The NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series travel to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend. The Camping World Truck Series will not compete but returns next week when all three series head to Las Vegas.
NASCAR 2021 pole winners are determined by the following metrics formula:
• 25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race • 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race • 35 percent: Team owner points ranking • 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race
All times are Eastern.
Saturday, Feb. 27
4:30 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Contender Boats 250 – FS1/ MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 250.5 miles (167 Laps) Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 40), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 80), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 167) TV coverage: 4 p.m. NASCAR RaceDay on FS1 Pole: Austin Cindric
Sunday, Feb. 28
3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 – FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 400.5 miles (267 laps) Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 80), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 160), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 267) TV coverage: 3 p.m. NASCAR RaceDay on FOX Pole: Denny Hamlin
Noteworthy:
The first two races of the Cup Series this season have been won by two first-time winners, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the series’ inaugural season in 1949 and again in 1950. Only once, in 1949, has the series begun the year with three consecutive winners. However, Homestead-Miami Speedway has never had a first-time winner in the Cup Series.
Statistical highlights for the NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway Data – Race # 3 of 36
Track Size: 1.5-mile Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 18-20 degrees Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 18-20 degrees Banking/Frontstretch: 4 degrees Banking/Backstretch: 4 degrees Frontstretch Length: 1,760 feet Backstretch Length: 1,760 feet Race Length: 267 laps / 400.5 miles Stages 1 & 2 Length: 80 Laps (each) Finale Stage Length: 107 Laps Top 10 Driver ratings at Homestead-Miami Speedway Tyler Reddick – 115.5 Kyle Larson – 107.0 Kevin Harvick – 106.8 Martin Truex Jr – 105.9 Kyle Busch – 102.1 Denny Hamlin – 100.1 Chase Elliott – 96.9 Joey Logano – 91.6 Brad Keselowski – 89.0 Austin Dillon – 83.4 *Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (16 total) among active drivers at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
A total of 14 different drivers have won at least one race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Six of the 14 drivers are active this weekend. Denny Hamlin (2009, 2013, 2020) leads the active drivers in wins at Homestead-Miami Speedway with three. No driver has scored their first career Cup win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Active driver race winners (wins)
Denny Hamlin (3) Kyle Busch (2) Joey Logano (1) Kevin Harvick (1) Kurt Busch (1) Martin Truex Jr (1)
Homestead-Miami organization wins (wins)
Joe Gibbs Racing (8) Roush Fenway Racing (7) Hendrick Motorsports (2) Stewart-Haas Racing (2) Furniture Row Racing (1) Richard Petty Motorsports (1) Team Penske (1)
With late chaos erupting around every turn and every corner, another first-time winner to kickstart the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season was born after Christopher Bell overtook Joey Logano prior to the final lap to win the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Sunday, February 21, and claim his first NASCAR Cup Series career victory.
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, Chase Elliott, winner of the first Cup points-paying event on Daytona’s road course layout, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Michael McDowell, the 2021 Daytona 500 champion.
Justin Haley, making his first Cup start of the 2021 season, started at the rear of the field due to failing pre-race inspection twice along with Garrett Smithley, who dropped to the back due to unapproved adjustments. Erik Jones also started at the rear of the field due to an engine change from last weekend’s Daytona 500.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Elliott rocketed away from the field to retain the lead entering the first round of turns. Behind, McDowell locked up his front tires entering Turn 1 and went off the track as he lost a bevy of spots.
Through Turn 2 and the International Horseshoe turn, the No. 18 Interstates Batteries Toyota Camry driven by Kyle Busch started to drift to the back after being knocked in the grass prior to the International Horseshoe turn as damage was also spotted on his car.
Shortly after, the caution flew on the first lap due to debris on the backstretch. By then, Elliott was able to lead the first lap and retain the top spot over Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Preece. Meanwhile, McDowell was limping back to pit road with the right-front tire on his car flat.
Under caution, Kyle Busch pitted to have the damage on his car repaired along with McDowell. Both were able to continue despite having to drop to the rear of the field.
The race restarted on the third lap with Elliott and Austin Dillon on the front row. At the front, Elliott retained the lead entering the first turn while Dillon was able to fend off Hamlin for the runner-up spot as Logano joined the battle.
Through the infield turns and returning to the superspeedway turns, the field was able to return to the start/finish line cleanly. By then, Elliott continued to lead by nearly two seconds over Hamlin, who overtook Austin Dillon for the runner-up spot. Logano started to battle Dillon for the third-place spot while Harvick was in fifth. Ross Chastain was in sixth followed by Kyle Larson, Ryan Preece, Kurt Busch and Corey LaJoie.
By the fifth lap, Elliott was still out in front of the field and by nearly two seconds over Hamlin while Logano, Austin Dillon and Harvick were in the top five. Meanwhile, rookie Chase Briscoe spun in the frontstretch chicane in Turns 13 and 14 as he dropped all the way at the rear of the field while the race remained under green.
Halfway into the first stage on the eighth lap, Elliott extended his advantage to more than four seconds over Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry. Logano was in third place followed by Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson. Martin Truex Jr. was in sixth followed by Harvick, Kurt Busch, Chastain and Christopher Bell. Cole Custer was in 11th followed by Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick, William Byron and Preece. A.J. Allmendinger carved his way in 16th place followed by Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher, Matt DiBenedetto and Aric Almirola.
Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace was in 21st in front of Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones and Ty Dillon. Kyle Busch was in 27th in front of Ryan Newman while Michael McDowell was back in 29th. Briscoe, following his early spin, was back in 35th.
Nearing the Lap 10 mark, Erik Jones, who was in 24th, dropped off the pace and limped his way back to pit road through the superspeedway backstretch after blowing a left-rear tire on his Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. He was able to limp his way back to pit road as the race remained under green.
On Lap 11, the caution returned when the right-rear tire off of Matt DiBenedetto’s No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang blew and ripped, leaving shredded debris on the track in Turn 12. Moments earlier, Brad Keselowski missed the frontstretch chicane when he locked up his tires and pitted for fresh tires.
Under caution, the leaders pitted except for Bell, James Davison, Josh Bilicki and Scott Heckert. Following the pit stops, Tyler Reddick and William Byron were tabbed with an uncontrolled tire violation penalty.
The race restarted on Lap 13 with Bell and Keselowski, who benefitted from his pit stop, on the front row. At the start, Bell briefly cleared Keselowski entering the first turn but Elliott quickly marched his way alongside Bell’s No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry following contact in Turn 2 as he challenged him for the lead entering the International Horseshoe turn.
Through the dogleg and entering the West Horseshoe turn, Elliott reassumed the lead. Behind, Keselowski moved back into second place followed by Logano, Bell and Hamlin.
With the laps in the first stage dwindling, Elliott remained in the lead followed by Team Penske’s Logano and Keselowski as Hamlin started to pressure Keselowski for third place. Kurt Busch moved up to fifth place followed by Larson, Austin Dillon and Truex. Bell was back in ninth in front of Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and Cole Custer.
With a number of battles and shuffling for positions ensuing around the track and every turn, Elliott was able to cruise his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE to the first stage victory on Lap 16. Logano coasted across the line in second place while Hamlin was able to overtake Keselowski to assume third place. Kurt Busch was in fifth followed by Larson, Truex, Austin Dillon, Harvick and Chris Buescher.
Under the stage break, some led by Elliott remained on the track while others led by Keselowski pitted. Following the pit stops, Ty Dillon was forced to the rear of the field due to a crew member jumping over the pit wall too soon,
The second stage started on Lap 19 with Elliott and Logano on the front row. At the start, Elliott battled dead even with Logano entering the first turn before clearing him in Turn 2 and holding the lead. With the field battling competitively through the infield turns, Hamlin made his way into the runner-up spot while Truex overtook Kurt Busch for fourth.
By Lap 20, Elliott was out in front by nearly two seconds over Hamlin while Logano, Truex and Kurt Busch were in the top five. A.J. Allmendinger, who started at the rear of the field in his No. 16 Hyperice/Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, was up in sixth followed by Austin Dillon, Custer, Larson and William Byron. Keselowski was back in 11th place in front of Alex Bowman while Bell and Harvick were in 15th and 16th.
A few laps later, Truex moved up into third place after passing Logano while Allmendinger overtook Kurt Busch for fifth place. By then, Elliott continued to lead by more than a second over Hamlin.
By Lap 25 and with the field fanning out and settling in a calm, competitive pace, Elliott stabilized his advantage to more than three seconds over Hamlin. Truex remained in third place, trailing by more than three seconds, followed by Logano and Allmendinger. Kurt Busch retained sixth place over Larson while Austin Dillon, Custer and Byron were in the top 10.
Meanwhile, the top-15 spots on the track were occupied by Bell, Buescher, Harvick, Keselowski and Almirola, who was locked in a battle with Daniel Suarez. Bowman and Blaney were in 16th and 17th while Kyle Busch, who was mired with early issues with damage on his car and towards the rear of the field, was in 19th and in front of Chastain.
Newman was in 22nd followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., McDowell and Reddick. Bubba Wallace was in 26th in front of Erik Jones and Briscoe while Ty Dillon, rookie Anthony Alfredo and DiBenedetto were in 29th, 30th and 31st.
The following lap, Truex overtook teammate Hamlin for the runner-up spot. In addition, Allmendinger continued his impressive run towards the front as he moved into fourth place over Logano, who had Kurt Busch closing in. Behind, Bell moved back into the top 10 in ninth place.
Shortly after, the caution returned when Chastain made hard contact against the Turn 6 outside wall following contact with Ryan Blaney and sustained right-front damage on his No. 42 McDonald’s Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE. Under caution, Reddick dropped off the pace through the tri-oval after reporting diagnostic issues on his car when he shut it off trying to save fuel. He was able to re-fire and continue while Chastain, who was able to limp back to pit road, retired.
Under caution, most of the field led by Elliott pitted while the rest led by Allmendinger remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Briscoe was sent to the rear of the field due to an uncontrolled tire penalty.
The race resumed under green on Lap 29 with Allmendinger and Larson on the front row. At the front, Allmendinger rocketed away with the lead through the first two turns. Meanwhile, Harvick made his way into second place while Hamlin challenged Larson for third place. In addition, Kurt Busch challenged in fifth in front of Truex and Logano. Meanwhile, Keselowski, who was in the top 10, nearly got turned off the front nose of Bell through the straightaway nearing Turn 6 and lost a bevy of spots.
When the field returned to the start/finish line on Lap 30, Allmendinger was still in the lead by a narrow margin over Hamlin. Shortly after, Hamlin, racing on fresh tires, made his way into the lead through the infield dogleg and West Horseshoe turns. Behind, Kurt Busch was in third followed by Harvick and Truex. Larson, Logano, Bell, Byron and Custer were in the top 10 while Elliott, who struggled on pit road under the previous caution, was mired back in 11th. Keselowski, who nearly got turned following contact with Bell during the previous lap, was back in 21st.
The following lap, Wallace made an unscheduled pit stop after locking up the front tires entering the chicane in Turns 13 and 14. By then, Hamlin was out in front by seven-tenths of a second over Allmendinger. Kurt Busch remained in third place followed by Truex and Logano. Bell was in sixth followed by Harvick and Byron. Elliott was in ninth while Custer was in 10th.
With the laps in the second stage dwindling, Allmendinger was overtaken by Kurt Busch, Truex, Logano and Bell for position as Hamlin extended his advantage to more than two seconds. Entering the chicane in Turns 13 and 14, Truex locked up his front tires as he attempted to overtake Kurt Busch for the runner-up spot. His move allowed Logano to move into third place. The following lap and through the infield turns, Bell overtook Truex for position while Elliott joined the party.
At the front, Hamlin was able to retain the lead and claim the second stage victory on Lap 34. Kurt Busch held off Logano by a nose to settle in second place while teammates Bell and Truex were scored in the top five. Elliott, who restarted outside the top 10, worked his way up to sixth place followed by teammate Byron, Custer, Allmendinger and Kyle Busch.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted except for Suarez and DiBenedetto. Kurt Busch was the first competitor to exit off pit road followed by Hamlin, Bell, Elliott, Truex, Harvick and Logano. Following the pit stops, Allmendinger was sent to the rear of the field due to speeding on pit road.
With 33 laps remaining, the final stage started with Suarez and DiBenedetto on the front row. At the start, Suarez, racing in his No. 99 iFly/Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, launched ahead following a strong start while DiBenedetto struggled on the outside lane. Kurt Busch, who also received a strong start, made his way into the lead following the first two turns as the field jumbled up. Bell quickly made his way into second place followed by Truex, Hamlin and Elliott, all of whom overtook Suarez starting from the International Horseshoe turn and through the West Horseshoe turn.
When the field returned to the start/finish line, Kurt Busch was out in front by approximately a tenth of a second over Bell while Truex and Elliott battled behind for third. Hamlin was in fifth followed by Logano and Suarez.
Entering the West Horseshoe turn, however, Kurt Busch’s No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE slipped off the track entering the dogleg, ran over the infield grass and spun from the lead prior to the West Horseshoe turn. With Busch dropping from the lead to outside the top 20, Bell assumed the lead followed by Elliott. Teammates Truex and Hamlin moved up in third and fourth followed by Logano.
With 30 laps remaining, Bell continued to lead by a narrow margin over a hard-charging Elliott. Through the backstretch, McDowell missed the chicane/bus stop while Chris Buescher ran his No. 17 Fastenal Ford Mustang over the grass.
A lap later, Elliott made his way back into the lead. Behind, Keselowski spun after his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang received a bump from Kurt Busch in Turn 1. In addition, Wallace, who pitted under green, was tabbed with a speeding penalty. Rookie Anthony Alfredo was also tabbed with a pass-through penalty for missing the frontstretch chicane and not doing a stop-and-go penalty.
With 27 laps remaining, Elliott, the dominant car of the day, was out in front by more than a second over Bell. Truex was in third, trailing by nearly three seconds, followed by Logano and Hamlin. Kyle Busch, following his early issues, was up in sixth place followed by Larson, Harvick, Almirola and Custer.
The following lap, Almirola spun his No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang through the International Horseshoe turn, though he was able to continue and the race remained under green. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch overtook teammate Hamlin for fifth place.
Not long after, Blaney made an unscheduled pit stop under green due to a left-rear tire rub.
With 22 laps remaining and the skies darkening, Elliott, seeking his second consecutive victory at Daytona on the road course layout, remained at the front of the field by nearly a second over Bell, who remained in the hunt of his first Cup career victory. Truex, seeking his first victory at Daytona, remained in third followed by teammate Kyle Busch, who continued to march forward. Logano was in fifth while Hamlin, Larson, Harvick, Custer and Byron were in the top 10.
