. During the caution period, Kyle Busch was assessed a pit road penalty for removing equipment out of his box.
When the race restarted on Lap 36, Hamlin battled dead even with Kurt Busch as he led the following lap. Despite being pressured by Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, Hamlin reassumed the lead as he was then pursued by Logano. While Blaney pressed Busch for more, Elliott was in fifth in front of Harvick and Keselowski.
Then on Lap 40, the caution flew when Kurt Busch, who was in third, spun and made hard contact into the Turn 1 outside wall after cutting a left-rear tire. The wreck was enough to end Busch’s night in the garage and put a huge dent to his Playoff hopes.
“I was just impressed with our speed and the way we unloaded and [the speed] we had in that first 30-lap run,” Kurt Busch said. “After the pit stop, something in the left rear wasn’t right. The guys said they got the tire tight. They made an adjustment and there was no rub and the left rear let go. I just radioed to them how loose the car was. Something happened with that left rear [tire]. It let go. It let go of our points and it let go of our whole season right now. I don’t know what we’re going to have to do at Bristol other than win. Now, we gotta dig out of this hole and give it out best.”
With the race restarting on Lap 47, Hamlin continued to lead over the field.
By Lap 55, Hamlin was leading by nearly a second over Blaney, with Logano, Elliott and Keselowski in the top five. Meanwhile, Larson and Truex were in 11th and 13th while Bowman, Byron, Kyle Busch and McDowell were in 15th, 19th, 23rd and 24th.
With five laps remaining in the first stage, Hamlin continued to lead by nearly four over Logano and Elliott while Blaney settled in fourth. Meanwhile, Larson was in fifth after overtaking Keselowski.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 80, Hamlin, who led all but four laps in the stage, collected his seventh stage victory of the season. Elliott prevailed over a late battle with Logano to settle in second while Larson made his way up to fourth ahead of Blaney. Chastain placed in sixth while Keselowski, Truex, Harvick and Almirola were scored in the top 10. By then, Reddick, Bell, Kyle Busch, Bowman, Byron and McDowell were in 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 19th and 21st.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead following his pit service and ahead of Elliott, Logano, Larson, Keselowski and Blaney.
The second stage started on Lap 88. At the start, Hamlin launched ahead with a strong start on the inside lane while Elliott settled in second ahead of Logano.
Three laps later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Kelley Blue Book Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead over Hamlin. Meanwhile, Chastain made a bold three-wide move on Larson and Truex through Turns 2 and 3 to move his No. 42 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to fifth.
At the Lap 100 mark, Elliott was leading by nearly six-tenths of a second over Hamlin, with Keselowski, Chastain and Logano in the top five. Larson was in sixth ahead of Truex, Blaney, Kyle Busch and Harvick. Almirola, Byron, Bowman, Bell and Reddick were in the top 16 while McDowell was in 18th area of Erik Jones and rookie Chase Briscoe. Meanwhile, Austin Dillon was in 15th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was in 17th, Matt DiBenedetto was in 21st, Ryan Newman was in 23rd, Bubba Wallace was in 25th behind Chris Buescher and Daniel Suarez was in 28th in between Ryan Preece and Justin Haley.
Twenty laps later, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over Hamlin while Chastain, the highest non-title contender, was up in third. Teammates Keselowski and Logano were in the top five followed by Kyle Busch and Truex. Larson was back in eighth while Blaney and Harvick were in the top 10 ahead of Almirola, Byron, Bowman, Bell, Austin Dillon and Reddick.
Nearly 10 laps later, pit stops under green commenced as Daniel Suarez pitted followed by Reddick, Austin Dillon and Hamlin. Soon after, Elliott surrendered the lead to pit followed by Keselowski, Logano, Truex, Harvick, Kyle Busch, Blaney, Stenhouse, Bowman and others. By Lap 135, Larson surrendered his temporary lead to pit.
By Lap 138, the No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry piloted by Hamlin emerged with the lead after overtaking Elliott earlier. By then, Bell and DiBenedetto pitted under green.
Twelve laps later, Hamlin was leading by nearly half a second over Elliott while Chastain continued to run in an impressive third place. Kyle Busch and Logano battled for fourth while Truex, Larson, Keselowski, Almirola and Blaney were in the top 10 while Bowman, Harvick, Byron, Bell and Reddick were in the top 16. McDowell, meanwhile, was in 31st and two laps behind.
On Lap 162, Elliott made a bold three-wide move on Hamlin and the lapped car of Suarez to take the lead in Turn 3.
Thirteen laps later, Elliott was out in front by half a second over Hamlin while third-place Kyle Busch trailed by more than four seconds. Truex, Larson and Logano were up in fourth, fifth and sixth while Chastain fell back to seventh ahead of Almirola, Bell and Keselowski. Blaney, meanwhile, was in 11th ahead of Bowman, Byron and Harvick.
A few laps later, a second round of green flag pit stops occurred as Truex pitted followed by Hamlin, Corey LaJoie, Keselowski, Harvick, Byron, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon and Elliott. During the pit stops, Elliott slid through his pit box and was forced to reverse into his box while the jack was still on the car. The situation quickly went from bad to worse as the jack got wedged underneath Elliott’s car, which made it a long service for the No. 9 crew.
By Lap 187 and when the green flag pit stops concluded, Hamlin cycled back as the leader by more than two seconds over teammate Kyle Busch and nearly three seconds over his other teammate, Truex. Logano and Chastain were in the top five followed by Larson, Harvick, Keselowski and Byron. Bowman, Bell and Blaney were in 11th, 12th and 13th while Elliott was mired back in 15th, the last car on the lead lap.
At the halfway mark on Lap 200, Hamlin continued to lead by more than two seconds over teammate Kyle Busch while Truex, Logano and Chastain were in the top five. By then, 15 competitors were scored on the lead lap, 13 of whom were Playoff contenders.
Twenty laps later, Hamlin stabilized his advantage to nearly two seconds over teammate Kyle Busch while Truex, Logano and Larson remained in the top five ahead of Chastain. By then, Elliott, running in 15th, was a lap behind, though he kept leader Hamlin within his sights.
Near the Lap 225 mark, Hamlin lapped the 14th-place car of Austin Dillon, leaving Dillon to battle Elliott to be the first competitor scored a lap behind. On Lap 231, however, Hamlin lapped the 13th-place competitor, Byron.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 235, Hamlin, who has led 161 laps, claimed his eighth stage victory of the season. Teammates Kyle Busch and Truex settled in second and third followed by Larson, Logano, Bell, Chastain, Almirola, Bowman and Harvick. Meanwhile, Elliott managed to overtake Austin Dillon and teammate Byron to move up to 13th and place himself as the first competitor scored a lap down, thus gaining the free pass under caution.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead following another stellar stop followed by Truex, Kyle Busch, Larson and Bell. During the pit stops, Chastain was busted with a pit road speeding penalty.
With 156 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Hamlin led a Joe Gibbs Racing 1-2-3-4 charge at the front, with Truex following in second ahead of Kyle Busch and Bell, who was under pressure from Logano.
Eight laps later, the caution flew when Bubba Wallace pounded the Turn 1 outside wall and limped back to pit road with right-front damage. Under caution, some like Keselowski pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.
With 146 laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Hamlin took off with another strong start followed by Truex while Kyle Busch and Bell battled for third, thus placing all four JGR competitors at the front of the field. Despite making contact with his teammate, Bell moved his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry into third place ahead of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry.
Down to the final 140 laps of the event, Hamlin was ahead by nearly three-tenths of a second over teammate Truex while teammate Bell was in third and teammate Kyle Busch was in fourth ahead of Larson and Logano. Meanwhile, Elliott was in 11th behind Kevin Harvick and Keselowski was in 13th in between Aric Almirola and Austin Dillon.
Nine laps later, Truex motored his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry into the lead for the first time of the evening.
Another 11 laps later, Truex pulled ahead by more than a second over teammate Hamlin while teammates Kyle Busch and Bell remained in the top four. Larson was in fifth followed by Chastain. Logano, Harvick, Elliott and Austin Dillon.
Under the final 110 laps of the event, another round of green flag pit stops commenced as Chastain, Suarez and Cole Custer pitted followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch, Keselowski, Harvick, Preece, DiBenedetto, Logano, Almirola, Blaney and others. Not long after, Truex surrendered the lead to pit along with Hamlin and Larson.
Down to the final 100 laps of the event and with the green flag pit stops occurring, Bell, who has yet to pit, was leading followed by Chastain, who was a lap down but had already pitted.
Two laps later, Ross Chastain, who notched a strong top-five result last weekend at Darlington Raceway, emerged with the lead by six-tenths of a second over Kyle Busch followed by Truex, Hamlin and Logano. By then, 13 competitors were scored on the lead lap, 11 of which were Playoff contenders, including Bell.
Another six laps later, Kyle Busch moved into the lead for the first time of the evening after overtaking Chastain.
