2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race NASCAR Cup Series race
Motor car race
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on November 7, 2021 at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona . Contested over 312 laps on the one mile (1.6 km) oval, it was the 36th and final race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, and was also the last race for the Generation 6 car body , as it was replaced in 2022 by the Next Gen Car . Kyle Larson won the race and claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Report
Background
Phoenix Raceway , the track where the race was held.Phoenix Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona . It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix . The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series , CART , USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series . The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation .
The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51 mi (2.43 km) interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.
Phoenix Raceway is home to two annual NASCAR race weekends, one of 13 facilities on the NASCAR schedule to host more than one race weekend a year. The track is both the first and last stop in the western United States, as well as the fourth and the last track on the schedule.
Championship drivers
Kyle Larson was the first of the four drivers to clinch a spot in the Championship 4, winning the first race of the Round of 8 at Texas .[ 8] [ 9] Chase Elliott , Martin Truex Jr. , and Denny Hamlin clinched the remaining three spots based on points.[ 9]
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver.(i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.(CC) denotes championship contender.
Practice
Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 26.591 with an average speed of 135.384 mph (217.879 km/h).[ 10]
Practice results
Qualifying
Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.116 and a speed of 137.847 mph (221.843 km/h).[ 11]
Qualifying results
Race
Note: Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott were not eligible for stage points because of their participation in the Championship 4. Kyle Larson won the pole position for the race. The majority of the race saw the Championship 4 drivers in the front, with Martin Truex Jr. winning Stage 1 and Larson winning Stage 2. With 60 laps to go, Truex made a pit stop as rookie Anthony Alfredo wrecked, but Truex was able to exit pit road on the lead lap before the caution came out. Truex took the lead when the other Championship 4 drivers pitted during caution. Truex was leading the race with 30 laps to go when the caution came out for the wrecked David Starr. In the final pit stop of the season, Hamlin's pit crew conducted a 12.1 second pit stop that would have allowed Hamlin to exit pit road with the lead. But with Larson in the first pit stall and Larson's pit crew conducting an 11.8 second pit stop (the second fastest time for the crew in the season), Larson was able to exit pit road with the lead. When green flag racing resumed with 24 laps to go, Larson got a good jump to clear the other drivers, but Truex was able to follow close behind. Despite some close challenges from Truex in the final laps, Larson held on to win his tenth race of the season and his first career NASCAR Cup Championship. Truex Jr., Hamlin and Elliott would finish 2nd, 3rd and 5th respectively in the race to finish in the point standings 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively.
Stage Results
Stage One
Laps: 75
Pos
Driver
Team
Manufacturer
Points
1
19
Martin Truex Jr. (CC)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
0
2
4
Kevin Harvick
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
9
3
9
Chase Elliott (CC)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
0
4
11
Denny Hamlin (CC)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
0
5
5
Kyle Larson (CC)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
0
6
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
5
7
41
Cole Custer
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
4
8
12
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
Ford
3
9
1
Kurt Busch
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chevrolet
2
10
21
Matt DiBenedetto
Wood Brothers Racing
Ford
1
Official stage one results
Stage Two
Laps: 115
Pos
Driver
Team
Manufacturer
Points
1
5
Kyle Larson (CC)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
0
2
9
Chase Elliott (CC)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
0
3
11
Denny Hamlin (CC)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
0
4
19
Martin Truex Jr. (CC)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
0
5
12
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
Ford
6
6
4
Kevin Harvick
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
5
7
2
Brad Keselowski
Team Penske
Ford
4
8
18
Kyle Busch
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
3
9
22
Joey Logano
Team Penske
Ford
2
10
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
1
Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage Three
Laps: 122
Pos
Grid
Driver
Team
Manufacturer
Laps
Points
1
1
5
Kyle Larson (CC)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
312
40
2
12
19
Martin Truex Jr. (CC)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
312
35
3
6
11
Denny Hamlin (CC)
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