Two laps later and with 20 laps remaining, Elliott retained the lead by more than a second over Bell. By then, Truex, who was in third, made a scheduled pit stop under green. Suarez, Alex Bowman and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. also pitted while Kyle Busch moved into third place. Hamlin, Larson and Logano also moved up from fourth to sixth.
The following lap, Larson and Logano made the turn to pit road under green. Byron, Austin Dillon, Harvick, Erik Jones, Reddick, Almirola, Preece and Allmendinger also pitted.
The lap after and with 18 laps remaining, the leader Elliott pitted followed by teammates Bell and Kyle Busch. By then, names like Hamlin, Briscoe, Custer, Ty Dillon, Newman and Kurt Busch also pitted.
When the pit stops under green were completed and the field cycled through with 17 laps remaining, Elliott continued to lead by more than two seconds over Bell. Truex moved back into third place followed by teammate Kyle Busch and Larson. Logano was in sixth followed by Hamlin, Harvick, Custer and Byron. By then, reports of a few rain drops were reported on the track with the teams preparing a possible move to rain tires.
Following the pit stops, DiBenedetto pitted due to a brake issue and made the eventual turn to the garage.
With 15 laps remaining, the caution flew due to rain. By then, Elliott was leading by more than two seconds over Bell with Truex trailing by more than 12 seconds.
Under caution, everyone except for Logano, Briscoe, Kurt Busch, Buescher, Corey LaJoie, Keselowski, James Davison, Garrett Smithley, Cody Ware and Josh Bilicki remained on the track. For those who pitted, they pitted for slicks, not rain tires.
With 12 laps remaining, the race resumed under green with Logano and Briscoe on the front row. At the start, Logano jumped ahead with the lead through the first turn while Kurt Busch challenged Briscoe for the runner-up spot. Behind and with the field fanning out to three lanes, Reddick drove off the racing surface in Turn 2, kicked up the dirt in the grass and ran over a sign board as he came to a stop. While trying to pull away, flames erupted underneath Reddick’s No. 8 CAT Rental Store Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE and his race came to an end as the caution flew.
Prior to the caution, Elliott got forced off the track past the International Horseshoe turn following contact with LaJoie but he made a spectacular save while sliding sideways through the grass to come back on the track and continue. The incident, however, dropped Elliott all the way back to 14th place.
With 10 laps remaining, the race restarted under green with Logano and Briscoe on the front row. At the front, Logano retained the lead following a strong start followed by Kurt Busch, who overtook Briscoe’s No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford Mustang for position. Behind, however, Truex spun in Turn 1 after locking up the front tires of his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry. Despite spinning in a heavy cloud of smoke and forcing the oncoming field to fan out through the first turn, Truex continued while losing his track position towards the front and the race remained under green.
Shortly after, the caution returned due to an on-track incident involving Elliott and LaJoie, thus damaging both racing vehicles.
The race restarted under green with eight laps remaining. At the front, Logano and Kurt Busch battled dead even for the lead through the first turn until Logano pulled ahead through Turn 2 and the International Horseshoe turn.
Entering Turn 6, Larson got sideways and wheel-hopped while battling Kurt Busch for the runner-up spot as his No. 5 Nations Guard Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE made contact into the tire barriers. Despite the incident, the race remained under green.
When the field returned to the start/finish line, Logano was out in front by more than a second over Kurt Busch, who had Bell pressuring him for the runner-up spot. Keselowski was in fourth followed by Hamlin, Briscoe and Elliott. Behind, Kyle Busch bounced off several cars and got sideways on the tri-oval with Austin Dillon also sustaining damage after he ran over the grass. The incident spoiled Busch’s late comeback to the front following his early issues. Despite the incident, the race continued to run under green.
While Logano continued to lead, Kurt Busch and Bell continued to battle intensely for second place. In Turn 6, however, Bell suffered a brief right-front tire rub after running into the rear bumper of Kurt Busch, who refused to surrender the spot to Bell.
The following lap, Logano extended his advantage to nearly three seconds over Kurt Busch with Bell remaining in pursuit. In Turn 7, however, disaster struck for Elliott, who got into the back of Keselowski, got loose and spun in a cloud of smoke as he lost all the track position towards the front.
With five laps remaining, Logano continued to lead by more than three seconds over Kurt Busch while Bell, Keselowski and Hamlin were in the top five. Harvick, McDowell, Preece, Allmendinger and Briscoe were in the top 10 followed by Bubba Wallace and Bowman. Elliott, following his late spin, was outside of the top 20.
Shortly after, Briscoe’s hood flew up, which blocked his view. Despite the misfortune, he continued on the track, though he dropped out of the top 10.
With three laps remaining, Logano remained in the lead by more than two seconds over Bell, who was able to prevail over Kurt Busch a few laps earlier, with Busch trailing by five seconds in third place. Hamlin was in fourth followed by Keselowski and Harvick.
With two laps remaining, Logano was leading by more than a second over Bell, who continued to close in for the lead and the win on fresher tires than Logano as light sprinkles were reported on the track.
Entering the superspeedway Turn 3, however, Bell, who closed in to the rear bumper of Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, issued a challenge for the lead. He made a move to the outside lane, but was blocked by Logano. Nonetheless, Bell was able to draw himself to the outside of Logano entering the chicane in Turns 13 and 14.
Through the chicane, Bell muscled his way to the lead as he also started the final lap of the race. Through the infield turns, Bell was able to remain out in front and he was also able to gap himself away from Logano while entering the superspeedway turns.
Through the chicane/bus stop, the final pair of superspeedway turns and the chicane towards the frontstretch, Bell was able to come back around to the tri-oval and claim the checkered flag by more than two seconds over Logano as he grabbed his first Cup triumph in his 38th series start.
With his victory, Bell became the 197th different competitor to win in the Cup Series, the 11th different competitor to win a Cup race driving for Joe Gibbs Racing and the 35th different driver to win across NASCAR’s top three national touring series (Cup, Xfinity and Truck Series). The victory was also the first for JGR’s No. 20 team since Darlington Raceway in September 2019. For an added bonus, Bell became the first competitor from Oklahoma to win a Cup Series race.
Bell’s first Cup career victory came one week after Michael McDowell claimed his first Cup triumph in last weekend’s Daytona 500. It marks the third time in NASCAR’s 73-year history, first since 1950, where the first two Cup events of the season have been won by first-time winners.
“This is definitely one of the highlights of my life so far,” Bell said on FOX. “Just so incredibly thankful to be here at Joe Gibbs Racing…I don’t know, man. I’ve prepared my whole life for this moment to race in the Cup Series. Last year was a huge learning curve for me and I’m very grateful that I got the opportunity to run in Cup and it definitely prepared me to move to Joe Gibbs Racing.”
“Whenever we pitted and then we came out, I liked where I lined up,” Bell added. “But then, the yellows kept coming and I thought the yellows were hurting me because I felt like I needed laps to get up through there. Honestly, I didn’t think I was gonna there. [Crew chief] Adam [Stevens], up on the pit box, kept telling me that I was gonna get there. Man, I didn’t believe it. [Logano] really struggled coming out of [Turn] 6 one time and it allowed me to close the gap.”
Logano settled in second place followed by Hamlin. Kurt Busch and Keselowski rallied from their on-track issues throughout the race to complete the top five.
“[Bell]’s the one that got through with tires,” Logano said. “Man, one more caution lap would’ve been enough to have a door-to-door finish across the finish line, maybe…I was just trying to get all I could out of that restart, trying to get out there as far as I could because I knew that those guys with tires were gonna catch us really quick…We maximized the day. I hate being that close, but congratulations to Christopher. It’s his first win…I’m happy for him, but not so happy for myself at the moment.”
Harvick finished in sixth place followed by Allmendinger, who rallied to record the first top-10 result for Kaulig Racing in the Cup circuit. McDowell also rallied from his issues at the start of the race to finish in eighth place while Preece and Bowman finished in the top 10.
Truex finished in 12th, Elliott fell all the way back in 21st, Larson fell back to 30th and Briscoe dropped to 32nd.
“When you have those late race cautions like that and you have a mixed bag of who stays and who goes, it’s a bit of a gamble either way,” Elliott, who led a race-high 44 laps, said. “I thought tires was the right move. Tires won the race, so I think it was the right move. When you get back in traffic, it just gets to be so chaotic and then it just, depending on who gets through and who doesn’t, determines how it’s gonna shake out. I hate it. Too many mistakes. Went off track. Bad deal. We had a fast NAPA Chevy and I appreciate the effort…Try again next week.”
There were 12 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured eight cautions for 12 laps.
Hamlin now leads the regular-season standings by 12 points over Logano, 21 over Harvick, 22 over Bell and 25 over Elliott.
Results.
1. Christopher Bell, five laps led
2. Joey Logano, 10 laps led
3. Denny Hamlin, five laps led, Stage 2 winner
4. Kurt Busch, two laps led
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Kevin Harvick
7. A.J. Allmendinger, two laps led
8. Michael McDowell
9. Ryan Preece
10. Alex Bowman
11. Chris Buescher
12. Martin Truex Jr.
13. Cole Custer
14. Erik Jones
15. Ryan Blaney
16. Daniel Suarez, two laps led
17. Aric Almirola
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
19. Ty Dillon
20. Ryan Newman
21. Chase Elliott, 44 laps led, Stage 1 winner
22. Anthony Alfredo
23. James Davison
24. Justin Haley
25. Cody Ware
26. Bubba Wallace
27. Garrett Smithley
28. Scott Heckert
29. Timmy Hill
30. Kyle Larson
31. Corey LaJoie
32. Chase Briscoe
33. William Byron, one lap down
34. Austin Dillon, one lap down
35. Kyle Busch, one lap down
36. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Brakes
37. Matt DiBenedetto, five laps down
38. Tyler Reddick – OUT, Accident
39. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident
40. Quin Houff – OUT, Engine
Next on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the series’ annual visit to Homestead-Miami Speedway, which will also wrap up the series’ month-long racing span in Florida. The race will occur on Sunday, February 28, at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
This weekend NASCAR returns to Daytona International Speedway. But this time, the Cup Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series will all compete on the Daytona Road Course.
It will be the first of seven road course events that will also include Circuit of The Americas (COTA), Watkins Glen International, Sonoma Raceway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (ROVAL) and Road America.
There will be no qualifying or practice and the lineup has been set using the following formula:
25 percent: Driver’s finishing position from the previous race 25 percent: Car owner’s finishing position from the previous race 35 percent: Team owner points ranking 15 percent: Fastest lap from the previous race
All times are Eastern.
Friday, Feb. 19
7:30 p.m.: Camping World Truck Series BrakeBest Pads 159 at Daytona Presented by O’Reilly – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 158.85 miles (44 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 12), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 25), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 44) Pole: Ben Rhodes
Saturday, Feb. 20
5 p.m.: Xfinity Series Super Start Batteries 188 at Daytona Presented by O’Reilly – FS1/ MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 187.72 miles (52 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 15), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 30), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 52) Pole: Brett Moffitt
Sunday, Feb. 21
3 p.m.: Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona – FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 252.7 miles (70 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 16), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 34), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 70) Pole: Chase Elliott
Daytona Road Course Cup Series Data:
Season Race # 2 of 36 (02-21-21) Track Size: 3.61-miles Track Type: Road Course Number of Turns: 14 Elevation Change: 31 degrees Race Length: 70 laps (252.7-miles) Stage 1 and 2 Length: 16 laps Stage 2 Length: 18 laps Final Stage Length: 36 laps
Top-10 road course ratings at Daytona: Chase Elliott – 135.3 Martin Truex Jr. – 126.5 Denny Hamlin – 116.0 William Byron – 102.3 Joey Logano – 86.3 Michael McDowell – 85.7 Erik Jones – 85.7 Alex Bowman – 84.8 Kurt Busch – 84.7 Aric Almirola – 78.5
The first NASCAR Cup Series race held on the Daytona Road Course (RC) was Aug. 16, 2020, and the event was won by Chase Elliott. Elliott led 34 laps and became the youngest RC winner at 24 years, 8 months and 19 days.
Elliott leads all active drivers in NASCAR Cup Series road course wins with five victories, followed by Kyle Busch (4), Martin Truex Jr. (4), Kevin Harvick (2), Joey Logano (1), Kurt Busch (1) and Ryan Blaney (1).
The ultimate upset was made under the lights at Daytona International Speedway after Michael McDowell avoided a multi-car pileup on the final lap to win the 63rd annual running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 14, and claim his first NASCAR Cup Series triumph. McDowell’s first Cup career victory came in his 358th start in NASCAR’s premier series, which marked the second-most starts in the series prior to a first Cup win.
The front row for this year’s Daytona 500 was determined on Wednesday, February 10, following a qualifying session, with the rest of the lineup determined on Thursday, February 11, following two Bluegreen Vacations Duel events at Daytona. With that, Alex Bowman started on pole position. William Byron, the outside pole-sitter, was due to start on the front row with teammate Bowman, but he dropped to the rear of the field in a backup car. The move allowed Austin Dillon, winner of the second Daytona Duel event, to move up to the front row to start alongside Bowman.
Along with Byron, the following competitors that include Brad Keselowski, rookie Chase Briscoe, Kaz Grala, rookie Anthony Alfredo, Cole Custer and Ross Chastain also dropped to the rear of the field in backup cars. Martin Truex Jr. dropped to the rear of the field due to an oil cooler change along with Erik Jones, who did so following an engine change. Bubba Wallace also dropped to the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice, thus resulting with his car chief being ejected for the event.
When the green flag waved and the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season commenced, Bowman, who started on the outside lane, crossed over the bottom lane to jump to an early lead in front of Austin Dillon. Shortly after, he moved back to the outside lane in front of Kevin Harvick, who gave him a clear bump ahead of the field through the backstretch and entering Turn 3.
Bowman was able to lead the first lap before Harvick made a move to the bottom lane. Bowman, however, was able to retain the lead with his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE receiving drafting help from Kyle Busch through the backstretch until Harvick made a charge on the inside lane entering the tri-oval. Harvick was able to lead the following lap by a nose over Bowman.
During the third lap, the crew members and the fans saluted the three fingers to pay tribute to Dale Earnhardt, seven-time NASCAR Cup champion, Hall of Famer and the 1998 Daytona 500 champion who died 20 years ago following an accident on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
Shortly after, the first caution of the race flew when Derrike Cope, the 1990 Daytona 500 champion, blew a right-front tire and made contact against the outside wall in Turn 3. By then, Harvick was the leader followed by teammate Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, Ryan Newman and Bowman.