With 75 laps remaining, Kyle Busch extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Truex while teammate Hamlin trailed by more than five seconds in third. Elliott carved his way back to fourth ahead of Chastain while Bell worked his way back to sixth.
By then, Larson was back in ninth behind Logano and Harvick.
Under the final 60 laps, pit stops under green commenced again as Truex pitted along with Reddick, Keselowski, Blaney, Bowman, Harvick, Logano, Bell, Hamlin and Kyle Busch, the race leader. Soon after, disaster struck for Kyle Busch, who was forced to serve a drive-through penalty through pit road after he was caught speeding on pit road.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event, Truex emerged with the lead. By then, Larson pitted under green while Kyle Busch served his pit road penalty as the cycle of green flag pit stops were concluding.
With 40 laps remaining, Truex was out in front by more than six seconds over teammate Hamlin while teammate Bell was in third, trailing by nearly nine seconds. Elliott and Logano were in the top five followed by Chastain, Harvick, Austin Dillon, Larson and Kyle Busch, all of whom were on the lead lap. Blaney, meanwhile, was the first competitor a lap down followed by teammate Keselowski, Bowman, Almirola and Reddick.
Down to the final 20 laps of the event, Truex stabilized his advantage to nearly five seconds over teammate Hamlin while teammate Bell trailed by more than 10 seconds. While Elliott and Logano remained in the top five, Kyle Busch was in ninth behind Chastain, Larson and Harvick.
With 10 laps remaining, Truex remained as the leader by three-and-a-half seconds over teammate Hamlin. Behind, Larson and Chastain battled for sixth while Bell, Elliott and Logano remained in the top five.
Five laps later, Truex continued to stabilize his advantage to less than three seconds over his hard-charging, teammate Hamlin.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Truex was still leading by less than two seconds over teammate Hamlin. Having a comfortable advantage over the field, Truex was able to cycle back to the finish line and streak across the finish line to take the checkered flag and the win.
The victory was Truex’s first since winning at Darlington Raceway in May, fourth of the season, third at Richmond and the 31st of his NASCAR Cup Series career, keeping him in 28th place on the all-time wins list and one behind of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jarrett. The win was also the eighth of the season for Joe Gibbs Racing. Above all, Truex advanced to the Round of 12 in the Playoffs, becoming the second to do so by winning in the Round of 16.
“It’s a big day,” Truex said on NBCSN. “It’s an important day in our history. I think all of us here – yeah, we’re proud to win. This car’s amazing, and there’s so many people to thank, but what a day to win on. It reminds you that it’s a privilege it is to get to come out here and do this. All these great fans that come out here, we couldn’t do any of these types of things without the men and women that take care of us and all the first responders, police officers, firefighters, the military, you name it. NASCAR’s very patriotic…Very proud of everybody to be able to do this today.”
“[The opening lap penalty] was frustrating, I’m not gonna lie,” Truex added. “I knew we’d have a good enough car to overcome it. It felt pretty good those first couple laps, so just one of those things. You got to put it out of your mind and you got to go race. We knew there was a lot on the line tonight, so very happy to get to do this and go to Bristol without any worries next week. It’s always fun.”
Hamlin, who is already guaranteed a spot in the Round of 12 after winning last weekend’s Playoff opening event at Darlington Raceway, settled in second place for the second time this season and for the second consecutive time at Richmond.
“Yeah, just a couple more [laps],” Hamlin, who led a race-high 197 laps, said. “Our pit stops were a little slow there and we lost about two or three seconds, maybe four on pit road on those two stops, and about a second and a half behind. We were coming, just we got off track with our car right there in the middle stages of the race, but overall [crew chief] Chris [Gabehart] and the team made great adjustments there at the end on the FedEx Camry. Just needed a couple more laps, that’s all. It’s the time where you got to bring your best. The whole [Joe Gibbs Racing] team, they brought fast cars for all of us today and I really wished we had gotten two [wins] in a row, but in regardless, still a great day for our team.”
Bell secured a strong third-place result followed by Elliott, who rallied from his pit stop miscue near the halfway mark, and Logano.
“I think, obviously, all of our Joe Gibbs Racing cars were extremely fast, so hats off to everyone back there at the shop, Toyota, [Toyota Racing Development] that gives us the resources that we need to come out here and do good,” Bell said. “We knew going into Richmond that this is one of our better racetracks, so we needed to capitalize on that and get all the points we could. We got some points there in Stage 2 and got a good finish out of it. Bristol is a really good racetrack for our company and me as a driver, but it’s a little bit – it’s just you can get caught up in stuff so easily at Bristol. It’s nice to have a buffer and hopefully, we can go to Bristol and have an uneventful event.”
“I was super proud of our effort,” Elliott said. “Our entire Kelley Blue Book team did a great job preparing for this week and then coming and executing a really fast car. I’m really proud of that. I hate our incident on pit road happened. I don’t know what I would have done any different. I guess let [Chastain] go is a safe thing, but it’s so close and always hard to tell kind of when they’re going to get done on the left side. I hate that. I thought I was long in the box and backed up out of a precautionary measure, but yeah, I hate that. I know that Kyle [Busch] and Martin [Truex Jr.] were really fast there at the end. I’m not sure if we would have had anything for them, but I sure would have liked to have found out…Nice rebound after last week. Everything about Darlington, that last weekend was miserable. Nice to come here and just put together a solid night. I felt like we performed at a really high level that I know we’re capable of every week. We perform like that the rest of the season, I think we’ll be just fine.”
“It seems like we had a little something for [the Gibbs cars] on the short runs,” Logano said. “I was hoping for, maybe, a caution, a good pit stop, good restart, maybe, I would’ve had something for them. Their long haul was tremendous. A lot of long runs tonight. That was where they were better than us. We were fifth place. Yes, it’s not a win, it’s not what we want, but it’s getting the points we need to get through to the next round. It’s a solid night. I think we were third in the first stage, fifth in the second and fifth as finished. Solid night at Richmond for the Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. I wanna win. I felt like this was one of our best shots to get it.”
Meanwhile, Kyle Larson finished sixth and clinched his spot for the Round of 12 in the Playoffs based on points.
“Yeah, it’s a lot better than we were here at Richmond earlier in the year,” Larson said. “At the beginning of the race, I thought I was going to have a really good shot to win, but we kind of lost the balance there and got it back a little bit there at the end. So, we probably finished where we deserved. [Kyle Busch] kind of had his problems, so maybe we finished one spot better. Not a bad day. To go to Bristol and know that we’re locked in is nice. We’ll try to be aggressive and get a win next week.”
Chastain came home in seventh as he emerged as the highest non-title contender for a second consecutive week. Harvick, Kyle Busch and Blaney completed the top 10.
Meanwhile, Alex Bowman, who won at Richmond in April, finished 12th and is tied with Kurt Busch for the 12th and final transfer spot heading into next weekend’s first Playoff elimination event at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“I felt like we started the race struggling, didn’t have much drive and was also really tight in the center, so which do you work on, right?” Bowman said. “[Crew chief] Greg [Ives] and the guys did a really good job. We got our Ally No. 48 Camaro rolling really good at the end of Stage 2, drove it to like eighth, we were fast. Made no adjustments, put a set of Goodyears on it, and they weren’t the goodest of the Goodyears. That set [of tires] put us a lap down and really struggled to make up for that throughout the rest of the night. Unfortunately, we ended up 12th. Obviously, [I] could’ve ended up much worse…The guys right in front of us that we got to beat are all really good at Bristol. [I] Pretty much just got to go and try to win, but that’s a hole I dug myself last week when I smacked the fence on Lap 7…I feel like I can go get the job done. Just got to go do it.”
Keselowski, Almirola and Reddick finished 13th, 14th and 15th while Byron dropped back to 19th, two laps behind the leaders. Michael McDowell ended his long night in 28th, five laps behind.
There were 21 lead changes for eight leaders. The race featured five cautions for 30 laps. Only nine of tonight’s 37 starters finished on the lead lap.
Results.
1. Martin Truex Jr., 80 laps led
2. Denny Hamlin, 197 laps led, Stage 1 & 2 winner
3. Christopher Bell, 10 laps led
4. Chase Elliott, 58 laps led
5. Joey Logano
6. Kyle Larson, eight laps led
7. Ross Chastain, four laps led
8. Kevin Harvick
9. Kyle Busch, 39 laps led
10. Ryan Blaney, one lap down
11. Austin Dillon, one lap down
12. Alex Bowman, one lap down
13. Brad Keselowski, one lap down
14. Aric Almirola, one lap down
15. Tyler Reddick, two laps down
16. Chase Briscoe, two laps down
17. Daniel Suarez, two laps down
18. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down
19. William Byron, two laps down
20. Ryan Newman, two laps down
21. Erik Jones, two laps down
22. Cole Custer, three laps down
23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., three laps down
24. Chris Buescher four laps down
25. Ryan Preece, four laps down
26. Anthony Alfredo, four laps down
27. Justin Haley, four laps down
28. Michael McDowell, five laps down
29. Corey LaJoie, five laps down
30. BJ McLeod, seven laps down
31. Garrett Smithley, 11 laps down
32. Bubba Wallace, 12 laps down
33. Joey Gase, 13 laps down
34. JJ Yeley, 14 laps down
35. Quin Houff, 14 laps down
36. Josh Bilicki, 15 laps down
37. Kurt Busch – OUT, Accident, four laps led
Bold indicates Playoff contenders.