Under caution, names like Michael McDowell, Matt DiBenedetto, Byron, Truex, Austin Cindric, Cole Custer, Alfredo, Cody Ware, Briscoe, Grala, B.J. McLeod, Denny Hamlin, Josh Bilicki, Quin Houff and Wallace pitted while the rest led by Harvick remained on the track.
The race restarted on the seventh lap with Stewart-Haas Racing’s Harvick and Almirola at the top of the field. At the start, Harvick quickly transitioned to the bottom lane to move in front of teammate Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang. The top lane, however, prevailed through Turns 1, 2 and the backstretch as Ryan Newman rocketed to the lead followed by Joey Logano. Nonetheless, Harvick was able to retain the lead by a nose over Newman when the field returned to the start/finish line.
By Lap 10 and with the field starting to fan out from double lanes to triple lanes, Harvick was still out in front followed by teammate Almirola, Bell, Bowman and Kyle Busch. A few laps later, Bowman became the first car to lead the outside lane as he challenged for the lead followed by Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson. Meanwhile, Harvick continued to lead followed by teammate Almirola.
Three laps later, trouble ensued at the front when a bump from Bell, who was being pushed by teammate Kyle Busch, got Almirola loose, where he made contact with Bowman as both wrecked against the outside wall and in the middle of the straightaway with a multitude of competitors approaching them. What then followed was a multi-car wreck that involved Newman, Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez, Erik Jones, DiBenedetto, Chris Buescher, Jamie McMurray, David Ragan, Tyler Reddick, Truex and Byron, who nearly flipped on his side before spinning and coming to rest on the muddy grass in Turn 3.
In the midst of the on-track work for the safety workers to remove the wrecked cars, the race was red-flagged due to reports of lightning within eight miles of the superspeedway, which was followed by rain and on-track precipitation. At the time of the rain, Harvick was still the leader followed by Bell, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott. Larson, Ryan Preece, Joey Logano, McDowell and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. were in the top 10.
Five hours and 40 minutes later, the red flag was lifted and the majority of competitors returned to the track under caution, beginning on Lap 15, and under the lights as the skies darkened. By then, names like Alfredo, Almirola, Blaney, Bowman, Buescher, DiBenedetto, Jones, Newman, Ragan and Suarez were ruled out of the remainder of the race.
Under caution, everyone pitted, except for Kaz Grala and B.J. McLeod. After leading 10 laps under caution, Grala pitted along with McLeod. Bell, Kyle Busch and a few others also pitted to top off on fuel for the end of the first stage.
When the green flag waved and the race resumed on Lap 29, Elliott was the leader while Austin Dillon started along him. Through the backstretch, Dillon received a push from Ryan Preece to take the lead. The following lap, Cole Custer battled on the outside lane to lead a lap for himself.
Shortly after, Hamlin shoved Custer out of the draft in Turn 1 and became the lead car on the outside lane. He went on to assume command of the field.
By Lap 35, Hamlin was leading Keselowski, Wallace, Kyle Busch and Logano with the field settling in a single-file line. Meanwhile, Byron, who was three laps behind the leaders and still competing in a damaged No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, was black-flagged for a loose rear bumper cover.
Two laps later, the caution returned when Quin Houff cut a tire after running over the bumper cover from Byron’s car and made contact with the outside wall in the frontstretch. His incident also involved Chase Briscoe as both sustained damage and slid down to the apron near Turn 1. Briscoe continued despite the incident while Houff was knocked out of the race.
The race resumed under green on Lap 43. At the start, Hamlin received a push from teammate Kyle Busch on the outside lane while Keselowski received a push from Bubba Wallace on the inside lane.
Through the backstretch and after briefly shoving Keselowski to the lead, Wallace made a three-wide move on Keselowski and Hamlin, which sent Keselowski back into the top 10. At the front, Hamlin retained the lead followed by Kyle Busch, Preece, Austin Cindric, Wallace, Austin Dillon and Logano.
By Lap 50 and with the field settling in a single-file lane on the outside lane, Hamlin continued to lead followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Preece, Cindric and Austin Dillon while Larson, Wallace, Harvick, Keselowski and Bell were in the top 10. By then, Joey Logano and Chase Elliott were in 13th and 14th behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Custer. In addition, 22 of the 40-car field were competing on the lead lap, with 12 out of the race.
Ten laps later and with five laps remaining in the first stage, Hamlin was still out in front followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Preece, Cindric and Austin Dillon. Larson, Wallace, Harvick, Keselowski and Bell were in the top 10 while Custer, Logano, Stenhouse, Elliott and LaJoie were in the top 15.
At the start of the final lap of the first stage, Austin Dillon made his move to the inside lane along with Larson. In addition, Preece also moved in front of Dillon, but teammates Hamlin and Kyle Busch blocked the move on the inside lane. Through the backstretch, Kyle Busch got shuffled out of the lead draft when Preece and a multitude of cars moved to the outside lane and right behind Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry.
Though Hamlin had a steaming pack of cars behind him, he was able to retain the lead and win the first stage on Lap 65. Preece settled in second place followed by Austin Dillon, Larson and Cindric. Bell, Wallace, Logano, Ross Chastain and Custer settled in the top 10, all of whom earned stage points. Kyle Busch fell back to 12th in front of Keselowski and Elliott.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Hamlin retained the lead. Meanwhile, Jamie McMurray received the free pass and returned to the lead lap.
The second stage commenced on Lap 71 with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Hamlin and Bell on the front row followed by Cindric, Austin Dillon, Logano and Larson. At the start, Hamlin received a push from Cindric to retain the lead. Shortly after, Hamlin moved in front of teammate Bell on the inside lane, but Cindric, winner of the Xfinity Series season-opening event at Daytona a day ago, mounted a charge on the outside lane in his No. 33 Verizon 5G Ford Mustang as he had Penske teammates Logano and Keselowski pushing him to the lead.
After leading two laps, Hamlin stormed back to the lead while Cindric fell back to seventh. A lap later, Bell made his way to the front followed by teammate Kyle Busch while Hamlin fell back to third. Austin Dillon, Cindric and Harvick moved up the leaderboard while Harvick was in seventh place and the lone car on the bottom lane.
Another two laps later, the field settled in a long single-file line as Bell was out in front followed by teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Austin Dillon was in fourth followed by Cindric, Logano, Larson, Elliott, Wallace and Chastain. Harvick, meanwhile, was shuffled back to 11th in front of Preece, Keselowski, Stenhouse and McMurray.
Not long after, the leader Bell reported debris on the grille of his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry. Nonetheless, he continued to lead teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin while Austin Dillon, Cindric and Logano remained in pursuit.
By Lap 90, Bell continued to lead followed by teammates Kyle Busch and Hamlin. Austin Dillon and Cindric continued to run in the top five followed by Logano, Larson, Elliott, Wallace and Chastain, all of whom were locked in a single-file lane. Harvick was in 11th followed by Stenhouse, teammate Preece, Keselowski and McMurray while Michael McDowell, Custer, LaJoie, Kaz Grala and Joey Gase were in the top 20.
When the field reached the halfway mark on Lap 100, three Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas led by Bell and followed by Kyle Busch and Hamlin were all still at the front. Austin Dillon and Cindric remained in the top five followed by Logano, Larson, Elliott, Chastain and Preece. Behind, Wallace, who attempted to make a move to the front on the inside lane, was shuffled back to 13th in between Keselowski and Harvick.
Four laps later, pit stops under green commenced as a number of Ford drivers pitted, including Cindric, Logano, Keselowski, Harvick, Briscoe and Custer. McDowell, racing in his No. 34 Love’s Travel Stop Ford Mustang, also pitted. Another three laps later, the Toyota drivers pitted, including Bell, Kyle Busch, Hamlin and Wallace. Not long after, a bevy of Chevrolet drivers led by Austin Dillon, Larson and Elliott pitted. Prior to the Chevrolets pitting, Preece pitted alone.
When the field cycled back with 20 laps remaining in the second stage, Hamlin was back in front followed by Wallace. Shortly after, Wallace got shuffled out of the draft from Kyle Busch. Not long after, Bell got loose in Turn 1 after sustaining a left-rear tire and made contact with Stenhouse, who went on to make contact with Larson, before spinning entering the backstretch. Grala, LaJoie and McMurray, who spun, were also sustained damage while the rest of the field managed to avoid the incident and a spinning Bell.
Under caution, a handful of competitors led by Hamlin remained on the track while the rest pitted. In addition, Grala came to his pit stall with the right rear of his No. 16 Hyperice Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE on fire. Though he tried to continue, Grala’s Daytona 500 debut came to an end as fire continued to burst out of his car.
When the race resumed under green on Lap 117, Hamlin and Harvick led the field on the front row. At the front, Hamlin retained the lead and he moved in front of Harvick on the outside lane entering the backstretch. Shortly after, Logano received a draft from Kyle Busch on the bottom lane to lead the following lap. Entering the tri-oval, Harvick and Logano pulled a three-wide move on Hamlin with Harvick returning to the lead entering the backstretch.
The following lap, Wallace drafted his owner Hamlin to the front while Keselowski mounted a challenge beneath Hamlin. The outside lane, however, prevailed with a bevy of competitors opting to move up on the outside lane and Hamlin retaining the lead. Wallace was in second followed by Harvick, Elliott and Austin Dillon. McDowell was in sixth followed by Keselowski, Preece, Logano and Kyle Busch. By then, the field settled in a long single-file lane on the outside lane.
At the start of the final lap of the second stage, Wallace made his move beneath Hamlin to take the lead followed by a bevy of competitors, including McDowell and Keselowski. Through the backstretch, Logano, receiving drafting help from Kyle Busch, formed a third lane as the pack started to battle intently and tight against one another.
With the field entering Turn 3 and the tri-oval, Hamlin received a push from Harvick on the outside lane to reassume the lead over Wallace’s No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry and claim the second stage on Lap 130. Harvick settled in second followed by Wallace, Elliott and Austin Dillon. Logano, McDowell, Larson, Kyle Busch and Keselowski were scored in the top 10.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Austin Dillon exited in first place. Hamlin exited in second place followed by McDowell, Harvick, Wallace and Logano. Following the pit stops, Larson was penalized for a safety violation.
With 64 laps remaining, the final stage started. At the start, Austin Dillon moved his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in front of Hamlin to retain the lead. His lead, however, did not last long was Hamlin retuned to the top point with drafting help from Harvick, though he got squirrelly while being drafted by Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang. Dillon settled in third place, the first car on the bottom lane, as he battled Logano and Kyle Busch.
With 60 laps remaining, Hamlin was leading Harvick, Logano, Kyle Busch and Cindric while Custer, Austin Dillon, Elliott, Preece and McMurray were in the top 10. Larson was in 12th while Wallace was back in 14th in front of Keselowski, McDowell and Bell. By then, 18 cars were scored on the lead lap.
Ten laps later and with 50 laps remaining, Hamlin was still out in front followed by Harvick, Logano, Kyle Busch and Cindric. Custer, Austin Dillon, Elliott, Preece and McMurray were still in the top 10. Larson was in 12th, Keselowski was in 14th and Wallace was in 16th. By then, the field returned to a long single-file lane on the outside lane.
Another 10 laps later and with the next round of pit stops under green lurking, the field remained in a long single-file lane on the outside lane as Hamlin was still leading Harvick, Logano, Kyle Busch and Cindric. Custer was in sixth followed by Austin Dillon, Elliott, Preece and McMurray.
Down to the final 30 laps of the race, Hamlin continued to lead followed by teammate Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Elliott and Preece.
Shortly after, pit stops under green commenced when Ford names like Logano, Harvick, Cindric, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell pitted. Not long after, a bevy of Chevrolet competitors pitted. Shortly after, the Toyota drivers led by Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Wallace pitted.
When the field cycled back on the track, Logano was able to assume command of the race followed by Harvick as Kyle Busch and Hamlin, both of whom exited pit road ahead of the field, were unable to blend in front of the lead pack with enough speed and retain the top spots.
With 24 laps remaining, Logano, racing in his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang, was leading Harvick, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell. Ross Chastain was in sixth followed by Austin Dillon, Elliott, Kyle Busch and Preece. Wallace was in 11th while Hamlin fell back to 13th behind Larson.
Four laps later and with the laps winding down, Logano was still at the top of the field followed by Harvick, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell as Fords comprised the top-five spots on the track. Chastain was the leading Chevrolet competitor in sixth while Kyle Busch was the leading Toyota competitor in ninth. By then, Wallace, who made another pit stop to address a vibration concern, was in 17th and a lap behind. In addition, the top-12 competitors, all within more than a second of one another, were locked in a single-file lane as Hamlin was back in 12th.
Down to the final 15 laps of the race and with 15 competitors on the lead lap, the field remained in a single-file lane as Logano continued to lead followed by Harvick, Custer, Keselowski and McDowell. By then, Bell was pinned a lap behind along with Wallace. In addition, Hamlin remained in 12th place, three spots behind teammate Kyle Busch.
With 10 laps remaining, Logano remained at the front as the first of four Ford competitors leading the way followed by Harvick, Keselowski and McDowell. Behind, Austin Dillon was the leading Chevrolet competitor in fifth as he worked his way to the front followed by Elliott. Kyle Busch was in seventh followed by Larson, Hamlin and Chastain.
Down to the final five laps of the race, the field remained in a long single-file lane with Logano still leading Harvick, Keselowski, McDowell and Austin Dillon.
Logano continued to lead with three laps remaining while the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon, currently scored in fifth, was preparing his move as Elliott was in sixth.
With two laps remaining, however, Keselowski, racing in his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang, gained a run and was able to move behind teammate Logano as McDowell also moved up while Harvick was shuffled out. When the final lap of the race started, Logano was still out in front followed by teammate Keselowski.
Through the backstretch, Keselowski received a push from McDowell and closed in on Logano as he prepared to execute his move for the win. Entering Turn 3, however, the two Penske teammates made contact and a multi-car wreck ensued. In the midst of the carnage, Keselowski made head-on contact against the outside wall before being slammed hard by Kyle Busch as Keselowski’s No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang went up against the outside wall and shredded against the catchfence amid a shower of flames and sparks. In addition, Logano slid up and clipped Chastain, who also made contact with Preece, before being hit by Wallace. Cindric and Custer were also involved in the midst of the fiery accident.
The wreck ended the race under caution and at the moment of caution, McDowell was ahead of the field and declared the winner as he recorded his first career victory in NASCAR’s biggest event of the season.
With his victory, McDowell became the 40th driver to win the Daytona 500, the eighth competitor to record a first Cup career victory in the 500 and the 196th competitor overall to win a NASCAR Cup Series race. The victory was the first for Front Row Motorsports since August 2016 (third overall), the second for crew chief Drew Blickensderfer and the 16th Daytona 500 victory for the Ford nameplate. In addition, McDowell became the third competitor to win the 500 after leading only the final lap.