Playoff standings.
1. Denny Hamlin – Advanced
2. Martin Truex Jr. – Advanced
3. Kyle Larson – Advanced
4. Joey Logano, +40
5. Ryan Blaney, +28
6. Kevin Harvick, +25
7. Chase Elliott, +19
8. Christopher Bell, +17
9. Brad Keselowski, +13
10. Kyle Busch, +8
11. Aric Almirola, +3
12. Kurt Busch, +0
13. Alex Bowman, -0
14. Tyler Reddick, -5
15. William Byron, -18
16. Michael McDowell, -38
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will continue next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race and where the first round of eliminations will occur. The race is scheduled to occur on Saturday, September 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Cup Series Southern 500 in a thrilling finish at Darlington Raceway to capture the first victory of the series Playoffs.
It was Hamlin’s first win of the year and his 45th career Cup Series victory. He led 146 laps in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and held off a hard-charging Kyle Larson who put the pedal to the floor and didn’t back off.
“Yeah, it was a matter of time,” Hamlin said about finally being able to finish strong and get to victory lane. “We can’t just keep leading inside 10 laps to go every week and not get a win.
“He drove it in past the limit of the car and tires. I knew he was coming. I was a little conservative on that last lap because I had that four-car-length lead.”
Larson kept his foot on the gas, scrapping the wall and the side of his No. 5 Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet. But he could not make the pass and had to settle for second place after leading a race-high 156 laps. It was his 19th top-10 finish this season.
Larson explained his final attempt to pass Hamlin.
“We got to the white (flag), and I was like, ‘Well, I haven’t been able to gain on him now, I’m going to try something.’
“Honestly, got to his bumper too quick. I was hoping he was going to run that diamond to kind of be safe and I could skirt to his outside but gave everything I had. I didn’t want to wreck him. I just wanted to try to get to his outside there, but he did a great job not really making any mistakes during the last run, and I was having to push really hard in second to try and just stay with him.”
Ross Chastain finished third, earning his first top-10 finish in five races at Darlington Raceway with Martin Truex Jr. in fourth and Kevin Harvick rounding out the top five
Harvick was pleased with the top-five and said, “I think it’s a good start. I think just a little bit of balance here and there to get ourselves to compete for the win, but I think as you look at the overall speed, it was fairly good.”
Chase Briscoe, in 19th, was the highest-finishing rookie.
There were no issues during the post-race inspection.
The next Cup Series race will be at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET. and will be broadcast live on NBCSN.
Notable:
Kyle Busch – After contact with the No. 3 of Austin Dillon, Bush hit the wall and was unable to finish the race, relegating him to a 35th place finish. He placed the blame on his team, saying, “It wasn’t the 3’s (Dillon’s) fault. Just take our lumps, you know. We were running like (crap), and that’s what you get when you run like (crap). Shouldn’t be there.”
Alex Bowman – Bowman scraped the wall on Lap 14 and the team decided to wait and make repairs during the competition caution. But they waited too long and he hit the wall in Turn 4 and also made contact with his teammate William Byron. Bowman was able to recover but finished 26th.
William Byron – Byron also recovered and ran in the top ten but on Lap 200 he cut a left front tire and crashed into the Turn 1 wall and was unable to finish the race, placing 34th.
Chase Elliott – Elliott finished in 31st place after he hit the outside wall on Lap 327 while racing Bubba Wallace and Christopher Bell.
Michael McDowell – McDowell hit the wall in Turn 2 on Lap 31 and then spun into the SAFER barrier, ending his day early.
Kyle Larson won the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season Championship Presented by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway Saturday night. The trophy was awarded at the conclusion of the Coke Zero 400, the final race before the post-season Playoffs.
In his debut season with Hendrick Motorsports Larson has scored five wins, 14 top fives, 18 top 10s, led 1566 laps and earned 13 stage wins. He has led the championship points standings since claiming his fifth win at Watkins Glen International on August 8.
The regular-season championship gives Larson an additional 15 points as he heads into the 10-race Playoffs.
“We had a stretch there where we won like every stage and every race for a few weeks in a row,” Larson said. “I think we took huge chunks out then. I think I read somewhere where we overcame, I think, a 166-point gap to Denny (Hamlin). I didn’t think it was possible, but our team has worked so hard all of the regular season.
“I couldn’t do it without Mr. Hendrick and Linda and all of their support. Everybody back at the shop, too. This is a long season and we still have 10 races to go. It’s a long point to get here and it’s just a big hats off to everybody at the shop, HendrickCars.com, Valvoline, Tarlton and Son, everybody who’s been on board to help us out this year.”
Jim Campbell, GM U.S. Vice President of Performance and Motorsports, congratulated Larson and the team, saying, “It was quite a battle right to the end, but the combination of the most wins, top-fives, top-10 finishes, stage wins and laps led made the difference to secure this Regular Season Championship. The team has momentum going into the Playoffs.”
The Playoffs begin Sept. 5 at the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway and Larson is confident that his team will perform well.
“I mean, I think there’s a lot of good tracks for us,” Larson said. “I don’t know which ones specifically. I feel like we have a shot to win anywhere right now. That’s encouraging.
“I really just look forward to getting it started next week, kind of getting into the flow of that, racing in the playoffs against multiple other drivers chasing points and wins. Yeah, I feel good about it.”
But Larson’s confidence is tempered with the knowledge that the completion will be tough.
“I think everybody has had their moments of being really strong this year,” he said. “I think the three others, my teammates, are going to be really tough. I think I look at obviously Denny, Martin, Kyle Busch, as probably being the three others besides our team that stand out.
“I feel like there’s always one or two guys that you don’t really notice that much during the regular season, maybe don’t even notice that much in the first round, but really start hitting their stride after that. There’s probably definitely a few wild cards out there. You won’t really know who they are until we get a few races in.”
The Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET on Sept. 5 and will be broadcast live on NBCSN.
For a second consecutive week, Ryan Blaney stole the show after the High Point, North Carolina, native took the lead from Chris Buescher prior to the final lap and pulled away from the field wrecking behind to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway under caution on Saturday, August 28.
The victory was Blaney’s third of the season as he will be one of 16 competitors who will compete for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship over a 10-week Playoff stretch.
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. Kyle Larson, the regular-season points leader, was scheduled to start on pole position, but instead, he started at the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection multiple times. With that, teammate William Byron, winner of last year’s Daytona 400 event, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Denny Hamlin.
Along with Larson, Joey Gase, Corey LaJoie and Kaz Grala started at the rear of the field due to multiple pre-race inspection failures. Michael McDowell and rookie Anthony Alfredo, teammates at Front Row Motorsports, also dropped to the rear of the field after it was discovered that both cars did not conform to NASCAR rule specifications pinpointing the deck lid extensions. As a result, crew chiefs Drew Blickensderfer and Seth Barbour were ejected from the event. Car chief Jason Sheets served as McDowell’s interim crew chief while Derrick Finley, Front Row Motorsports’ competition director, served as Alfredo’s interim crew chief. To make matters worse, Alfredo was assessed a pass-through penalty on pit road following the start of the race for illegal body adjustments made to his car while on the grid.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Byron received an early advantage on the outside lane with drafting help from Kyle Busch to take the lead, where he went on to lead the first lap by a nose over Hamlin.
The following lap, Byron broke away from the pack as he continued to lead ahead of Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr., all of whom were on the inside lane, while Kyle Busch settled as the lead car on the outside lane.
By the fifth lap, a majority of the pack formed a single-file line on the outside lane as Byron led teammate Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Truex, Matt DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch. Leading the inside line was ninth-place Alex Bowman.
Two laps later, Kevin Harvick, who had drafting help from Blaney, peaked ahead by nose to lead a lap over Byron. Another two laps later and while Byron moved back into the lead, Elliott got shuffled out of the top five as he dropped to the mid-pack.
Through the first 10 laps of the event, Hamlin moved into the lead followed by Bubba Wallace while Byron, who had led seven laps, was back in third ahead of Austin Dillon and Harvick. Kyle Busch, Blaney, Ross Chastain, Bowman and Brad Keselowski were in the top 10. By then, Joey Logano was in 12th, Elliott was in 15th, Truex was in 20th in between teammate Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick, Kurt Busch was in 24th behind rookie Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece and Kyle Larson was mired in 26th behind Aric Almirola.
Five laps later, the field fanned out to three tight lanes as Byron, who moved back into the lead the previous lap, was leading ahead of Hamlin, Chastain, Logano and Austin Dillon. Another three laps later, Chastain made a pit stop under green for two fresh tires and to have his fenders fixed. By then, Austin Dillon motored into the lead ahead of Elliott and Hamlin.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 20, Elliott squeaked ahead of Austin Dillon to lead followed by Truex, Logano and Stenhouse. Byron, Hamlin, Cole Custer, Blaney and Briscoe were in the top 10. By then, five different competitors led at least a lap.
Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted with all utilizing a variety of strategies. Following the pit stops Elliott retained the lead. Prior to the restart, Michael McDowell fell off the pace and took his car to the garage due to an engine failure and dropping fluid on the track.
When the race restarted on Lap 25, Elliott and Custer battled dead even for the lead before Elliott cleared the field when he and the field returned to the start/finish line. The following lap, Hamlin made a bold three-wide move on Logano and Austin Dillon in a bid for third place as Elliott and Custer battled for the lead ahead of a packed field.
By Lap 30 and with the majority of the field settled in a single-file line, Elliott continued to lead followed by Logano, Custer, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Byron, Bell, Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Chastain.
Ten laps later, Elliott remained as the leader of a long single-file line followed by Logano, Custer, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Byron, Bell, Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Chastain. Meanwhile, Truex was in 13th behind Blaney, Wallace was in 16th behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Almirola and Tyler Reddick were in 19th and 20th, Harvick and Larson were in 22nd and 23rd behind Briscoe, Bowman was in 25th behind Daniel Suarez and DiBenedetto was mired in 28th.
The following lap, Logano emerged as the new leader while Elliott got shuffled back to fourth in front of teammate Byron while trying to clean his grille. Two laps later, Elliott received a boost from teammate Byron to storm back into the lead while Logano had to defend the outside lane from a hard-charging Austin Dillon.
Approaching Lap 46, Logano gained a draft on Elliott, moved to the inside lane and tried to slide in front of Elliott through Turns 3 and 4, but he was unable to as Elliott retained the lead on the outside lane while Logano settled in as the lead car on the inside lane.
When the first stage concluded on Lap 50 following an early competitive race, Elliott managed to retain the lead and claim his third stage victory of the season. Hamlin settled in second followed by Kyle Busch, who nearly wrecked approaching the start/finish line following contact with Ross Chastain. Chastain was fourth followed by Truex, Austin Dillon, Corey LaJoie, Logano, Preece and Chris Buescher. By then, seven different competitors had led at least a lap within the pack racing and the draft.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for four fresh tires and to top off on fuel.
The second stage started on Lap 55. At the start, Truex pulled ahead by a slight margin over Elliott on the outside lane through the first two turns before clearing Elliott entering Turn 3. By then, he had names like Corey LaJoie, Christopher Bell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Kyle Busch settled in behind him.
Two laps later, LaJoie made a move beneath Truex to lead a lap before he got shuffled out of the draft and back in fourth.
Through the first 60 laps of the event, Truex, who took the lead back on Lap 58, was leading followed by teammate Bell, Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, LaJoie, Keselowski, Elliott, Chastain and Preece.
Fifteen laps later, Bell, who took over the top spot on Lap 70, was leading followed by Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Logano, Truex, Elliott, LaJoie, Briscoe, Reddick and a steaming pack of cars.
On Lap 77, the caution flew when Almirola and Bowman spun in the middle of Turn 4 while running near the rear of the field and in front of a handful of competitors. During the incident, Hamlin ran into the rear of Preece.
Four laps later, the race restarted under green as Logano and Bell started on the front row. At the start, Logano launched ahead followed by Bell while LaJoie received a push from Reddick through the backstraightaway before being shuffled out by Reddick, who tucked in behind Logano.
By Lap 90, Logano was leading followed by Reddick, Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Keselowski, Truex, Hamlin, Preece and Larson.
When the second stage concluded on Lap 100, Logano, who took over the lead three laps earlier over teammate Blaney, was scored the leader as he claimed his fifth stage victory of the season. Austin Dillon settled in second followed by Byron, Reddick, Larson, Blaney, Stenhouse, Kyle Busch, Wallace and Bell. By then, 11 different competitors had led at least a lap.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted for fresh tires and fuel.
With 55 laps remaining, the final stage commenced as Byron and Hamlin filled the front row. At the start, Hamlin received a push from Harvick to take over the lead. During the next four laps, Harvick led three before Elliott squeaked ahead to lead one for himself.
Five laps later, Harvick was back out in front followed by Hamlin, Byron, Wallace and Logano, who then mounted a charge on the inside lane while being pursued by Chastain, Elliott and others.
Another 10 laps later and with the field, which had fanned out to three lanes earlier, settling in a long single-file line, Chastain was leading followed by Bowman, Blaney, Kyle Busch, Harvick, Stenhouse, Wallace, Hamlin, Elliott and Briscoe.
With 38 laps remaining, the Ford competitors peeled off the track to pit under green. Back on the track, Chastain and Wallace battled for the lead ahead of the field that had fanned out to two lanes.
Down to the final 30 laps of the event, Wallace was leading followed by Kyle Busch, Chastain, Bell, Stenhouse, Truex, Bowman, LaJoie, Elliott and Landon Cassill. The following lap, Chastain received a push from Stenhouse to snatch the lead back from Wallace.
With 21 laps remaining, the caution flew for an accident involving Cody Ware, Joey Gase and Garrett Smithley, all of whom drive for Rick Ware Racing, in Turn 4. At the time of caution, Kyle Busch was the leader. Under caution, the front-runners pitted and the Fords moved up the pack, giving the lead to Logano. During the pit stops, Austin Dillon, who was battling battery issues to his car, was busted for speeding and was sent to the rear of the field.
Five laps later, the race restarted under green. At the start, Logano jumped ahead on the inside lane followed by teammate Blaney, Almirola, Buescher and Custer while DiBenedetto got shuffled back to sixth ahead of Kyle Busch and Harvick.
With 15 laps remaining, the caution flew when Truex got bumped by Stenhouse entering the backstretch and collided into Byron before spinning across the grass and proceeding with damage and firing rolling out of his car. Also involved were Briscoe, Cassill, Suare Alfredo, Keselowski and Tyler Reddick, the competitor occupying the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs as he had smoke trailing behind and damage on the front nose his car. The incident was enough for NASCAR to red-flag the event for nearly 15 minutes.
Following the cleanup period concluded and the caution was drawn back, teammates Reddick and Austin Dillon pitted to have their respective Chevrolets repaired with enough adjustments to finish the race.
With 10 laps remaining, the race restarted as teammates Logano and Blaney occupied the front row. At the start, Logano jumped ahead, but the field narrowed the gap through the backstraightaway and back to the tri-oval from the draft as Almirola moved up the leaderboard.
The following lap, Chris Buescher mounted a challenge on the inside lane to move up to third behind Logano and Blaney. He then received pushes from Kurt Busch and Elliott to move up to second as he challenged Logano for the lead.
With seven laps remaining, Buescher received a strong push from Elliott and Hamlin to take the lead, where he managed to slide in front of Logano through the backstraightaway.
A lap later, though, Elliott stormed to the lead while Buescher got shuffled out in a three-wide battle against Logano and Elliott. With Buescher falling back, Elliott was leading followed by Hamlin, Logano and Blaney while Matt DiBenedetto mounted a challenge on the inside lane.
Under the final five laps, Logano fell off the pace after he cut a tire in a shower of sparks. Despite the misfortune, Logano kept his car rolling on the outside lane as the field went by him and the race proceeded under green. At the front, DiBenedetto challenged Elliott on the outside lane for the lead as the field behind started to stack up and fan out multiple lanes with the finish within sight.
Then in Turn 3, DiBenedetto, who continued to intimidate Elliott for the lead, ran into the rear bumper of Elliott as both along with Hamlin skidded across the outside wall. The contact of the wall got Elliott loose and he slid up and into DiBenedetto across the outside wall again. The ensuing contact ignited a chain reaction wreck that involved Hamlin, Keselowski, Bell, Kyle Busch, Preece, Chastain, Custer, Stenhouse and Kaz Grala, a wreck that sent the race into overtime.
In the midst of the carnage, Buescher was back in the lead followed by Blaney, LaJoie, Austin Dillon and Harvick. Chastain was in sixth followed by Larson, Daniel Suarez, Bubba Wallace and Kurt Busch.
When the race restarted in overtime, Buescher and Blaney battled dead even entering the first turn before Blaney received a strong push from LaJoie to take the lead on the inside lane. LaJoie, though, received a draft from Harvick to close back to Blaney’s rear bumper in Turn 3.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Blaney was leading ahead of LaJoie and Buescher. Through Turn 1, Harvick made a bold move beneath LaJoie to move into second place, thus shuffling LaJoie out of the lead draft, as Suarez, Buescher, Kurt Busch and others mounted a final lap mount to the front.
Through the backstraightaway, Blaney continued to lead followed by Harvick and Suarez. Then, Suarez got loose in front of Kurt Busch and turned into Harvick, which triggered a big accident in Turn 3 involving Austin Dillon, Larson, Chastain, LaJoie, Bowman and Erik Jones.
With the field wrecking behind, Blaney pulled away unscathed and cruised to the finish line in first place as the caution flew due to the accident.
The victory marked Blaney’s first at Daytona International Speedway, his second consecutive Cup victory in recent weeks after winning last weekend at Michigan International Speedway, his third of the season and the seventh of his career.
“Man, that was a lot of fun,” Blaney said on NBC. “Gosh, we just barely missed that wreck. We got lined up on the front row and got a good push by [LaJoie]. You never know how the end of these days are gonna play out. Down the back, you don’t know what lane’s getting a bigger run. I guess somebody got tangled up over there. Hopefully, everyone’s okay. Man, this is so cool. Second win of the year with BodyArmor on the car. Winning at Daytona, this is so cool. It’s really special and man, it’s been a fun two weeks. Looking forward to next week! Got a good, enough momentum. It’d be nice to make it three [wins] in a row. We’ll see.”
Behind Blaney, Chris Buescher came home in second place while Bubba Wallace, who dodged the final lap carnage, recorded a strong third-place result. The best season results for both Buescher and Wallace, however, were not enough for either of them to make the Playoffs.
“It hurts,” Buescher said. “That one stings a lot, but at the same time, [I] appreciate everybody at [Roush Fenway Racing]. Awesome weekend for Fifth Third Bank…[I] Wanted to get that [win] for so many different reasons. To miss that Playoff spot by one spot, that’s a tough ending to the day, but proud of this group. Proud of the car we brought…That hurts.”
“The seas parted and when that wreck happened, I just stayed in it, came out third, but it’s not what we needed,” Wallace added. “Bummer, but solid day. We went up and led some laps. Unfortunate, we wanted to win. That was the most prepared I’ve ever been for this speedway stuff and [finished] third…It just stings.”
Following the post-race inspection, however, Buescher was disqualified from his runner-up result due to an illegal track bar mounting assembly. As a result, Buescher was demoted to 40th place, dead last, while Wallace was promoted to the runner-up result, which tied his best result in NASCAR’s premier series.
Ryan Newman was elevated to third place followed by Ryan Preece, both of whom also did not make the Playoffs. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick, who barely escaped the final lap multi-car wreck, finished fifth and claimed the 16th and final spot to the Playoffs over teammate Austin Dillon, who was unable to finish the race after being swept up in the wreck. With that, Reddick joins Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell as first-time members of the Cup Series Playoffs this season.
“My emotions were shot as soon as we took the green on the last green-white-checkered [restart],” Reddick said. “I couldn’t even believe we finished seventh. Getting through that last crash coming to the line, it was a lot, I’m not gonna lie. Going to Homestead, running for Xfinity Series championships were a lot of fun. Really exciting, really nerve-racking, but what a roller coaster it is to be on the bubble going into Daytona, running into the back of somebody and have all the issues we did at the end there. Almost felt helpless there, but we didn’t give up and we fought through it.”
“It was a little bit of a roller coaster ride,” Austin Dillon said. “We fought our butts off in the stages. We made some good moves to get points and found ourselves in fourth-place for a green-white-checkered here at Daytona. That’s where we were when we won the Daytona 500, so I was feeling pretty good about it…We fought hard. The Bass Pro Shop Chevy was very fast. Two weeks in a row we’ve had great cars out of the No. 3 team. Just haven’t gotten the finishes we’d like to have, but very thankful that the good Lord took care of us tonight and we get to race at Darlington next week. Unfortunate that we’re not in the Playoffs, but we gave it all we could and fought until the very end.”
Justin Haley, Bowman, Elliott, BJ McLeod and Josh Bilicki finished in the top 10.
Despite being involved on the final lap accident, Kyle Larson, who was scored in 20th claimed the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season championship over Denny Hamlin, who ended up in 13th. The result made Larson the fourth different competitor to achieve the regular-season title in the Cup Series.
“I think I read somewhere earlier this week where we had overcome a 166-point gap to Denny [Hamlin],” Larson said. “I didn’t think it was possible, but our team worked so hard all of the regular season and [I] couldn’t have done it without Mr. [Hendrick] and Linda, all of their support, everybody back at the shop, too. It’s a long season, and we still got 10 races to go, but it’s a long point to get to here…I’m just the lucky guy who gets to drive [the car] and get a lot of the credit, but it’s really credit to everybody back at the shop.”
Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Tyler Reddick have made the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and will contend for this year’s championship.
Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece, Erik Jones, Corey LaJoie, Austin Dillon, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cole Custer, Matt DiBenedetto, Anthony Alfredo and Quin Houff are among the remaining competitors who failed to make the Playoffs.
There were 45 lead changes for 15 different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 31 laps.
Results.
1. Ryan Blaney, seven laps led
2. Bubba Wallace, eight laps led
3. Ryan Newman, two laps led
4. Ryan Preece
5. Justin Haley
6. Tyler Reddick
7. Alex Bowman
8. Chase Elliott, 36 laps led
9. BJ McLeod
10. Josh Bilicki
11. Erik Jones
12. Kurt Busch
13. Denny Hamlin, seven laps led
14. Aric Almirola
15. Kevin Harvick, four laps led
16. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Accident, one lap led
17. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident, three laps led
18. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident, 14 laps led
19. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident
20. Kyle Larson – OUT, Accident
21. Chase Briscoe – OUT, Accident
22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., one lap down
23. Joey Logano, one lap down, 37 laps led
24. Cole Custer, one lap down
25. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap down
26. Anthony Alfredo, two laps down
27. David Starr, two laps down
28. Cody Ware, two laps down
29. Martin Truex Jr., two laps down, 13 laps led
30. Garrett Smithley, two laps down
31. Joey Gase, three laps down
32. Christopher Bell – OUT, Accident, eight laps led
33. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident
34. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident, five laps led
35. Kaz Grala – OUT, Accident
36. Landon Cassill – OUT, Accident
37. William Byron – OUT, Accident, 12 laps led
38. Quin Houff, 29 laps down
39. Michael McDowell – OUT
40. Chris Buescher – Disqualified, eight laps led
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs will commence next weekend at Darlington Raceway for the Cook Out Southern 500 on Sunday, September 5, which will start at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to Daytona International Speedway. It’s the last regular-season race for the Cup Series before the Playoffs begin. There are 15 drivers locked in with only one available spot.
The regular-season champion will also be crowned after the race, with Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin as the top contenders vying for the title.
This weekend the Camping World Truck Series enjoys a week off from competition.
All times are Eastern.
Friday, August 27
7:10 p.m.: Xfinity Series Driver Intros *7:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Wawa 250 Stages 30/60/100 Lap = 250 Miles Pole: AJ Allmendinger NBCSN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/MRN
*The Xfinity race was postponed after completing only 19 laps Friday night due to rain and lightning in the area. It is scheduled to resume Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast on NBCSN with radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Saturday, August 28
6:50 p.m.: Cup Series Driver Intros 7 p.m.: Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 Stages 50/100/160 Laps = 400 Miles Pole: Kyle Larson NBC/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/MRN
NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Clinch Scenarios for Daytona:
Already Clinched:
The following 15 drivers have clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason field – Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Aric Almirola.
Can Clinch Via Points:
If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the Playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being ahead of the 4th winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from Denny Hamlin or Kevin Harvick.
Tyler Reddick would clinch with 31 points. Austin Dillon could only clinch with help.
Can Clinch Via Win:
The following drivers can clinch on their win alone – Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, Matt DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ross Chastain, Darrell Wallace Jr., Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece, Cole Custer, Anthony Alfredo and Corey LaJoie.
Can Clinch Regular Season Championship:
Additionally, the Regular Season Championship can be clinched by Kyle Larson with 32 points. Denny Hamlin could only clinch with help.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Clinch Scenarios for Daytona:
Already Clinched:
Five drivers have clinched a spot in the Playoffs including Austin Cindric, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider, leaving five available positions.
Can Clinch via Points:
If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the Playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being 166 points above the fifth winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from Daniel Hemric, Harrison Burton, Justin Haley or Noah Gragson.
Daniel Hemric: would clinch with 44 points Harrison Burton: could only clinch with help Justin Haley: could only clinch with help
Can Clinch Via Win:
The following drivers can clinch with a win – Daniel Hemric, Harrison Burton, Justin Haley, Noah Gragson, Brandon Jones, Jeremy Clements, Riley Herbst, Brandon Brown, Ryan Sieg, Tommy Joe Martins, Alex Labbe, Landon Cassill, Josh Williams.
Statistical info provided by NASCAR
Daytona International Speedway Season Race #: 26 of 36 (08-28-21) Track Size: 2.5-mile Banking/Turns: 31 degrees Banking/Straights: 3 degrees Banking/Tri-Oval: 18 degrees Frontstretch Length: 3,800 feet Backstretch Length: 3,000 feet Race Length: 160 laps / 400 miles Stage 1 & 2 Length: 50 laps (each) Final Stage Length: 60 laps
Daytona International Speedway Qualifying Data
Track qualifying record (July race): Cale Yarborough, Ford (203.519 mph, 44.222 secs) on 07-02-86. 2020 pole winner: Metric qualifying, Kevin Harvick started from the pole.
Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active series drivers in Daytona starts with 40 each.
Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active series drivers in July Daytona starts with 20 each.
William Byron leads all active drivers in the series in average starting position at Daytona with a 10.857 in seven total starts.
Ryan Blaney also leads the series in average starting position in the Summer races at Daytona with a 10.400 in six starts.
Eight of the 62 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona pole winners are active this weekend. Chase Elliott (3), Alex Bowman (2), Ricky Stenhouse Jr (1), William Byron (1), Austin Dillon (1), Kyle Busch (1), Martin Truex Jr (1), and Kevin Harvick (1).
Chase Elliott leads all active series drivers in poles at Daytona with three (Feb. 2016, Feb. 2017, and July 2018).
The youngest series Daytona pole winner is Chase Elliott (February 21, 2016 – 20 years, 2 months, 24 days).
Hendrick Motorsports leads all organizations in Summer race poles at Daytona in the NASCAR Cup Series with seven: Darrell Waltrip (7/2/88), Greg sacks (7/7/90), Jeff Gordon (7/6/96 and 7/3/04), Mark Martin (7/2/11), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (7/1/17), Chase Elliott (7/7/2018).
Eight different manufacturers have won the pole for the Summer race at Daytona, led by Chevrolet (22), and followed by Ford (13), Pontiac (six), Dodge (five), Mercury (five), Oldsmobile (three), Toyota (one) and Buick (one).
Daytona International Speedway Race Data
Track race record (July race): Bobby Allison, Mercury (173.473 mph, 02:18:21) on 07-04-80. 2020 race winner: William Byron, Chevrolet (153.766 mph, 02:39:59) on 08-29-20.
14 of the 67 NASCAR Cup Series Daytona winners are active this weekend; seven of the 14 have won during the Summer event. Denny Hamlin (3), Kevin Harvick (2), Michael McDowell (1), William Byron (1), Justin Haley (1), Erik Jones (1), Austin Dillon (1), Ricky Stenhouse Jr (1), Kurt Busch (1), Brad Keselowski (1), Joey Logano (1), Aric Almirola (1), Kyle Busch (1) and Ryan Newman (1).
Denny Hamlin (Feb. 2016, Feb. 2019, Feb. 2020) leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Daytona wins with three.
The youngest Daytona Summer race winner: Justin Haley (07/07/2019 – 20 years, 2 months, 9 days); all-time track record – Trevor Bayne (02/20/2011 – 20 years, 0 months, 1 day).
Nine of the 62 summer Daytona International Speedway races (14.5%) in the NASCAR Cup Series have been won from the pole or first starting position.
The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (nine) than any other starting position in the July race at Daytona International Speedway.
Martin Truex Jr. leads the series among active drivers with the most NASCAR Cup Series starts at Daytona without visiting Victory Lane at 32; followed by Landon Cassill with 15 and Kyle Larson with 14.
The Wood Brothers and Hendrick Motorsports are toed for the most wins at Daytona in the NASCAR Cup Series with 15 victories each; both have done it with seven different winning drivers.
Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in runner-up finishes in the summer race at Daytona with three (2006, ’07, ’16).
Denny Hamlin is the early favorite to walk away with a victory from the Coke Zero Sugar 400. In fact, he’s the only driver given odds better than +1100 odds. Hamlin is given +750 odds, or an implied 11.8% chance to win the race. He’s followed by Kyle Larson at +1100, or an implied 8.3% chance to win. Last year’s winner William Byron is tied for third at +1200, with a 7.7% implied chance of victory.
Bettors’ favorite to win the NASCAR Spring Cup series, with 50% of the bet over the last month, Chase Elliot is also tied for 3rd at +1200.
The outside lane at Michigan International Speedway was the preferred lane for many at Michigan International Speedway, but the inside lane prevailed at the right time for Ryan Blaney. The High Point, North Carolina, native received a push from Kyle Busch to overtake and beat William Byron in an eight-lap dash to win the FireKeepers Casino 400 at the Irish Hills on Sunday, August 22.
The victory was Blaney’s second of the season and his first since winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway in March.
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, the regular-season points leader, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with teammate Chase Elliott.
Prior to the event, Josh Berry and Joey Gase started at the rear of the field due to driver changes from their respective machines.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, teammates Larson and Elliott dueled dead even until Ryan Blaney issued a challenge on the inside lane through the first turn. Through the backstretch, however, Larson was able to pull ahead on the outside lane as he went on to lead the first lap ahead of Matt DiBenedetto.
Meanwhile, Kurt Busch powered his way into third while Elliott was challenged by Kevin Harvick for fourth place. Behind, Ryan Blaney slipped back into the top 10 as Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin and others moved up the leaderboard.
On the third lap, DiBenedetto, who challenged Larson for the lead early, led the third lap before Larson took it back. Through the backstretch and entering Turn 4, Kurt Busch then moved into the runner-up spot over DiBenedetto as Elliott started to reel in the leaders. Just behind the top-four competitors were Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, both of whom were battling for a top-five spot ahead of Alex Bowman.
Through the first five laps, Larson continued to lead by nearly two-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch. Meanwhile, Martin Truex Jr. was mired back in 33rd after he sustained left-rear quarterpanel damage to his No. 19 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota Camry.
By Lap 10, Larson’s No. 5 Cincinnati Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Kurt Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE while DiBenedetto, Elliott and Hamlin were in the top five. Harvick was in sixth followed by Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. William Byron was in 11th ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Blaney was back in 13th ahead of Chris Buescher and Erik Jones, who announced his return to Richard Petty Motorsports for the 2022 season. Ryan Newman was in 16th ahead of rookie Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon and Christopher Bell. Aric Almirola was in 21st ahead of Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez, Michael McDowell was in 24th, Bubba Wallace was in 26th and Cole Custer was in 29th.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 20, Larson, who has led all but one of the scheduled laps, was the leader by nearly half a second over Kurt Busch. By then, Byron moved into the top 10 while Blaney and Harvick fell back to 12th and 16th. Truex, meanwhile, was still mired in 33rd.
Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Hamlin emerged with the lead after only opting for fuel under his first pit stop. Larson, who elected for a two-tire pit stop, exited in second followed by Kurt Busch, Elliott, Bowman and Reddick.
When the race restarted on Lap 25, Hamlin, who restarted on the outside lane, received a push from Larson to muscled away from Elliott, who elected to restart on the inside lane on the front row. Elliott, though, was able to settle in the runner-up spot ahead of teammate Larson through the backstretch.
Two laps later, Elliott thundered his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the lead over Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry. Behind, Kurt Busch overtook Larson for fourth while Reddick settled in fifth.
The following lap, Kurt Busch drag-raced and battled Hamlin for the runner-up spot, but Hamlin managed to prevail on the outside lane through the first two turns. Behind, Joey Logano challenged Larson for fourth, but he lost his momentum in Turn 4 and fell back to sixth ahead of Byron and Bowman.
Through the first 30 laps of the event, Elliott was leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Hamlin while Larson, Kurt Busch and Reddick battled in the top five. Byron moved up to sixth ahead of Logano, Bowman, DiBenedetto and Austin Dillon.
Shortly after, the caution flew when Joey Gase wrecked in Turn 2. Under caution, few like Daniel Suarez pitted while the rest led by Elliott remained on the track.
When the race restarted on Lap 35, Elliott and Kurt Busch battled dead even for the lead through the first turn and the backstretch until Elliott managed to pull ahead in Turn 3. Behind, Hamlin, who received a push from Logano through Turn 4, moved up to second while Logano moved his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang in front of Kurt Busch for third the following lap. The next lap after, Larson overtook Kurt Busch for fourth in Turn 3 while Austin Dillon, a competitor battling for a Playoff spot and who opted for four fresh tires under the competition caution, challenged Busch for fifth.
Nearing the first 40 laps of the event and with the field jostling for positions, Elliott was leading by three-tenths of a second over Hamlin and Logano. Larson and Austin Dillon were in the top five followed by Kurt Busch, DiBenedetto, Blaney, Byron and Brad Keselowski. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch, Harvick and Truex were in 12th, 13th and 16th while Tyler Reddick was back in 15th.
With the race surpassing the Lap 50 mark, Elliott was leading by half a second over Austin Dillon. Hamlin, Logano and Larson were in the top five followed by Byron and DiBenedetto while Kurt Busch fell back to eighth ahead of brother Kyle and Blaney.
Back at the front, Austin Dillon and Larson started to reel in on Elliott for the lead. Despite the challenge, though, Elliott was able to maintain the lead and claim his second stage victory of the season by winning the first stage on Lap 60. Behind, Larson managed to edge Dillon at the line to settle in second while Hamlin held off Byron to retain fourth. Logano, DiBenedetto, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch and Keselowski settled in the top 10.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Larson exited with the lead following a stellar four-tire pit stop. Elliott followed in second ahead of Austin Dillon, Suarez (who opted for two fresh tires), Logano and Kyle Busch while Hamlin, who pitted from fourth place, fell back to 10th. Prior to the restart, Logano returned to pit road to have the lug nuts on his car tightened.