“I just can’t believe it,” McDowell said on FOX. “I’ve just got to thank God. So many years just grinding it out, hoping for an opportunity like this. I’ve got to thank Love’s Travel Stops, Speedco, [team owner] Bob Jenkins for giving me this opportunity. I’m so thankful. Such a great way to get a first victory. Daytona 500, are you kidding me?! We’re the Daytona 500 champions! We had our Ford partners at the end and they all crashed, but luckily I was able to make it through. I’m just so thankful. God is good.”
Elliott, the reigning series champion, came home in second place as he achieved his best result in the 500 in his sixth attempt to win it.
“I felt like we had a fast car,” Elliott said. “We weren’t as good as I thought we were on Thursday. I felt like we did a really good job executing today. Staying out of trouble, that’s not something I’ve done a very good job of here in this race, so I’m glad we could at least finish this one and have something to build on for when we come back and try to do better.”
Austin Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 champion, finished in third place followed by Harvick and Hamlin, who came up short in his bid to win three consecutive Daytona 500 titles.
“Yeah, you know you’ve just got to be thankful to be around at those moments at the end,” Dillon said. “I pulled out to see if the bottom would work and just didn’t get enough of a run. It was close. I’ve got to thank all my sponsors like Bass Pro Shops and everybody that helps this program. We were here all weekend scoring points and that’s all I can ask for…What can I say? Chevy was really close. I had fun working with my guys tonight in the Chevy camp.”
Preece came home in sixth place with a wrecked car followed by Chastain and McMurray. LaJoie and Larson rounded out the top 10.
Logano, Keselowski and Kyle Busch ended their nights in 12th, 13th and 14th following their vicious wreck. The wreck evaporated Keselowski’s hopes of winning his first 500 title in his 12th attempt along with Kyle Busch, who made his 17th attempt to win it.
“[I] Had a big run down the backstretch, went to make the pass to win the Daytona 500 and it ended up really bad,” Keselowski said following his release from the infield care center. “[I] Don’t feel like I made a mistake, but I can’t drive everyone else’s car. Frustrating, the Discount Tire Ford was not the fastest, but [crew chief] Jeremy Bullins and the whole team did a great job of keeping us in position and right then, we were in position. That’s exactly where I want to be running second on the last lap at Daytona with this package. Had the run, made the move. Then it didn’t work out.”
“Pandemonium, I guess,” Logano said. “Chaos struck. [Keselowski] kept trying to back up, trying to get a run. I was trying to back up to him and try to keep the runs from being too big. I guess he got to the back of [McDowell] and it ended up being a really big run coming at me, and it seemed we all just collided in one spot. Real bummer. None of the Penske cars won, but at least a Ford won…I hate that we didn’t win with our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang. I feel like we had a great shot, being where we were and leading on the last lap, but if we couldn’t win, I’m really happy to see McDowell win this thing.”
“It’s to be expected,” Kyle Busch said. “Just a matter of time before it all breaks loose and whatever happens happens. I saw a window to the outside and all of a sudden, I had [Keselowski] on my hood…Got clobbered a few good times and just fortunate that I’m all good. Our M&M’s Camry, that one won’t live to see another day. Hopefully, we’ll be back here next week and have a better go around on the [Daytona] road course and get back after it.”
Cindric was scored in 15th place in his Cup debut while Briscoe was the highest-finishing Rookie-of-the-Year contender in 19th place. Wallace finished in 17th place in his first run with 23XI Racing.
There were 22 lead changes for 13 different leaders. The race featured seven cautions for 40 laps.
Following the first race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Austin Dillon leads the regular-season standings by six points over Hamlin, eight over Harvick, 10 over Elliott and 12 over McDowell and Preece.
Results.
1. Michael McDowell, one lap led
2. Chase Elliott, three laps led
3. Austin Dillon, seven laps led
4. Kevin Harvick, 17 laps led
5. Denny Hamlin, 98 laps led, Stage 1 and 2 winner
6. Ryan Preece
7. Ross Chastain
8. Jamie McMurray
9. Corey LaJoie
10. Kyle Larson, one lap led
11. Cole Custer, one lap led
12. Joey Logano – OUT, Accident, 26 laps led
13. Brad Keselowski – OUT, Accident
14. Kyle Busch – OUT, Accident
15. Austin Cindric – OUT, Accident, two laps led
16. Christopher Bell, one lap down, 32 laps led
17. Bubba Wallace – OUT, Accident, one lap led
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two laps down
19. Chase Briscoe, three laps down
20. Joey Gase, four laps down
21. Cody Ware, four laps down
22. Kurt Busch, five laps down
23. B.J. McLeod, five laps down
24. Josh Bilicki, six laps down
25. Martin Truex Jr., seven laps down
26. William Byron, nine laps down
27. Tyler Reddick, 12 laps down
28. Kaz Grala – OUT, dvp, 10 laps led
29. Quin Houff – OUT, Accident
30. Ryan Blaney – OUT, Accident
31. Chris Buescher – OUT, dvp
32. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, dvp
33. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, dvp
34. Aric Almirola – OUT, Accident
35. Alex Bowman – OUT, Accident, one lap led
36. Daniel Suarez – OUT, Accident
37. David Ragan – OUT, Accident
38. Ryan Newman – OUT, Accident
39. Erik Jones – OUT, Accident
40. Derrike Cope – OUT, Accident
With the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season underway, the next event on the schedule is the series’ return to Daytona International Speedway for the series’ second points-paying event on the road course layout. The event will occur on Sunday, February 21, at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
With a strong push from Kevin Harvick and a crossover move to overtake Bubba Wallace approaching the finish line, Austin Dillon was able to steal the win in the second Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 11. With his first Duel career victory, Dillon will line up in fourth place for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
The lineup for the first duel event was based off of the Daytona 500 pole position qualifying session on Wednesday, February 10, where the even-numbered qualifiers in their respective order competed. With that, William Byron, the outside pole-sitter for the 2021 Daytona 500, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Bubba Wallace. Joey Gase started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced following a delay of more than two and a half hours due to rain, Byron jumped ahead with the advantage while Wallace and Kevin Harvick battled behind. Through the backstretch and in Turn 3, Wallace gained a run on Byron and overtook him to take the lead as he led the first lap.
The following lap and with the field fanning out to two and three lanes, Byron was able to utilize the inside lane to lead the following lap over Wallace, who moved to the outside lane.
After leading the second lap, Byron pulled ahead followed by Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott while Wallace was shuffled back on the outside lane and in a three-wide pack.
By the fifth lap, the top-10 competitors led by Byron were running in a single-file line on the inside. In addition, Noah Gragson, who started at the rear of the field, was in ninth place and leading the way as the highest non-chartered competitor on the field while Kaz Grala was in 14th.
Through the first 10 laps of the race, Byron was still out in front followed by Austin Dillon, Harvick, Elliott and Kurt Busch while Ryan Blaney, Wallace, Chris Buescher, Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain were in the top 10. Garrett Smithley, meanwhile, was the highest non-chartered competitor on the field in 11th while Grala and Gragson were behind in 12th and 13th.
Two laps later, Harvick gained a run on the outside lane to emerge with the lead as Blaney drafted Harvick to the front. Shortly after, Wallace drafted and challenged Blaney for the runner-up spot on the inside lane.
By Lap 15, Harvick, racing in his No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang, continued to lead by a narrow margin over Blaney and Wallace while Byron and Keselowski were in the top five.
After leading the next two laps, Wallace got shuffled out of the lead pack after being stuck in the middle lane. With Wallace falling back, Harvick reassumed the top spot followed by teammates Blaney and Keselowski while Byron continued to fight back on the inside lane as he had Austin Dillon, Elliott and Kurt Busch behind him.
Through the first 20 laps of the race, Byron was back in the lead followed by Austin Dillon, Elliott, Harvick, Kurt Busch, Blaney, Keselowski, Corey LaJoie, Truex and Wallace. Gragson and Grala were in 11th and 12th while Garrett Smithley was back in 20th.
Not long after, the field settled in a long single-file lane on the outside lane as Byron continued to lead.
When the field reached the halfway mark on Lap 30, Byron remained at the front followed by Austin Dillon, Harvick, Blaney and Keselowski with Truex in sixth. Gragson was in seventh while Grala was back in 15th.
Shortly after, Blaney gained a run on the inside lane followed by teammate Keselowski, Wallace and a number of other competitors as Blaney made a bid for the lead.
By Lap 33, Austin Dillon emerged with the lead by a nose over Byron. The following lap, Harvick, who was behind Dillon earlier, emerged with the lead. By then, Austin Dillon was behind him while Truex formed a line leading a bevy of cars on the outside wall.
Two laps later, trouble on the track ensued when rookie Chase Briscoe got loose entering Turn 1 and spun. Behind, rookie Anthony Alfredo and Kaz Grala also got sideways after both made contact against one another as both came to rest alongside Briscoe. Garrett Smithley and B.J. McLeod were also involved in the incident. Following the incident, McLeod and Alfredo retired while Grala, Briscoe and Smithley remained on the track. In the process, Grala, who sustained damage to his No. 16 HyperIce Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, lost a lap to the leaders.
Under caution, the leaders pitted and Blaney emerged with the lead after only taking fuel during his stop. Harvick exited in second place followed by Byron, Austin Dillon, Truex and Wallace.
With 20 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the front, Blaney pulled in front of Harvick on the inside lane and retained the lead. In Turn 1 and through the backstretch, Austin Dillon, racing in his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, gained a run on the outside lane with drafting help from Wallace to challenge Blaney for the lead. His run, however, did not last long as Blaney retained the lead when the field returned to the tri-oval.
The following lap, Byron gained a run on the outside lane through the backstretch and back to the start/finish line to reassume the lead. Soon after, Byron and Austin Dillon battled dead even for the lead with the field fanning out to two lanes and running in a tight pack.
With the race down to the final 15 laps, Byron cleared the field with the lead followed by Austin Dillon, Wallace, Keselowski and Blaney. Behind, Smithley and Gragson were battling one another for a transfer spot to Sunday’s Daytona 500.
With 10 laps remaining, the No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE driven by Byron was still leading the field followed by Truex, Austin Dillon, the Busch brothers and Harvick. By then, Gragson was in 12th and in the transfer spot to the 500 while Smithley was in 15th. Meanwhile, Wallace and Blaney were shuffled out of the lead pack.
Two laps later, Truex surged his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry to the lead on the outside lane and with drafting help from Harvick. As Truex took the lead, Harvick was locked in a battle with Byron for the runner-up spot as the field continued to battle tightly in two lanes at the front.
Another two laps later, Harvick, who received a push from Byron, challenged Truex on the inside lane to take the lead.
Down to the final five laps of the race, Harvick continued to lead while Keselowski challenged Truex for the runner-up spot. Not long after, Wallace shoved Truex to the lead as Kyle Busch also moved up into third place.
The following lap, trouble ensued behind when Smithley, who attempted to shove his way in between Keselowski and Gragson past the tri-oval, made contact with Keselowski and turned him into Gragson. The contact ignited a multi-car wreck that also collected Byron and Ross Chastain.
The damage was enough for Byron to sacrifice his front row starting spot for the 500 with the team moving to a back-up car. In addition, Gragson was knocked out of the race as his hopes of making Sunday’s Daytona 500 and his Cup debut with Beard Motorsports disappeared. Smithley continued, though he lost two laps to the leaders. In the midst of everything, Grala received the free pass to return on the lead lap as his hopes of making the 500 were rejuvenated.
The late multi-car wreck sent the race into overtime. At the start, Truex pulled in front of Wallace to retain the lead with Kyle Busch tucked in behind both in third place. Truex was able to retain the lead as he started the final lap, though he had Wallace, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Harvick closing in for one final charge.
Entering the backstretch, Wallace and Austin Dillon, both racing with momentum on the inside and outside lane, left Truex stuck in the middle with no drafting help as Wallace took the lead with drafting help from Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry.
Through Turn 3 and entering the tri-oval, Wallace moved his No. 23 DoorDash Toyota Camry up in an attempt to block Austin Dillon, who had a run with drafting help from Harvick. Dillon, however, made a crossover move on the inside lane and was able to squeak ahead following light contact with Wallace to win by 0.057 seconds.
With his victory, Dillon will attempt to win his second Daytona 500 title after winning his first in 2018.
“I was talking to my spotter before the restart and he was like, ‘We’ve got [Harvick] behind us and he’s been pushing well all night.’ He had [Blaney] so I knew the manufacturer thing was going to be tough,” Dillon said. “I made a decent block on the backstretch and just a heck of a push through [Turns] 3 and 4. I knew Bubba was going to try and block, but I just whipped the wheel and it worked out well.”
Wallace, in his first run with 23XI Racing, settled in a strong second-place result as he will line up in sixth place for Sunday’s 500. Despite the strong run, Wallace was anything but pleased with the result.
“Lot of mistakes,” Wallace said. “Good debut, but nothing to be really happy about on myself. It’s okay for drivers to be hard on themselves. That’s how we motivate ourselves, to get out and do better…It was a good night, but I got some learning to do.”
Harvick crossed the line in third place followed by Kyle Busch and Elliott. Blaney, Corey LaJoie, Ragan, Kurt Busch and Buescher rounded out the top 10 on the track. Truex fell all the way back to 12th place behind Keselowski.
David Ragan, who was guaranteed a spot in the 500 based on his qualifying speed a day earlier, was able to improve his starting spot for the main event after claiming a transfer spot on the track via the duel. With that, Kaz Grala, who finished 14th, secured the final starting spot for the 500. With his accomplishment, Grala will be making his second career start in the Cup Series in Sunday’s Daytona 500 as Kaulig Racing will be making its second consecutive Daytona 500 appearance.
“It’s great,” Grala said. “Obviously, we knew coming into it, this was going to be a really hard year to make the race — excellent competition, great teams, great drivers trying to make this race without charters. So we knew it was a tall order, but I will say now, being able to breathe a sigh of relief that we are in, it makes it that much sweeter knowing that we beat some real incredible teams and drivers to get into this race.”
Garrett Smithley and Gragson, both of whom finished 16th and 18th, failed to qualify for the 500, joining Ty Dillon and Timmy Hill.
There were 14 lead changes for six different leaders. The race featured two cautions for eight laps.
Results.