The second stage started on Lap 66 as Larson and Austin Dillon started on the front row. At the start, Larson and Dillon battled dead even for the lead for a full lap until Larson prevailed on the outside lane through Turn 1. With Larson clear in the lead, teammate Elliott moved up to second over Dillon, who was being challenged by DiBenedetto for more.
Behind, contact from DiBenedetto got Kurt Busch loose in Turn 3. While Busch prevented the car from spinning, he fell out of the top 10 and was mired near the midfield and around a bevy of cars. At the front, though, Larson continued to lead ahead of teammate Elliott, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Suarez.
By Lap 75, a three-way battle for the lead ensued as Larson, the leader, was pressured by Austin Dillon and Elliott for the top spot, all three of whom were separated by approximately three-tenths of a second. Kyle Busch was up in fourth followed by DiBenedetto, Keselowski, Christopher Bell, Hamlin, Bubba Wallace and Harvick.
Five laps later, Elliott motored his way back into the lead.
At the halfway mark on Lap 100, Elliott continued to lead by a narrow margin over teammate Larson. Austin Dillon settled in third ahead of Kyle Busch and Bell while Hamlin was in sixth. DiBenedetto, Byron, Keselowski and Blaney were in the top 10.
Not long after, pit stops under green commenced as names like Harvick, Byron, Stenhouse, rookie Chase Briscoe and Bowman pitted. By Lap 110, Larson surrendered the lead to pit. The following lap, Elliott also pitted. A few laps later, Kyle Busch and Hamlin pitted, but Hamlin slid past his pit box while trying to enter his stall. During the pit stops, Ross Chastain took his car to the garage due to a fire in the rear end of his No. 42 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
Back on the track and with the green flag pit stops concluding, Kyle Busch, who pitted three and four laps later than Larson and Elliott, cycled to the lead. Bell was in second while Larson and Elliott closed in and challenged Hamlin for third.
Utilizing his pit strategy to perfection, Kyle Busch cruised to his fifth stage victory of the season after winning the second stage on Lap 120. Teammate Bell settled in second followed by Larson, Elliott and Hamlin. Behind, Austin Dillon nipped Keselowski for sixth, but then, Dillon’s strong day evaporated after contact from Keselowski sent Dillon head-on into the Turn 4 outside wall, where his car nearly flipped, before coming to a rest below the apron. The damage to the No. 3 Chevrolet was enough to terminate Dillon’s run for the day and put a huge dent to his Playoff hopes, though he will have a final opportunity to make the postseason next weekend at Daytona International Speedway.
“I was just trying to get as many stage points as I could get right there and did a good job of side-drafting and came down to the apron and I’ve seen just one quick replay, but it was after the start/finish line,” Dillon said at the infield care center on NBCSN. “I was starting to come up off the apron because it’s so rough down there. But I figured by that point, [Keselowski] would have given me a little room. I hate it. I’m thankful that the good Lord kept me safe today. That was a heck of a wreck, but I feel fine.
“I hate it for BREZTRI and my guys, most of all,” Dillon added. “They built a rocket ship. They really wanted this one, and I did too. Just working our tails off right there. I think we would have had a shot to do something there at the end with our race car. It’s the best race car we’ve brought to the track at [Richard Childress Racing] this year, I feel like. It’s just a bummer but we’ve got Daytona left and I just hate it. I don’t know why it happened, really. I thought I had a little room to come up and he just held me down there a little bit too long, I guess.”
In the midst of the incident, Reddick, Byron and DiBenedetto rounded out the top-10 stage points positions in the second stage.
Under the stage break, names like Kyle Busch, Wallace, Elliott, Hamlin, Bell and Erik Jones pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.
With 74 laps remaining, the final stage started as Larson and Kurt Busch started on the front row. At the start, Larson and Kurt Busch battled dead even for the lead for a full lap, where Busch led for the first time before Larson received a push from teammate Byron to grab the lead through the first two turns. Behind, Byron motored his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE into the runner-up spot while Busch fell back to third ahead of Blaney, DiBenedetto and Truex.
With 60 laps remaining, Larson was leading by a tenth of a second over teammate Byron while Kurt Busch, Blaney and Bowman were in the top five. Truex, following his early issues, was up in sixth ahead of teammate Hamlin, DiBenedetto, Logano and Reddick. Kyle Busch was mired back in 11th, Elliott was in 14th ahead of Harvick, Keselowski was back in 18th and Bell was in 21st.
Down to the final 50 laps of the event and with overcast clouds hovering above the track, Larson continued to lead by nearly four-tenths of a second over teammate Byron. Kurt Busch and Blaney remained in third and fourth while Truex was up in fifth ahead of teammate Hamlin, Bowman and Logano.
Nearing the final 40 laps of the event, names like Elliott, Byron, Bowman and Blaney pitted under green. During this time, Larson, who ran out of fuel, pitted along with Kurt Busch, but he was overtaken by teammate Byron on the track.
Under the final 40 laps, Hamlin emerged with the lead followed by teammate Truex while Logano, Kyle Busch and Reddick were in the top five. Not long after, Logano pitted along with Harvick and Truex.
With 35 laps remaining, Hamlin pitted as teammate Kyle Busch took the lead. Following Hamlin’s pit service, teammates Byron and Larson managed to overtake him on the track. Three laps later, Kyle Busch pitted along with Elliott, thus giving the lead to Keselowski as Chris Buescher was in second and Bell was in third, all of whom were among some who needed to pit.
With 20 laps remaining, the caution flew due to precipitation reported on the track. Five laps earlier, Byron emerged with the lead after Keselowski and Bell pitted, thus completing the cycle of green-flag pit stops. Teammate Larson moved up to second followed by Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Blaney.
Under caution, some led by Keselowski pitted while the rest led by Byron remained on the track.
Down to the final 14 laps of the event, the race restarted under green as Byron and Kurt Busch started on the front row. At the start, the field stacked up past the start/finish line, but Byron received a push from teammate Larson to retain the lead through the first turn.
As the field fanned out through the backstretch, Hamlin aggressively charged his way into the runner-up spot over Larson while Reddick made a bold four-wide move on Logano, Kurt Busch and Blaney entering Turn 3 in a bid to gain spots towards his Playoff hopes. Then, through Turns 3 and 4, Reddick slowly drifted up the track and got loose in front of Logano, who got sideways and turned by Truex. The spin by Logano ignited a chain-reaction wreck that involved Bell, Josh Berry, McDowell and Ryan Newman. The incident drew the caution back on the circuit.
With eight laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start and with the leaders battling dead even, Blaney, who restarted as the first competitor on the inside lane, received a huge shove from Kyle Busch to assume the lead in the first turn ahead of Byron as the field fanned out.
A lap later, Reddick spun in Turn 3, but the race remained under green. Back at the front, Blaney continued to lead by a narrow margin over Byron, Larson and Kurt Busch. Behind, Briscoe overtook Hamlin for fifth.
Down to the final five laps of the event, the top-seven competitors were separated by half a second as Blaney, the leader, had Larson closing in on his rear bumper through the first two turns along with Byron, Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Briscoe and DiBenedetto.
A lap later, Kurt Busch, who challenged Byron for third, wiggled in Turn 2 and lost his momentum before he was hit by Briscoe. Despite the contact, all competitors continued straight. A turn later, DiBenedetto shoved Hamlin out of the way on the inside lane, which sent Hamlin up the track in front of Briscoe, all of whom continued without wrecking.
Back at the front, Larson issued a challenge beneath Blaney, but he could not carry the momentum in Turn 1. Two turns later, Byron passed teammate Larson for the runner-up spot as he started to intimidate Blaney for the lead.
When the white flag waved and the final lap of the race occurred, Blaney was still leading ahead of Byron and Larson, both of whom were setting up a final challenge on Blaney for the top spot. Through the first turn and the backstretch, Byron gained a draft but was unable to execute a dive run on Blaney entering Turn 3. Through Turns 3 and 4, Byron tried another move from the outside lane, but the run came too late as Blaney edged Byron by 0.077 seconds to capture his first victory in the Irish Hills and in an upset fashion.
In addition to capturing his second victory of the season and first at Michigan, Blaney achieved his sixth win in the NASCAR Cup Series and his first multi-victory season in the Cup circuit. He also recorded the seventh consecutive Cup victory for the Ford nameplate at Michigan.
“We got a great push by [Kyle Busch] on the restart and was able to get clear there,” Blaney, who led the final eight laps, said on NBCSN. “Michigan’s a matter of pretty much wide open and just trying to play the air game. I hate you have to race that way, but that’s how you have to run. It worked out for us. Man, I’m proud of everybody on the No. 12 team. We weren’t great to start the day off and yeah, kept working and working, got a lot better. It’s so cool to get in Victory Lane for Ford here. This is such a huge one for Ford. That was cool, man. I’m fired up.”