1. Austin Dillon, two laps led
2. Bubba Wallace, three laps led
3. Kevin Harvick, 11 laps led
4. Kyle Busch
5. Chase Elliott
6. Ryan Blaney, four laps led
7. Corey LaJoie
8. David Ragan
9. Kurt Busch
10. Chris Buescher
11. Brad Keselowski
12. Martin Truex Jr., nine laps led
13. Joey Gase
14. Kaz Grala
15. Chase Briscoe, two laps down
16. Garrett Smithley, two laps down
17. Derrike Cope, four laps down
18. Noah Gragson – OUT, Accident
19. William Byron – OUT, Accident, 34 laps led
20. Ross Chastain – OUT, Accident
21. Anthony Alfredo – OUT, Accident
22. B.J. McLeod – OUT, Accident
With the 2021 Daytona 500 starting grid officially set, the main event will occur on Sunday, February 14, with coverage on FOX at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Using the side draft on the outside lane to his advantage, Aric Almirola held off a late charge from Christopher Bell and Joey Logano to win the first Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 11, for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory across Daytona Speedweeks.
The lineup for the first duel event was based off of the Daytona 500 pole position qualifying session on Wednesday, February 10, where the odd-numbered qualifiers in their respective order competed. With that, Alex Bowman, the pole-sitter for the 2021 Daytona 500, started on pole position and was joined on the front row with Aric Almirola. Tyler Reddick dropped to the rear of the field due to a transmission change, which was noted as unapproved adjustments.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Bowman and Almirola battled against one another with the field fanning out to two lanes and running close to one another in the draft. By the time the field returned to the tri-oval, Almirola led the first lap by a nose on the outside lane.
Through the backstretch, Almirola pulled ahead and was able to retain the lead with Christopher Bell tucked in behind him while Bowman continued to lead the bottom lane.
The following lap, Daniel Suarez, racing for Trackhouse Racing Team, formed a third lane on the outside lane to grab the lead from Bowman and Almirola. Past the start/finish line, he cleared the field to retain the lead while the field fanned out to three lanes. While the field continued to race in a tight three-wide pack entering the backstretch, Denny Hamlin dropped to the rear of the field to preserve his primary car.
By the fifth lap, Bell, making his first Cup start with Joe Gibbs Racing, muscled his No. 20 DeWalt Toyota Camry into the lead on the outside lane followed by Austin Cindric and Almirola. Almirola was able to lead the following lap before Bell reassumed the top spot as both competitors battled against one another for the lead and ahead of the pack.
Through the first 10 laps of the first duel event, Almirola was out in front on the inside lane while Bell kept the competition close on the outside lane. Joey Logano was in third followed by Cindric and Ryan Newman. Tyler Reddick, Michael McDowell, Jamie McMurray, Cole Custer and Kyle Larson were in the top 10. By then, Ty Dillon, needing to race his way into the Daytona 500 in a non-chartered entry, was in 11th, seven spots below Cindric.
By Lap 16, Almirola continued to lead followed by Logano and Newman while Bell, the first car on the outside lane, was locked into a battle with Michael McDowell. By then, Ty Dillon drew himself alongside Cindric in a battle for a transfer spot for Sunday’s 500.
The following lap, the top-five competitors on the inside lane led by Almirola pulled ahead while Bell, who was complaining of temperature issues due to a stuck debris on his car, continued to battle on the outside lane.
By Lap 20, Almirola continued to lead Logano, Newman, McDowell and Ty Dillon, all of whom pulled away from the outside lane.
Meanwhile, Ryan Preece, who was guaranteed a starting spot for the 500 based on his qualifying speed, was battling for a spot in the top 15 while Bowman was back in 19th in a conservative move to preserve his pole-winning car for the 500.
Shortly after, Almirola moved to the outside lane while retaining the lead over a bevy of competitors, including Logano, McDowell, Matt DiBenedetto, Denny Hamlin, Bell, Cindric, Reddick, Timmy Hill and Newman. In addition, the field settled into a long single-file lane on the outside lane.
When the field reached the halfway mark on Lap 30, it was Almirola who was still at the front of a bevy of competitors running in a single-file lane behind him. Logano was still in second place followed by McDowell, DiBenedetto, Hamlin and Bell. Cindric was in seventh and in a transfer spot while Timmy Hill and Ty Dillon, the other two non-charter competitors currently not in the 500, were in ninth and 17th. Reddick and Suarez were in the top 10.
Shortly after, Bowman peeled his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE off the racing groove and to pit road, where his crew lifted the hood on his car. By the time he returned to the track, he lost two laps to the leaders, though the car continued to run under power.
A few laps later, pit stops under green commenced as leader Almirola and a bevy of Ford competitors pitted. The following lap, a handful of Toyota drivers and Ford driver Timmy Hill pitted. The Chevrolet drivers were the next to pit the following lap. Following the pit stops, early disaster struck for Cindric , who was forced to serve a drive-through penalty through pit road for speeding on pit road.
With 23 laps remaining, Almirola cycled his way back into the lead ahead of Logano, DiBenedetto, Newman and Ty Dillon, who was in the transfer spot to make the 500.
Under 20 laps remaining, Almirola kept the field behind with the lead while Hamlin started to form another lane on the inside, though he was able to close the gap to the leaders on the outside lane.
Down to the final 10 laps of the race, Almirola was still out in front over Logano, DiBenedetto, Newman and Ty Dillon. Bell was in sixth followed by Cole Custer, McMurray, McDowell and Ryan Preece while Hamlin was in 11th ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kyle Larson, Suarez, Reddick and Erik Jones. By then, Hill and Cindric were in 17th and 18th as both were long behind Ty Dillon for a transfer spot to the 500.
Not long after, the field fanned out to two lanes as names like Hamlin, Stenhouse, McMurray, Bell and DiBenedetto made moves on the inside lane. A few laps later, Bell and Hamlin made their way into third and fourth on the outside lane, moving DiBenedetto to the inside lane. Through all of this, Almirola continued to lead followed by Logano.
With five laps remaining, Almirola retained the lead on the outside lane followed by Logano, Bell, Hamlin and Newman while Ty Dillon was in sixth. In addition, Custer formed a lane on the inside lane with drafting help from DiBenedetto.
Down to the final two laps of the race, the field continued to remain in a single-file lane with Almirola out in front ahead of Logano, Bell, Hamlin, Newman, Ty Dillon, McDowell, Preece, Suarez and DiBenedetto.
At the start of the final lap, Almirola remained as the leader. Through Turn 1 and the backstretch, he was still leading while Bell closed in on the bumper of Logano as both were forming a run on Almirola for the win. Entering Turn 3 and with Custer spinning and making contact against the outside wall, Logano made a move beneath Almirola’s No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang in an attempt to take the lead, but Almirola was able to side-draft Logano’s No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang to retake the lead. At the finish line, Almirola was able to beat Bell by 0.041 seconds to grab the checkered flag and win.
With his victory, Almirola will start in third place for Sunday’s Daytona 500. He also made his first appearance in victory lane in the Cup circuit since winning at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2018.
“[Crew chief] Mike Bugarewicz and all these guys on this team built me an incredible Ford Mustang,” Almirola said on the frontstretch on FS1. “What a way to kick off our 10th season together with Smithfield. They’ve been an incredible partner of mine. Great way to start Speedweeks. This thing’s really fast. I can’t wait till Sunday. Proud of everybody back at the shop…It’s been a long time since I got to sit here and do an interview at the start/finish line.”
Bell settled in second place followed by Newman, Logano and Preece.
For Preece, he edged Ty Dillon at the finish line by approximately 0.040 seconds to claim a transfer spot based on his duel finish. Because Preece, who had qualified for the 500 based on his qualifying speed a day earlier, was able to improve his starting spot for the 500 and claim a transfer spot on the track, Cindric, who finished 16th, was awarded the final transfer spot into the 500 based on his qualifying speed.
With the late turn of events, Cindric will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut in Sunday’s Daytona 500.
“First of all, I get the bonehead of the race award for speeding on the last section of pit road when I nailed everything else the whole night that I didn’t know how to do,” Cindric said on FS1. “I’m really happy to get the Verizon 5G Ford Mustang into the big show. A lot for me left to learn, but racing on the biggest stage against the best drivers, it’s an amazing opportunity.”
Ty Dillon and Timmy Hill, both of whom finished sixth and 19th, failed to qualify for the 500.
Larson, Suarez, McDowell and McMurray finished in the top 10 following the first duel event. Hamlin fell back in 13th place after running out of fuel on the final lap.
There were nine lead changes for five different leaders. The race featured no cautions.
Results.
1. Aric Almirola, 52 laps led
2. Christopher Bell, three laps led
3. Ryan Newman
4. Joey Logano
5. Ryan Preece
6. Ty Dillon
7. Kyle Larson
8. Daniel Suarez, two laps led
9. Michael McDowell
10. Jamie McMurray
11. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
12. Matt DiBenedetto
13. Denny Hamlin, one lap led
14. Cole Custer
15. Tyler Reddick, two laps led
16. Austin Cindric, one lap down
17. Erik Jones, one lap down
18. Quin Houff, two laps down
19. Timmy Hill, three laps down
20. Alex Bowman, four laps down
21. Cody Ware, four laps down
22. Josh Bilicki – OUT, Overheating
The second Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona International Speedway is underway. Following both Duel events, the overall starting grid for the 2021 Daytona 500 scheduled on Sunday, February 14, will be set, with the event to occur at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
In his first qualifying session while piloting one of NASCAR’s iconic numbers, Alex Bowman stole the spotlight under the lights at Daytona International Speedway after claiming the pole position for the 63rd annual running of the Daytona 500 on Wednesday, February 10.
Bowman, who was one of 44 competitors participating in the first Daytona 500 qualifying session at nighttime and under the lights around the 2.5-mile superspeedway, secured the top starting spot for the 500 with a pole-winning speed at 191.261 mph in 47.056 seconds, which was enough for him to edge teammate William Byron, who clocked in with a time at 190.219 mph in 47.314 seconds.
With his accomplishment, Bowman secured his second Daytona 500 pole award, first since 2018 and the third of his NASCAR Cup Series career. His accomplishment also marked the 14th 500 pole award for Hendrick Motorsports and the ninth year in a row for Chevrolet. In addition, Bowman became the first competitor to qualify on the front row for the 500 for a fourth consecutive season. He qualified on the pole for the 2018 Daytona 500 and on the front row the following two seasons.
“It doesn’t really have a whole lot to do with me,” Bowman said while crediting his team led by crew chief Greg Ives on FS1. “It’s a testament to these guys and everybody back at the shop at Hendrick Motorsports. They work so hard on these superspeedway cars. They’re beautiful when they get to the race track. Our Ally Camaro has been really fast since we unloaded and they focused a lot on trying to get the pole for the [Daytona] 500. It means a lot to us and we were able to achieve that…It feels really good. Man, it’s just awesome to be driving his No. 48 car.”
Byron, who won the Daytona 500 pole position in 2019, secured the second starting spot and completed the front row grid for Sunday’s 500 as Hendrick Motorsports’ competitors locked up the front row for the 500 for the fourth time in the last eight years. Ironically, Bowman and Byron qualified on the front row for the 2019 Daytona 500.
The rest of the competitors will have their starting spots for Sunday’s Daytona 500 determined following the Bluegreen Vacations Duel events at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 14.
Aric Almirola posted the third-fastest lap followed by Bubba Wallace, who was the fastest competitor during Wednesday’s practice session and turned in his first laps for 23XI Racing. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who won the Daytona 500 pole award last season, was the fifth-fastest competitor. Kevin Harvick, Christopher Bell, Ryan Preece, Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez posted the top-10 fastest-qualifying laps followed by Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott.
While teammates Bowman and Byron accomplished their task in qualifying on the front row, Preece and David Ragan were also left victorious after both secured starting spots for Sunday’s 500 based on their qualifying speed while competing in non-chartered entries. Preece will make his third consecutive Daytona 500 appearance while Ragan, who posted the 13th-fastest qualifying lap and finished in fourth place in last year’s 500, will make his 15th consecutive appearance on Sunday.
The remaining non-chartered competitors that include Austin Cindric, Kaz Grala, Ty Dillon, Garrett Smithley, Timmy Hill and Noah Gragson will battle against one another for the final two spots for the 500.
Gragson was unable to post a qualifying lap due to his No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE failing pre-qualifying inspection three times. As a result, he will start at the rear of the field in the second duel event. In addition, a crew member from Beard Motorsports was ejected following the inspection failures.
Derrike Cope was also unable to post a qualifying lap due to battery issues on his No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE, thus dropping him to the rear of the field for the second duel event. Unlike Gragson, Cope is guaranteed a spot for Sunday’s 500 based on a charter.
The start of the qualifying session encountered a brief delay due to power outage.
The Bluegreen Vacations Duel events at Daytona International Speedway are next on the schedule, with both to occur on Thursday, February 11. The first duel event will commence at 7 p.m. ET on FS1 while the second duel event will commence at 9 p.m. ET on FS1. All will lead up to the 63rd annual running of the Daytona 500, which will occur on Sunday, February 14, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Starting the 2021 NASCAR season with a new crew chief, a new pit crew and a new slate, Kyle Busch took advantage of a last-lap incident involving Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott to win the 43rd annual running of the Busch Clash at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course on Tuesday, February 9.
Busch, who was running in third place on the final lap and entering the final chicane prior to the straightaway for the finish line, benefitted from contact involving Elliott and Blaney, who spun, to overtake both and claim the first checkered flag of a new season of racing and the first Clash event held on Daytona’s road-course layout.
Twenty-one competitors competed in the event, all of whom met the eligibility requirements to participate: 2020 Cup pole winners, former winners of the Clash as a 2020 full-time competitor, former Daytona 500 champions as a 2020 full-time competitor, former Daytona 500 pole winners as a 2020 full-time competitor, 2020 Cup Playoff competitors, 2020 Cup race winners and 2020 Cup stage winners.
The starting lineup was based on a random draw on Monday, February 8. With that, Ryan Blaney started on pole position with Alex Bowman starting alongside him on the front row. Chase Elliott, the reigning Cup Series champion, started at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.
When the green flag waved and the race commenced, Blaney jumped ahead with an early advantage on the inside lane. Behind, Tyler Reddick made a bold move on the outside lane through Turn 1 and nearly gained the lead before settling in fourth place behind Blaney, Bowman and Denny Hamlin.
Blaney continued to lead the field through the infield turns until Hamlin made his move and took the lead entering the superspeedway Turn 1. He was able to maintain his advantage through the rest of the superspeedway turns and the two chicanes to lead the first lap over Blaney, who had Bowman and Reddick challenging him for the runner-up spot.
Earlier through the bus stop/chicane on the backstretch, Logano ran over the curb on the backstretch bus stop chicane while battling teammate Keselowski as his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang briefly went airborne. Despite the incident, he continued on the track in the top 10.
By the second lap, Hamlin stretched his advantage to nearly two seconds over Blaney while Bowman continued to retain third place over Reddick and William Byron. Brad Keselowski was in sixth followed by Matt DiBenedetto, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Cole Custer. By then, Chase Elliott moved up to 16th place.
The following lap, early trouble struck for Kevin Harvick, who spun through the backstretch chicane. He was able to continue without sustaining any damage, though he fell all the way below the 21-car field, as the race remained under green.
By the first five laps of the race, Hamlin and his No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry continued to lead by more than a second over Blaney and his No. 12 Menards/Great Lakes Flooring Ford Mustang. Bowman remained in third place ahead of teammate Byron, Reddick and Keselowski. Behind, Kyle Busch was locked in a heated battle with Joey Logano and teammate Martin Truex Jr. for seventh while DiBenedetto slipped back to 10th. By then, Erik Jones was in 11th, Elliott was in 15th, Ty Dillon was in 17th and Harvick was in 21st.
Shortly after, DiBenedetto missed the frontstretch chicane and was forced to serve a stop-and-go penalty on the track. In addition, Kurt Busch and Logano made an early pit stop. During these events, Hamlin continued to lead the field.
The first caution of the race flew on the seventh lap due to mud reported across the bus stop chicane on the backstretch. Under caution, some competitors led by race leader Hamlin pitted while the rest led by Blaney remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Logano was assessed a penalty for having his crew members jumping over his pit wall too soon.
When the race restarted under green on Lap 10, Blaney jumped ahead again with the lead, but he overshot the first turn and lost a multitude of spots. With Blaney’s misfortune, Reddick jumped ahead with the lead. In addition, the field jumbled up as Harvick spun again in Turn 2.
At the front, Reddick continued to lead followed by Keselowski, Bowman, Buescher, Hamlin and Byron. By the time the field returned to the start/finish line, however, Keselowski drew himself alongside Reddick in a battle for the lead. In Turn 1, Reddick went wide, which allowed Keselowski to assume the lead. In addition, Hamlin moved up to second followed by teammate Martin Truex Jr. as Reddick fell back to fourth. Meanwhile, Harvick pitted following his second on-track incident.
By Lap 12, the battle for the lead heated up between Hamlin and Keselowski while Truex joined the battle. Following a lengthy battle through the infield turns, Hamlin prevailed entering the superspeedway Turn 1. Truex also overtook Keselowski for second as he went to work on teammate Hamlin for the lead. Trailing the top-three competitors by nearly three seconds was Reddick while Elliott overtook Erik Jones and cracked the top five.
The following lap, Hamlin got loose entering the bus stop and Truex took advantage of his teammate’s slip to take the lead. Shortly after, names like Reddick, Jones, Bowman and Logano pitted. Following the pit stops under green, however, Bowman was black-flagged due to speeding on pit road.
By the time the field completed Lap 15 and with Truex still leading, names like Elliott, Austin Dillon, Kurt Busch, Blaney and Harvick also pitted. Not long after, the competition caution flew.
Just as the caution flew, trouble struck for the leader Truex, who missed the frontstretch chicane and was tagged with a penalty to restart at the rear of the 21-car field. Under caution, the entire field pitted for adjustments and fuel. Following the pit stops, Kurt Busch assumed the race lead with a two-tire pit stop. Austin Dillon moved up to second place after electing for no tires while Hamlin exited in third place and as the first car on four fresh tires. Keselowski, Blaney, Logano, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Cole Custer and Chris Buescher exited from pit road in the top 10.
With 17 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the front, Kurt Busch jumped ahead with the lead until he overshot the first turn. With Busch falling all the way to the back of the field after overshooting the track, Hamlin reassumed the lead followed by Blaney, Logano, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch.
With 15 laps remaining, Hamlin continued to lead by less than a second over Blaney while teammate Logano was situated in third place. Kyle Busch was in fourth ahead of Austin Dillon and Custer while Keselowski, Buescher, Jones and Reddick were in the top 10. Truex, meanwhile, was in 11th while teammates Byron, Bowman and Elliott were in 13th, 14th and 15th. Harvick was in 18th while Kurt Busch was still back in 21st. By then, the bumping and on-track battling started to ensue around every turn of the track.
The following lap, the caution returned when Custer, who missed the frontstretch chicane and was set to serve a stop and go penalty, stalled his No. 41 Haas Ford Mustang near the chicane. Soon after, fire and smoke started to come out of Custer’s car as the safety workers arrived for assistance.
Under caution, some like Blaney, Logano, Byron, Bowman, Elliott, Newman, Kurt Busch, Reddick, Buescher, Harvick and Aric Almirola pitted while the rest led by Hamlin remained on the track.
A lap prior to the restart, the left-rear tire of Byron’s No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE shredded, which forced him to make another pit stop for a new tire. In addition, Logano was forced to drop to the rear of the field for not entering pit road in a single file earlier.
With 11 laps remaining, the race restarted under green. At the front, Hamlin jumped ahead with the lead and he was able to retain it through the first two turns while the field behind fanned out to three lanes. Behind, Truex, who smoked his front tires entering the first turn, made his way through Austin Dillon for the runner-up spot as Kyle Busch also moved up the leaderboard. Behind, Blaney, who used the outside lane at the start to his advantage and gain a bevy of spots, challenged Dillon for fourth.
The following lap, Hamlin retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over teammate Truex as Kyle Busch settled in third. Blaney was in fourth, but closing in on Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry for more. Austin Dillon was in fifth followed by Elliott, Keselowski, DiBenedetto, Bowman and Reddick.
Two laps later, the battle for the lead heated up as Truex drew himself alongside Hamlin through the infield turns. Truex was able to pull off a crossover move and grab the lead exiting the infield turns and entering the superspeedway turns. His race, however, went away through the bus stop/backstretch chicane when he ran over the mud, got loose, spun and made hard contact against the outside wall in Turn 10.
With Truex out of the race following his accident, Blaney emerged with the lead followed by Hamlin, Elliott, Kyle Busch and Bowman. Under caution, however, Blaney and Hamlin led a number of competitors down pit road while Elliott, Kurt Busch, Logano, Reddick, Buescher and Aric Almirola remained on the track. This moved Elliott into the lead.
With five laps remaining, the race restarted. At the start, Elliott pulled away with the lead and he retained it through the first turn. Behind, Kurt Busch went wide again and lost a bevy of spots. Meanwhile, Logano moved into the runner-up spot followed by Buescher, Blaney, Reddick and Kyle Busch.
When the field returned to the start/finish line, Elliott remained at the front of the pack by less than a second over Logano with a hard-charging Blaney closing in. Through the bus stop/backstretch chicane, Keselowski, who was in eighth, spun in front of Byron. In addition, Reddick got into Buescher as Buescher spun through the chicane and clipped Bowman before coming to rest on the track. Despite the incidents, the race remained under green.
At the front, Blaney, racing on fresh tires, closed in on Elliott for the lead through the infield turns, the superspeedway turns and the bus stop/backstretch chicane. With two laps remaining, Blaney made a move beneath Elliott through the dogleg turn as he took the lead, though Elliott kept Blaney in his sights.
When the final lap of the exhibition event started, Blaney was still ahead by nearly half a second over Elliott. Through the infield turns, the superspeedway turns and the backstretch chicane, Blaney continued to retain the top spot while Elliott continued to close in.
Then entering the frontstretch chicane, Elliott made a move beneath Blaney in a bid for the win. Hen then made contact with Blaney as Blaney spun through the chicane. Following the contact, Kyle Busch, who was trailing the two leaders, made his way through the incident and overtook Elliott to win and grab the checkered flag by nearly eight-tenths of a second.
The victory was Busch’s second in the Clash as he recorded the 10th Clash win for Joe Gibbs Racing and the sixth for the Toyota nameplate. In addition, Busch achieved his first victory with new crew chief Ben Beshore.
“I just knew to keep my head down, keep focused ahead and just seeing if I could hit my marks and get close enough to have a shot like that if something like that were to materialize,” Busch said on FS1. “Fortunately, it did for us. I can’t say enough about [crew chief] Ben Beshore and this whole M&M’s team, everybody over the off season. A new M&M’s team…It’s awesome to start off the year with a win. Non-points win, but we’d love nothing more than to be right here this Sunday.”
Elliott limped across the finish line in second place while Blaney fell all the way back to 13th place. Following the race, both competitors met on pit road for a post-race discussion.
“Neither one of us won, that’s the big one,” Elliott said on FS1. “I was close enough to drive it in there. I feel like I’d be mad at myself for not, at least, trying. Obviously, I don’t mean to wreck anybody, especially [Blaney]. Some guys, I wouldn’t mind, but he’s not one of them. Hopefully, he’s not too mad at me. I feel like you got to go for it here at an event like this in a situation. I can’t be sorry about going for the win, but certainly didn’t mean to wreck him. [I] Drove it in there. That corner gets so tight. I didn’t want to just completely jump the curb to the right, but I felt like I tried to get over there as far as I could to it and that point, we were coming together at the same time…We’ll try again Sunday.”
“I hate it happened too,” Blaney added. “It didn’t work out for either of us. We were just racing hard. I had a little bit fresher tires there…I tried to protect and I drove into the last corner really deep to try to make sure I didn’t dive-bombed like that. We just came together there. What are you gonna do?”
Logano finished in third place followed by Reddick and Byron. Hamlin, Bowman, Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and DiBenedetto rounded out the top 10.
There were 13 lead changes for eight different leaders. The race featured four cautions for eight laps.
Results.
1. Kyle Busch, one lap led
2. Chase Elliott, four laps led
3. Joey Logano
4. Tyler Reddick, one lap led
5. William Byron
6. Denny Hamlin, 21 laps led
7. Alex Bowman
8. Erik Jones
9. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
10. Matt DiBenedetto
11. Austin Dillon
12. Aric Almirola
13. Ryan Blaney, five laps led
14. Ryan Newman
15. Kevin Harvick
16. Chris Buescher
17. Brad Keselowski, one lap led
18. Ty Dillon
19. Kurt Busch, one lap led
20. Cole Custer, three laps down
21. Martin Truex Jr. – OUT, Accident, two laps led
The NASCAR Cup Series will return the following day, February 10, for the Daytona 500 pole position qualifying session, which will occur at 7 p.m. ET on FS1, followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel races at Daytona on Thursday, February 11, which will also commence at 7 p.m. ET on FS1. All of this will lead up to the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 scheduled on Sunday, February 14, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
NASCAR is back and the season kicks off with the 43rd running of the Busch Clash at Daytona International Speedway Tues., Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. But this year will feature a special twist as the Clash will be run on Daytona’s road course for the first time.
The lineup for the 21 eligible drivers was held via a virtual draw Monday night at Daytona and Ryan Blaney will start on the pole. This year’s event will consist of 35 laps with a scheduled caution at Lap 15.
Other highlights include NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Wed. night. The fastest two cars will make up the front row for the Daytona 500 Sunday afternoon. The Duels at Daytona will run Thursday evening and will determine the remaining lineup. The Duel 1 drivers will line up on the inside row in order of their finish while the Duel 2 drivers will line up on the outside row according to their finish.
The ARCA Menards Series, Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series will also take to the track this week in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series prestigious Daytona 500 Sunday afternoon.
All times are Eastern.
Tuesday, Feb. 9
7 p.m.: Cup Series Busch Clash at Daytona – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio – (35 laps, 126.35 miles)
Wednesday, Feb. 10
12:05 p.m. – 12:55 p.m.: Cup Series First Practice – FS1/MRN
7:30 p.m.: Cup Series Qualifying – FS1/MRN
Thursday, Feb. 11
5:35 p.m. – 6:25 p.m. Truck Series First Practice – FS1
7 p.m.: Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (60 laps, 150 miles each race)
Friday, Feb. 12
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.: ARCA Practice
3:10: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
4:35 p.m. – 5:25 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – FS1
7:30 p.m.: Truck Series NextEra Energy 250 – FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Stages 20/40/100)
Saturday, Feb. 13
8:30 a.m.: ARCA Qualifying
9:30 a.m.-10:20 a.m.: Cup Series Second Practice – FS2/MRN
10:40 a.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying FS2/FS1* *Broadcast coverage starts on FS2 then switches to FS1 at 11 a.m.
12:05 p.m. – 12:55 p.m.: Cup Series Final Practice – FS1/MRN
1:30 p.m.: ARCA Menards Series Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire – FS1/MRN (80 laps, 200 miles)
5 p.m.: NASCAR Xfinity Series Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 – FS1/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Stages 30/ 60/120)
Sunday, Feb. 14
2:30 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 – FOX/MRN/ SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Stages 65/130/200)
One for the ages on a cloudy afternoon in the desert state of Arizona.
Nine months after the start of what would be a bizarre season of racing and on a day where a number of icons led by Jimmie Johnson made their final full-time starts in NASCAR’s premier series, Chase Elliott etched his name as a NASCAR Cup Series champion.
The Dawsonville, Georgia, native, who started at the rear of the field and methodically worked his way to the front, led seven times for a race-high 153 of 312 laps, took the lead for the final time with 42 laps remaining and pulled away from title rivals Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano to claim his first title by winning the Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway as he also claimed his fifth victory of the season and the 11th of his Cup career. Above all, Elliott was able to come back around and celebrate as the 2020 Cup Series champion.
The starting lineup was based on four stats: current owner’s standings, driver’s and owner’s results from a previous Cup race and the fastest lap recorded from a previous Cup race. With that, the four championship finale contenders started first through fourth led by pole-sitter Chase Elliott and followed by Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin.
Prior to the race, however, Elliott started at the rear of the field due to his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE failing pre-race inspection twice. Brennan Poole also dropped to the rear of the field due to his car failing pre-race inspection twice.
Moments before the race started and during the pace laps, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson moved to the front of the grid as he received a final salute from the fans and the NASCAR community before he moved back to start in 26th place.
When the final race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season commenced under green, Logano, who started at the front, jumped ahead with the lead and was followed by teammate Keselowski, Hamlin, Ryan Blaney and Kurt Busch as the field battled early for positions through the dogleg turn and entering Turns 1 and 2. The early start for Logano was enough for him to lead the first lap of the race.
The following lap, Keselowski and Hamlin battled dead even for the runner-up spot and in front of Blaney and Kurt Busch. Alex Bowman was in sixth followed by Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, teammate Aric Almirola and Matt DiBenedetto. Elliott, meanwhile, was in 31st after starting at the rear of the field.
By the fifth lap, Logano was leading by nearly a second over teammate Keselowski while Hamlin was in third ahead of Blaney, Kurt Busch, Bowman and Kyle Busch. By then, Elliott moved up to 25th place.
Following the first 10 laps of the finale, Logano continued to lead by more than a second over teammate Keselowski, who had Hamlin pressuring on him for the runner-up spot.