Behind, Byron, who led 18 laps, settled in the runner-up spot while Larson, who led a race-high 71 laps and was aiming for his fourth victory at Michigan, ended up in third.
“[Hamlin] tried to shove us into [Turn] 1 and I had to stay with him to not sacrifice my right rear,” Byron said. “Once you get put three-wide middle, it’s game over. I gave up the lead trying to protect the top [lane] and just didn’t have the loyalty there to push me to the lead. Overall, a really good car. The AXALTA Chevrolet was extremely fast. Definitely, I know we can bring that to the Playoffs. It stinks to finish second, but I feel like we had a really good car to go to battle with.
“Yeah, the restart worked out a little better than I thought it was going to for me,” Larson said. “[Hamlin] tried to stick [Byron] three-wide. They got loose. I got to the middle. I think came out third or something there. Was able to get to second. Just made a couple bad moves, I guess. I think honestly just a little too patient behind [Blaney]. Could have made some later, you know, dives I guess to the inside. Who knows. I need to watch the replay.
“Just made a couple wrong moves, allowed William to get by me. Once I was in third, I hoped they would get racing, get side drafted. I was never close enough to William to help him generate a run on [Blaney]. Ended up third. A good points day. Wish we could have had more, but all in all a good day for the Cincinnati Chevy.”
Kurt Busch came home in fourth ahead of Hamlin while DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Elliott, Keselowski and Truex finished in the top 10.
Despite finishing 14th, Kevin Harvick clinched his spot into the Playoffs based on points.
There were 20 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race six featured cautions for 29 laps.
With one race remaining until the 2021 Cup Playoffs commences, Larson continues to lead the regular-season standings by 28 points over Denny Hamlin. Currently, 13 competitors (Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell) are guaranteed Playoff spots based on winning at least once throughout the regular season.
Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick are also guaranteed spots in the Playoffs based on points.
Tyler Reddick, meanwhile, occupies the 16th and final berth to the Playoffs by 25 points over teammate Austin Dillon, with Matt DiBenedetto trailing by 120 points, Chris Buescher by 135, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. by 173, Ross Chastain by 185, Bubba Wallace by 195, Chase Briscoe by 227, Erik Jones by 250, Daniel Suarez by 254, Ryan Newman by 271, Ryan Preece by 279, Cole Custer by 295, Corey LaJoie by 370 and Anthony Alfredo by 440.
Results:
1. Ryan Blaney, eight laps led
2. William Byron, 18 laps led
3. Kyle Larson, 71 laps led
4. Kurt Busch, one lap led
5. Denny Hamlin, 10 laps led
6. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap led
7. Kyle Busch, 13 laps led, Stage 2 winner
8. Chase Elliott, 68 laps led, Stage 1 winner
9. Brad Keselowski, six laps led
10. Martin Truex Jr.
11. Chase Briscoe
12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
13. Christopher Bell
14. Kevin Harvick
15. Chris Buescher
16. Alex Bowman
17. Aric Almirola
18. Erik Jones
19. Bubba Wallace
20. Michael McDowell
21. Ryan Preece
22. Daniel Suarez
23. Cole Custer
24. Ryan Newman
25. Justin Haley
26. Josh Berry
27. Cody Ware, one lap down
28. BJ McLeod, two laps down
29. Tyler Reddick, two laps down
30. Quin Houff, four laps down
31. Josh Bilicki, five laps down
32. Garrett Smithley, six laps down
33. Joey Logano – OUT, Dvp
34. Anthony Alfredo, 22 laps down
35. Ross Chastain, 48 laps down
36. Austin Dillon – OUT, Accident
37. Joey Gase – OUT, Accident
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season will cap off its regular-season stretch next weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 and where the 16-car Playoff field will be determined. The event is scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 28, at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series travel to Michigan International Speedway. The Camping World Truck Series will compete at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway for the first race in their Playoffs.
There are five regular-season races left in the Xfinity Series.
Justin Allgaier, AJ Allmendinger, Jeb Burton and Myatt Snider have already clinched a spot in the Xfinity postseason 12-driver field.
Xfinity Series drivers who can secure their spot with a win include Brandon Brown, Harrison Burton, Jeremy Clements, Noah Gragson, Justin Haley, Riley Herbst, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones and Ryan Sieg.
Landon Cassill, Alex Labbe, Tommy Joe Martins and Josh Williams could clinch a spot in the Xfinity Playoffs with a win and some help.
There are only two open spots in the Cup Series postseason. Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell and Martin Truex Jr. have each qualified for the Playoffs.
Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, Matt DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Darrell Wallace Jr., Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Ryan Preece, Cole Custer, Corey Lajoie, Anthony Alfredo can clinch with a win.
Harvick, the defending race winner, can also earn a spot in the Playoffs with 44 points.
All times are Eastern.
Friday, August 20 – Michigan
4 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series practice – No TV 6 p.m.: ARCA Series Henry Ford Health System 200 at Michigan 100 Laps/200 Miles Trackpass/MRN
Friday, August 20 – WWT Raceway at Gateway
8:50 p.m.: Driver Intros 9 p.m.: Truck Series Toyota 200 presented by CK Power at Gateway Stages 55/110/160 laps = 200 Miles Pole: Austin Hill FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Saturday, August 21 – Michigan
3:05 p.m.: Driver Intros 3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series New Holland 250 at Michigan Stages 30/60/125 Laps = 250 Miles Pole: Austin Cindric NBCSN/NBC Sports App/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/TSN
Sunday, August 22 – Michigan
2:30: Driver Intros 3 p.m.: Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan Stages 60/120/200 Laps = 400 miles Pole: Kyle Larson NBCSN/NBC Sports App/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio/TSN
Track qualifying record: Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet (206.558 mph, 34.857 secs.) on August 17, 2014. 2020 Michigan pole winner: Qualifying canceled due to COVID-19. The starting lineup was decided by a random draw.
Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch lead all active NCS drivers in Michigan starts with 40 each.
Tyler Reddick leads all active NCS drivers in average starting position at with an 8.500 in two starts.
Seven of the 50 NCS Michigan pole winners are active this weekend. Joey Logano (4), Kurt Busch (3), Brad Keselowski (2), Denny Hamlin (1), Kevin Harvick (1), Kyle Larson (1), and Ryan Newman (1).
Joey Logano (2013, 2016 sweep, 2019) leads all active NCS drivers in poles at Michigan with four; followed by Kurt Busch (2010, 2011 and 2018) with three.
The youngest series Michigan pole winner is Joey Logano (August 16, 2013 – 23 years, 2 months, 23 days).
Nine different manufacturers have won a pole at Michigan in the NCS. Ford leads the series in poles at Michigan with 31, followed by Chevrolet (27), Mercury (10), Dodge (nine), Pontiac (eight), Toyota (six), Buick (three), Plymouth (two) and Oldsmobile (one).
Michigan Race Data
Track race record: Dale Jarrett, Ford (173.997 mph, 2:17:56) on June 13, 1999. 2020 Michigan race winner: Kevin Harvick, Ford (124.712 mph, (02:34:55) on August 8, 2020.
A total of 38 different drivers have won in the NCS at Michigan with seven of the 38 race winners are active this weekend. Kevin Harvick (5), Joey Logano (3), Kurt Busch (3), Kyle Larson (3), Denny Hamlin (2), Ryan Newman (2), and Kyle Busch (1).
Kurt Busch (2003, 2007, 2015), Matt Kenseth (2002, 2006, 2015), Joey Logano (2013, 2016, 2019) and Kevin Harvick (2010, 2018, 2019) lead all active series drivers in wins at Michigan with three each.
The youngest series Michigan winner id Joey Logano (August 18, 2013 – 23 years, 2 months, 25 days).
Martin Truex Jr. (30), and Michigan native Brad Keselowski (23) lead all active drivers in the series in starts without a win at Michigan.
The first starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (22 of 103, 21.36%) than any other starting position at Michigan.
The deepest in the field that an active race winner has started at Michigan is 24th, by Kurt Busch in the June of 2015.
Roush Fenway Racing leads the series in wins at Michigan with 13. Mark Martin (four), Greg Biffle (four), Carl Edwards (two), Matt Kenseth (two) and Kurt Busch (one).
Eight different manufacturers have won in the NCS at Michigan. It’s led by Ford with 41 victories, followed by Chevrolet with 26, Mercury (12), Dodge (nine), Toyota (five), Buick (four) Pontiac (four) and Oldsmobile (two).
Top 12 Michigan Driver Ratings
Kevin Harvick……………………… 102.5 Joey Logano………………………… 99.1 Chase Elliott…………………………. 99.1 Brad Keselowski……………………. 97.3 Kyle Larson………………………….. 96.1 Denny Hamlin……………………….. 92.6 Ryan Blaney…………………………. 92.5 Kurt Busch…………………………… 91.8 Kyle Busch…………………………… 90.7 Christopher Bell…………………….. 89.6 Martin Truex Jr……………………… 89.3 Erik Jones……………………………. 86.6 Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (32 total) among active drivers at Michigan International Speedway.