The following lap, Hamlin went wide in Turn 2, which allowed Keselowski to make a crossover move and retain the runner-up spot as teammate Blaney joined the battle. By then, Elliott moved his No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE in the top 20. In addition, Ryan Preece, who made contact with the wall, pitted under green.
By Lap 15, Logano extended his advantage to more than two seconds over teammate Keselowski, who had Hamlin closing in for position. Blaney and Kurt Busch continued to run in the top five followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, DiBenedetto and Almirola. By then, Elliott made his way into the top 15.
Five laps later, on Lap 20, Logano stabilized his advantage in the race and in the title battle by more than two seconds over Keselowski with Hamlin still in third and Elliott in 13th behind Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick and Cole Custer.
Another five laps later, on Lap 25, Elliott was in 11th place and pressuring Almirola for a spot in the top 10 on the track. By then, Logano was still leading by more than a second and a half over teammate Keselowski and Hamlin, both of whom continued to battle one another for the runner-up spot.
Two laps later, Elliott made his way into the top 10 after passing Almirola, though he was more than 10 seconds behind race leader and title contender Logano and his No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang.
When the competition caution flew on Lap 30, Logano was ahead by more than a second over teammate Keselowski and Hamlin, with Blaney and Kurt Busch in the top five. Bowman, DiBenedetto, Kyle Busch, Bowyer and Elliott were in the top 10. By then, Harvick was in 11th ahead of teammates Cole Custer and Almirola, Jimmie Johnson was in 16th behind Erik Jones and William Byron, Martin Truex Jr. was in 18th in between Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon, Matt Kenseth was in 21st ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Ryan Newman and Bubba Wallace was in 24th. Christopher Bell, racing in Leavine Family Racing’s final race in NASCAR, was in 20th while Ty Dillon, racing in Germain Racing’s final race in NASCAR, was in 29th.
Under the competition caution, the leaders pitted and Logano retained the lead following the first round of pit stops. Hamlin exited in second place followed by Bowman, Kyle Busch, Bowyer and Blaney. During the pit stops, Keselowski dropped six spots in eighth place following a slow pit stop, where his jack man ran into the tire changer during the service. Elliott exited in 11th place behind Harvick. Following the pit stops, John Hunter Nemechek was assessed a speeding penalty.
The race restarted under green on Lap 36 with Logano and Hamlin on the front row. At the start, Logano retained the lead after driving through the dogleg turn to block Kyle Busch and entering Turns 1 and 2. Hamlin also retained the runner-up spot while Kyle Busch and Bowman battle for third ahead of Bowyer and Keselowski.
By Lap 40, Logano was ahead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Hamlin followed by Bowman while Elliott, who made a bold three-wide move on Keselowski and Kyle Busch for positions earlier, battled Bowyer for additional spots in the top five.
A lap later, Elliott moved his No. 9 Chevrolet into fourth place over Bowyer. Another lap later, Keselowski overtook Bowyer and Kyle Busch to move into fifth place with the four final title contenders running in the top five. By then, Logano was still leading by nearly two-tenths of a second over Hamlin with Bowman trailing by two seconds.
Three laps later, on Lap 46, Elliott overtook teammate Bowman exiting the backstretch and entering Turn 3 to move into third place as he was three seconds behind title rivals Logano and Hamlin. By then, Keselowski also started to close in on Bowman’s No. 88 Truck Hero/ChevyGoods Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for fourth place.
By Lap 50, the final four title contenders were running first through fourth on the track, with Logano leading Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry by nearly eight-tenths of a second. Elliott was in third, trailing by more than three seconds, while Keselowski, racing in his No. 2 Discount Tire Ford Mustang, was in fourth place.
Behind, Bowman was in fifth followed by Kyle Busch, Blaney, Bowyer, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto. Jimmie Johnson was in 12th in between Erik Jones and Byron while Kenseth was in 21st in between Bell and Bubba Wallace.
By Lap 60, Logano stabilized his advantage to more than half a second over Hamlin. Behind, Elliott, the fastest car on the circuit, remained in third place, trailing by more than three seconds, while Keselowski remained in fourth place. Meanwhile, Blaney moved into fifth place.
With five laps remaining in the first stage, the final four title contenders continued to run first through fourth on the track, with Logano leading by nearly three-tenths of a second over Hamlin, Elliott running in third and Keselowski settling in fourth. Blaney was the highest-running non-title contender in fifth while Bowman and Kyle Busch battled for sixth place. Bowyer, making his final start, was in eighth followed by Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto, both of whom were ahead of Johnson.
Down to the final laps of the first stage and with the leaders approaching lapped traffic, Hamlin started to close in on Logano’s No. 22 Ford for position as he was two-tenths of a second behind.
Despite being pressured for the lead, Logano was able to hold off Hamlin and win the first stage on Lap 75 by more than half a second as he collected his seventh stage victory of the 2020 Cup season. Hamlin settled in second followed by Elliott, Keselowski and Blaney while Kyle Busch, Bowman, Bowyer, Kurt Busch and DiBenedetto settled in the top 10. By then, Johnson was in 11th and Kenseth was in 24th.
Under the stage break, the leaders pitted and Logano retained the lead over Hamlin following the pit service. Elliott and Keselowski followed behind along with Bowyer, who received a stellar stop from his No. 14 crew to move into the top five.
The second stage started on Lap 83 with Logano and Hamlin on the front row followed by Elliott, Keselowski, Bowyer and Blaney. At the start, Logano retained the lead while Kyle Busch made a low dive through the dogleg turn in an effort to move into the top five.
Entering Turns 1 and 2 and the backstretch, Hamlin and Elliott battled for second behind Logano while Keselowski was shuffled back to sixth behind Kyle Busch and Bowyer.
Shortly after, Elliott battled Hamlin for second, but the latter persevered as he went to work on challenging Logano for the lead. Elliott retained third place in front of Kyle Busch and Bowyer while Keselowski went to work on Bowyer for more. Keselowski would eventually take over fifth place and was followed by teammate Blaney, thus dropping Bowyer to seventh.
By Lap 90, Logano was leading by two-tenths of a second over Hamlin, who was closing in for the lead, while Elliott was trailing by approximately seven-tenths of a second. Though Logano caught a piece of debris on his front grille not long after, he continued to lead by nearly half a second over Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota with Elliott in third and Keselowski in fifth.
At the Lap 100 mark, Logano remained in the lead, but he had Hamlin closing in on him in another bid for the lead as the leaders started to catch lapped traffic. By then, Logano used the lapped car of Quin Houff to remove the debris off of his grille. Elliott was in third in front of Kyle Busch’s No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry while Keselowski was in fifth ahead of teammate Blaney. Bowyer and Johnson were in seventh and eighth while DiBenedetto and Kurt Busch settled in the top 10 ahead of Erik Jones, Truex, Byron, Bowman, Austin Dillon and Harvick.
Five laps later, the final four title contenders were running first through fourth on the track, with Logano leading by a narrow margin over Hamlin as Elliott continued to run in third ahead of Keselowski. Blaney overtook Kyle Busch for fifth place while Johnson overtook Bowyer for seventh place.
On Lap 110, Logano continued to lead by a narrow margin over Hamlin as he made another bid for the lead in the race and the championship battle while Logano radioed vibrating concerns on his car.
Shortly after, Elliott caught the top-two title contenders for the lead as he battled Hamlin for the runner-up spot. Eventually, Elliott prevailed for the runner-up spot, though he, Hamlin and Logano battled for the lead.
On Lap 115, Kyle Busch, who was running near the top five, made an unscheduled four-tire pit stop to address a vibrating concern on his No. 18 Toyota.
Five laps later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Chevrolet into the lead following a hard on-track battle with Logano as Hamlin continued to linger behind the two leaders. Eventually, Hamlin overtook Logano for the runner-up spot with the latter losing ground on the lead. Keselowski, meanwhile, was more than three seconds behind in fourth place. Behind, Blaney was in fifth while Johnson was in sixth.
On Lap 128, Keselowski surrendered fourth place on the track to pit under green following vibrating concerns.
Past the Lap 130 mark, Elliott was leading by nearly a second over Hamlin with Logano, teammate Blaney and Jimmie Johnson in the top five. Bowyer and DiBenedetto battled for sixth while Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and William Byron were in the top 10.
Nearing the Lap 140 mark, pit stops under green started to occur as Blaney and Bowman pitted. Logano also pitted along with Custer, Harvick, Hamlin and Elliott, the race/title leader.
Back on the track, Jimmie Johnson, who had yet to pit, assumed the lead followed by DiBenedetto, Bowyer, Kurt Busch and Christopher Bell. By then, Bowyer and Byron pitted.
Three laps later, Johnson surrendered the lead to pit. DiBenedetto, who briefly took the lead, also pitted along with Kurt Busch and Bell while Aric Almirola took the lead over Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell, Keselowski and Elliott.
By Lap 150 and with most of the leaders having completed a pit stop under green, Almirola was still at the front of the field and by four-tenths of a second over Elliott with Hamlin in third, Keselowski in fourth and Logano in sixth. A lap later, Elliott reassumed the top spot.
At the halfway mark on Lap 156, the final four title contenders were running first through fourth on the track, with Elliott leading by eight-tenths of a second over Hamlin with Keselowski in third and teammate Logano in fourth. Blaney was in fifth while Almirola, racing on old tires, was in sixth. Johnson was in seventh while Kenseth was mired outside the top 20.
Just past the Lap 160 mark, the caution flew when James Davison made contact with the outside wall in Turn 2. Under caution, the leaders pitted and Kurt Busch exited in first following a two-tire pit stop. Elliott, the first car on four fresh tires, exited in second place followed by Austin Dillon, who pitted for two fresh tires. Hamlin, Logano and Keselowski exited in fourth through sixth. Following the pit stops, Austin Dillon was assessed a pit road speeding penalty as he dropped to the rear of the field.
Under caution, Bowman received the free pass while Christopher Bell, Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, Nemechek and Stenhouse took the wave around to return to the lead lap.
With 23 laps remaining in the second stage, the race restarted under green. At the start, a majority of competitors racing on the inside lane made the low dive below the dogleg turn and entering Turns 1 and 2. At the front, Elliott reassumed the lead over Kurt Busch while Hamlin, who slipped entering Turns 1 and 2, fell back to fifth place as teammates Keselowski and Logano overtook him for position.
With 20 laps remaining in the second stage, Elliott was ahead by nearly four-tenths of a second over Keselowski while Logano was in third, though he had Kurt Busch, Hamlin, Johnson and Blaney pressuring him for more.
Three laps later, Keselowski assumed the lead, though he had Elliott pressuring him for the top spot. Though Elliott ran into the rear end of Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford entering Turns 1 and 2, Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet wiggled, which allowed Keselowski to retain the lead. By then, the final four title contenders were back running first through fourth on the track.
With 10 laps remaining in the second stage, Keselowski stretched his advantage to four-tenths of a second over Elliott with third-place Logano trailing by more than a second and fourth-place Hamlin trailing by more than two seconds. Blaney moved into fifth place followed by Johnson while Kurt Busch continued to hold strong on two fresh tires in seventh place. Kyle Busch rallied his way back into eighth place followed by William Byron, DiBenedetto, Harvick and Bowyer.
Two laps later, Elliott muscled his No. 9 Chevrolet into a heated battle for the lead against Keselowski’s No. 2 Ford Mustang. While Elliott led the following lap, Keselowski fought back, but the former prevailed by a narrow margin. By then, Logano was still behind by more than a second while Hamlin was behind by more than two seconds.
With three laps remaining in the second stage, the battle for the lead between Elliott and Keselowski continued to intensify as the latter made a charge on the former through the corners. Despite the challenge, Elliott continued to lead by a narrow margin as he also started the final lap of the stage.
On the final lap of the second stage, Keselowski gained a run on the backstretch to draw himself dead even beneath Elliott. In Turn 3, he emerged ahead and managed to move up and clear Elliott entering Turn 4 to win the second stage on Lap 190 and claim his eighth stage victory of the season. Logano settled in third followed by Hamlin, who emerged with the most stage victories of this season (11). Blaney was scored in fifth while Johnson, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, DiBenedetto and Byron settled in the top 10. Bowyer was in 11th behind teammate Kevin Harvick while Kenseth, meanwhile, was back in 27th behind Chris Buescher.
Under the stage break, Ryan Preece’s car, which stalled while trying to enter pit road, was pushed back to the garage. Not long after, the leaders pitted and Elliott reassumed the lead after beating Logano off of pit road in first place following a four-tire stop. Hamlin exited in third place followed by Blaney while Keselowski, who received a slow pit stop, lost four spots and fell back to fifth ahead of Harvick.
With 112 laps remaining, the final stage started with Elliott and Logano on the front row. At the start, Elliott and Logano battled dead even for the lead through the dogleg turn and through Turns 1 and 2 before Elliott prevailed on the backstretch. Logano retained second place over Hamlin while Keselowski moved up to fourth place.
Three laps later, Elliott was out in front by four-tenths of a second over Logano with Hamlin and Keselowski battling behind. Blaney settled behind in fifth while Byron moved up to sixth. Johnson and Harvick battled for seventh while the Busch brothers were scored in the top 10.
Down to the final 100 laps of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, the final four title contenders were running first through fourth on the track, with Elliott leading by nearly four-tenths of a second over Logano as Hamlin and Keselowski trailed behind. Blaney was in fifth followed by Byron, Johnson, Harvick and the Busch brothers. Bowyer was in 13th behind Truex while Kenseth was in 24th behind McDowell.
With less than 90 laps remaining, Elliott continued to lead by nearly eight-tenths of a second over Logano. Meanwhile, Keselowski overtook Hamlin for third place, with the latter struggling with loose conditions and keeping pace with his title contenders.
With 80 laps remaining, Elliott stabilized his advantage in the overall race and the championship battle by more than seven-tenths of a second over Logano while Keselowski and Hamlin continued to run in third and fourth. Blaney remained in fifth place while Jimmie Johnson overtook teammate Byron for sixth place. Harvick, DiBenedetto and the Busch brothers were scored in the top 10. Bowyer was in 12th while Kenseth was in 24th.
Ten laps later, with 70 laps remaining, Elliott extended his advantage to more than a second over Logano with Keselowski and Hamlin trailing behind, though final pit stops were expected for the lead lap competitors to complete the race to its scheduled distance.
Another 10 laps later, with 60 laps remaining, Elliott remained in the lead by more than six-tenths of a second over Logano with Keselowski trailing by less than a second and Hamlin trailing by more than three seconds. Blaney continued to run as the highest-running non-title contender in fifth followed by Johnson, Harvick, DiBenedetto, Byron and Kurt Busch.
Not long after, pit stops under green occurred as Blaney pitted. Kurt Busch also pitted along with Kyle Busch, Byron, Hamlin, Harvick, Almirola, Johnson, Logano, Keselowski and Elliott, the leader.
Back on the track, Stenhouse, who has yet to pit, was the leader followed by Logano, Elliott, Hamlin and Keselowski.
With 50 laps remaining, Logano emerged with the lead in the overall race and the championship battle after Stenhouse pitted. Elliott trailed by one and a half seconds while Hamlin and Keselowski were in fourth and fifth, trailing by more than four seconds. Shortly after, Hamlin moved into third place over Keselowski, who suffered another slow pit stop.
Seven laps later, Elliott cut the deficit down to a tenth of a second behind Logano. In Turns 1 and 2, Elliott gained a run on Logano as they battled through the backstretch. Riding behind Logano’s rear bumper, Elliott made a move to the inside of Logano in Turn 3 and cleared him to reassume the lead in Turn 4 with 42 laps remaining.
With 40 laps remaining, Elliott was leading the overall race and the championship battle by nearly half a second over Logano. Hamlin was in third, trailing by nearly four seconds, while Keselowski was in fourth, trailing by more than four seconds. Blaney continued to run in fifth place followed by Jimmie Johnson, Harvick, DiBenedetto, Byron and Kyle Busch. By then, Bowyer was in 15th while Kenseth was in 23rd.
Ten laps later, with 30 laps remaining, Elliott stretched his lead in his No. 9 Chevrolet to more than a second over Logano’s No. 22 Ford. Keselowski muscled his No. 2 Ford into third place, trailing by less than four seconds, while Hamlin faded back to fourth place, trailing by nearly five seconds, in his No. 11 Toyota.
Another five laps later, with 25 laps remaining, Elliott continued to stretch his advantage to two and a half seconds over Logano. Keselowski and Hamlin remained in third and fourth, though both were slowly seeing their title hopes vanquish.
With 20 laps remaining, Elliott remained as the leader in the overall race and the championship battle by nearly three seconds over Logano with Keselowski and Hamlin running third and fourth. Behind the final four title contenders, Jimmie Johnson overtook Blaney to move into fifth place. Harvick was in seventh behind Blaney while DiBenedetto, Byron and Kyle Busch were in the top 10. Bowyer was in 14th while Kenseth was in 23rd behind Erik Jones and Ryan Newman.
Five laps later, with 15 laps remaining, Keselowski started to close in on teammate Logano for the runner-up spot. By then, Elliott was still leading by less than three seconds while Hamlin was behind by nearly eight seconds. Jimmie Johnson continued to run in fifth place in front of Blaney.
With 10 laps remaining and a championship within sight, Elliott was still leading by more than three seconds over Logano, who had teammate Keselowski challenging him for second place. Hamlin was in fourth while Johnson was in fifth. By then, 12 of the 39 competitors on the track were scored on the lead lap, with Harvick, DiBenedetto, Byron, the Busch brothers, and Truex running on the lead lap.
Shortly after, Keselowski overtook teammate Logano for second place. By then, Elliott was still leading the race and the title battle by more than three seconds. Hamlin was behind by more than eight seconds while Johnson remained in fifth, nearly 11 seconds behind.
With five laps remaining, Elliott remained in the lead by less than four seconds with a championship grower closer and closer towards his grasp. Keselowski continued to run in second place followed by teammate Logano and Hamlin while Johnson continued to run in fifth place ahead of Blaney.
Despite closing in on lapped traffic, Elliott continued to methodically lead the race by a comfortable margin over his title rivals. When the white flag waved, he was ahead by more than three seconds over Keselowski.
For one final lap, Elliott was able to navigate the turns and the straightaways at his own cautious pace as he came back to the finish line and claimed the checkered flag to win both the season finale and his first Cup title.
With his accomplishment, Elliott became the third-youngest Cup champion at age 24 years, 11 months and 11 days. He also became the 34th different driver to win a NASCAR Cup Series title, fourth to do so while driving for Hendrick Motorsports and the eighth in the last 10 seasons. In addition, Elliott became the first Chevrolet competitor to win the Cup title since teammate Jimmie Johnson won his record-tying seventh title in 2016.
This marked the seventh consecutive year since the inception of the current Playoff-elimination format where the final Cup race of the season was won by the champion.
Elliott’s championship achievement was one that was well-received by the limited fans attending the race, his crew members, his family headlined by his father and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Bill Elliott, team owner Rick Hendrick, and his fellow competitors, many of whom drove alongside Elliott to congratulate him, including seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished fifth in his 686th and final race as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series competitor.
“I’m not sure that I still even know [what it means to win the championship],” Elliott said on the frontstretch while emotional. “I’m at a loss for words. This is unbelievable. Oh, my gosh. We did it. That’s all I’ve got to tell you. Unreal. Championship crew chief, Alan Gustafson, is now a NASCAR Cup Series champion, and very deserving. I just can’t say enough about our group. I felt like we took some really big strides this year, and last week [at Martinsville Speedway] was a huge one. To come out of that with a win and a shot to come here and have a chance to race is unbelievable.”
“All you can dream for is an opportunity, and I’ve been very fortunate to have that over the years,” Elliott added. “You know, and that’s all thanks to some great people. You know, my parents obviously have played a huge role. The past year has been tough. I lost my best friend about a year ago tonight. Lost my grandmother last year. And all those things bring families closer, so I really can’t thank them enough.”
During the final laps of the race, Elliott mentioned how he was anticipating a caution to fall and have his stable lead and road to the title nearly vanquished.
“Yeah, just waiting on the caution, as always,” Elliott said. “You know, I saw Joey was pretty loose there and felt like I needed to get to him while I could. I knew I’d been kind of tight on a longer run and he was probably going to get a little better. Just unbelievable. I mean, I just never would have though that this year would have gone like it has. I mean, NASCAR Cup Series champion. Are you kidding me? Unreal.”
Ironically, Elliott achieved his first NASCAR Cup championship the same season the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series and the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship, a feat both teams also made during the same year back in 1988 when Bill Elliott also won his first NASCAR Cup title.
Following the 2020 finale, Chase and Bill Elliott joined the Pettys (Lee and Richard) and the Jarretts (Ned and Dale) as the only father-son combo to win a Cup title.
“I couldn’t breathe during Martinsville [last weekend],” Bill Elliott, along with wife, Cindy, said. “Today was, I just said we’ve had a heck of a year and whatever Chase does today, we’re so proud of him. We’re gonna make the best of it. When [Logano] got ahead of us during that last stop, I didn’t think we’d ever do it…Chase dug it in and came by and was able to pull it off. Unbelievable. If it wasn’t for Rick Hendrick, we would not be here today.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
The 2020 Cup championship was the 13th for Hendrick Motorsports led by team owner Rick Hendrick and the first for veteran crew chief Alan Gustafson.
“It was a nail-biter,” Hendrick said. “You saw all the action when the race starts and you get swept up in a wreck. [Elliott] came through there like a champ…I’m excited about next year with our young guns. It’s just a roller coaster. You’re happy, sad, jubilant, teary. It’s all of that rolled up in one, but it couldn’t be any better other than Jimmie [Johnson] could’ve won the race and Chase won the championship. I’m so proud of Chase and I’m very thankful that Jimmie got to race with me his career and I look at all the championships and look at what a great guy he is off the track. That Chase is unbelievable. I don’t know how many he’s gonna win, but it’s gonna be a bunch…To finish [this season] with a championship, it’s just unbelievable. I don’t think it’s gonna sink in.”
“We’ve been close,” Gustafson added. “Man, a lot of good people have done a lot of good things for me. Got to thank all of them. Certainly, a great day. Sweet win here at Phoenix, which is a track I’ve won with three other guys with, so that’s cool, too. In the Playoffs, you’ve got to win. I think that’s the key. You got to win races. It’s different than the regular season. Everybody brings their best stuff and everybody’s on their A game. We knew we had to win. Last week was the big one. We knew we had to win to transfer. Winning when you have to like that when you’re back’s against the wall is a tough thing to do, but when you do it, it just brings a lot of momentum, a lot of confidence to the team. We knew coming here was a great track for us. We’re ready. We’ve been through a lot and we just knew it was our time.”
Behind Elliott, Keselowski finished in second place and emerged as the championship runner-up for his best points result since winning the 2012 Cup title. Teammate Logano finished in third place on the track and in the final standings despite leading 125 laps and displaying competitiveness on the track for his second Cup title.
“Man, just didn’t have the speed at the right time,” Logano said. “Early in the race, our Shell/Pennzoil Mustang was really fast and no one really did anything wrong. Our pit crew was on it. Our strategy got us out front there at the end. [Elliott] seemed like he really lit off pretty good there. That last run was able to go really fast. And got another vibration towards the end of the run and lost the turn. Still a little free. Yeah, we were close, and you know, everyone executed and did their job, and that’s what we should be most proud of. And also how far we’ve come from the beginning of the season until now as a team. A lot to be proud of. It stings not winning, I’m not going to lie, it hurts, but at the same time we’re stronger because we went through it…You either win or get stronger, and unfortunately we are the stronger ones today and we’ll get stronger, but we’ll be better for next year.”
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.
“I would have liked to have had one of those late race yellows like we saw in the Truck and Xfinity race,” Keselowski said. “I thought we were pretty good there, just didn’t have the track position to make it show. I thought we had a shot at the end of the second stage and just couldn’t keep it up in spot to keep it where we could have a lead. Really proud of the speed we had. Just a solid day and just wish we had one more spot.”
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.
Finally, Hamlin, who entered the finale while making his 15th attempt in winning his first Cup title, finished in fourth place on the track and in the final standings for the second year in a row after struggling with speed and keeping pace with his title rivals.
“We were a little off handling, but I think just overall car speed, just didn’t quite have enough,” Hamlin said. “We just, as an organization, got to get a little bit better, especially on the short tracks. It just seems like we were a little bit off all year and that was all I had, that’s for sure. I was pushing for everything I had. The FedEx Camry just didn’t quite have enough today. We ended up fourth…Pretty proud what this team’s doing and what we’re building forward. Proud of the effort. We’ll come back and do it again next year. Looking forward to it. We’ll win as many races as we possibly can to get ourselves back in Phoenix again with another shot. Proud of this whole Joe Gibbs FedEx team for giving me cars that are capable of winning every week.”
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images.
While Elliott celebrated a championship, Jimmie Johnson emerged with a smile upon exiting his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for the final time as he wrapped up his 19-year illustrious career in NASCAR with seven championships, 83 career wins, 36 poles, 232 top-five results, 374 top-10 results and over 18,000 laps led, all while driving the No. 48 car for Hendrick Motorsports.
“Man, my heart’s full,” Johnson said. “I’m just so happy to have this wonderful career and so many great people behind me. First and foremost, my wife, Chandra, [she’s] been with me every step of the way. My kids. This has just been quite a journey for all of us. I’m very thankful for today. [I] Had a great run on the track. I just can’t go without congratulating Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports on another championship. It’s been a great run. I’ve had 19 years in the Cup Series, two years in the Xfinity Series. I’ve met so many wonderful people, I’ve worked for great people, with great people. I learned so many lessons inside and out of the car. I’m full. This has been a great journey. I’m ready to spend my time a little bit differently instead of 38 weeks a year being on the road, racing in the Cup Series. Just ready for it and very full…I’ll be around.”
Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.
Along with Johnson, Clint Bowyer finished 14th in his 541st and final Cup career race while Matt Kenseth finished 25th in his 697th and final scheduled race of his illustrious career. Bowyer will be succeeded by Chase Briscoe while Kenseth will be succeeded by Ross Chastain.
Seven-time championship-winning crew chief Chad Knaus called his 708th and final NASCAR Cup Series race as he will step down from the No. 24 team driven by William Byron and serve as Vice President of Competition for Hendrick Motorsports, beginning next season. Veteran Ryan “Rudy” Fugle will take over as Byron’s crew chief next season.
Christopher Bell finished 17th in the final NASCAR race for Leavine Family Racing while Ty Dillon finished 21st in the final NASCAR race for Germain Racing.
Bubba Wallace finished 15th in his 112th and final Cup race in the Richard Petty Motorsports’ No. 43 Chevrolet, Alex Bowman finished 16th in his 118th and final race in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet before he takes over the No. 48 HMS Chevrolet, Erik Jones finished 22nd in his 110th and final race in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Daniel Suarez finished 31st in his 35th and final race in the No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota.
Cole Custer was officially named the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year in a year where he won his first Cup career race and made the Playoffs.
There were 19 lead changes for nine different leaders. The race featured four cautions for 27 laps.
Results.
1. Chase Elliott, 153 laps led
2. Brad Keselowski, Stage 2 winner, 16 laps led
3. Joey Logano, Stage 1 winner, 125 laps led
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Jimmie Johnson, four laps led
6. Ryan Blaney, one lap led
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Matt DiBenedetto, one lap led
9. William Byron
10. Martin Truex Jr.
11. Kyle Busch
12. Kurt Busch, four laps led
13. Aric Almirola, one lap down, seven laps led
14. Clint Bowyer, one lap down
15. Bubba Wallace, one lap down
16. Alex Bowman, one lap down
17. Christopher Bell, one lap down
18. Austin Dillon, one lap down
19. Tyler Reddick, one lap down
20. Chris Buescher, one lap down
21. Ty Dillon, one lap down
22. Erik Jones, one lap down
23. Michael McDowell, one lap down
24. Ryan Newman, one lap down
25. Matt Kenseth, one lap down
26. John Hunter Nemechek, one lap down
27. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., two laps down, one lap led
28. Cole Custer, two laps down
29. Brennan Poole, three laps down
30. J.J. Yeley, six laps down
31. Daniel Suarez, six laps down
32. Joey Gase, 10 laps down
33. James Davison, 10 laps down
34. Ryan Preece, 13 laps down
35. Josh Bilicki, 16 laps down
36. Timmy Hill, 24 laps down
37. Garrett Smithley – OUT, Rear end
38. Corey LaJoie – OUT, Suspension
39. Quin Houff – OUT, Handling
Final standings.
1. Chase Elliott
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Joey Logano
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Alex Bowman
7. Martin Truex Jr.
8. Kyle Busch
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Kurt Busch
11. Austin Dillon
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Matt DiBenedetto
14. William Byron
15. Aric Almirola
16. Cole Custer
Bold indicates Championship finale contenders.
The NASCAR Cup Series enters its off-season period before returning for the 2021 Daytona Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, beginning on Tuesday, February 9, for the Busch Clash on the Daytona Road Course and leading up to the 63rd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 14.