312
34
4
4
12
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
Ford
312
42
5
2
9
Chase Elliott (CC)
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
312
32
6
18
10
Aric Almirola
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
312
31
7
13
18
Kyle Busch
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
312
33
8
9
4
Kevin Harvick
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
312
43
9
8
20
Christopher Bell
Joe Gibbs Racing
Toyota
312
28
10
11
2
Brad Keselowski
Team Penske
Ford
312
31
11
10
22
Joey Logano
Team Penske
Ford
312
28
12
15
21
Matt DiBenedetto
Wood Brothers Racing
Ford
312
26
13
7
41
Cole Custer
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
312
28
14
16
42
Ross Chastain
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chevrolet
312
23
15
23
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
312
22
16
5
1
Kurt Busch
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chevrolet
312
23
17
3
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
312
26
18
14
48
Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
312
19
19
20
8
Tyler Reddick
Richard Childress Racing
Chevrolet
312
18
20
31
37
Ryan Preece
JTG Daugherty Racing
Chevrolet
312
17
21
17
99
Daniel Suárez
Trackhouse Racing Team
Chevrolet
312
16
22
27
43
Erik Jones
Richard Petty Motrsports
Chevrolet
312
15
23
19
6
Ryan Newman
Roush Fenway Racing
Ford
312
14
24
28
34
Michael McDowell
Front Row Motorsports
Ford
312
13
25
26
17
Chris Buescher
Roush Fenway Racing
Ford
311
12
26
29
77
Justin Haley (i)
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet
310
0
27
32
78
B. J. McLeod (i)
Live Fast Motorsports
Ford
309
0
28
33
51
Cody Ware (i)
Petty Ware Racing
Chevrolet
306
0
29
34
53
Joey Gase (i)
Rick Ware Racing
Chevrolet
303
0
30
37
52
Josh Bilicki (i)
Rick Ware Racing
Ford
303
0
31
38
15
Garrett Smithley (i)
Rick Ware Racing
Chevrolet
301
0
32
24
7
Corey LaJoie
Spire Motorsports
Chevrolet
281
5
33
36
13
David Starr (i)
MBM Motorsports
Toyota
273
0
34
30
38
Anthony Alfredo (R)
Front Row Motorsports
Ford
242
3
35
22
14
Chase Briscoe (R)
Stewart-Haas Racing
Ford
153
2
36
21
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
JTG Daugherty Racing
Chevrolet
140
1
37
35
00
Quin Houff
StarCom Racing
Chevrolet
122
1
38
39
66
Timmy Hill (i)
MBM Motorsports
Toyota
57
0
39
25
23
Bubba Wallace
23XI Racing
Toyota
5
1
Official race results
Race statistics
Lead changes: 18 among 7 different drivers
Cautions/Laps: 9 for 51
Red flags: 0
Time of race: 3 hours, 6 minutes and 33 seconds
Average speed: 100.348 miles per hour (161.494 km/h)
Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen , two–time Phoenix winner Jeff Burton , Steve Letarte and three-time Phoenix winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns , Parker Kligerman , Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast handled the pit road duties from pit lane. Rutledge Wood handled the features from the track.
Radio
MRN covered the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio . Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace called the action from the broadcast booth when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the action from turns 1 & 2 and Mike Bagley called the action from turns 3 & 4. Steve Post and Kim Coon covered the action for MRN from pit lane.
MRN
Booth announcers
Turn announcers
Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyTurns 3 & 4: Mike BagleySteve Post
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings
Pos
Driver
Points
1
Kyle Larson 5,040
2
Martin Truex Jr.
5,035 (–5)
3
Denny Hamlin
5,034 (–6)
4
Chase Elliott
5,032 (–8)
5
Kevin Harvick
2,361 (–2,679)
6
Brad Keselowski
2,354 (–2,686)
7
Ryan Blaney
2,350 (–2,690)
8
Joey Logano
2,336 (–2,704)
9
Kyle Busch
2,318 (–2,722)
10
William Byron
2,306 (–2,734)
11
Kurt Busch
2,297 (–2,743)
12
Christopher Bell
2,279 (–2,761)
13
Tyler Reddick
2,250 (–2,790)
14
Alex Bowman
2,240 (–2,800)
15
Aric Almirola
2,215 (–2,825)
16
Michael McDowell
2,152 (–2,888)
Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Note : Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References
^ "2021 schedule" . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . Retrieved October 6, 2021 .^ "Phoenix Raceway" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved October 6, 2021 .^ "Entry List" (PDF) . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . November 1, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021 .^ "Practice Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021 .^ "Qualifying Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . November 6, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021 .^ "Season Finale 500 Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021 .^ "Points standings" (PDF) . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021 .^ "Kyle Larson seals Championship 4 berth with dominant Texas victory" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021 .^ a b "NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 set after Martinsville" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . October 31, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2021 .^ Utter, Jim (November 5, 2021). "Keselowski tops Cup practice, Larson leads title contenders" . Motorsport.com Avondale, Arizona : Motorsport Network . Retrieved November 5, 2021 . ^ Utter, Jim (November 6, 2021). "Kyle Larson rockets to pole in Phoenix Cup Series title race" . Motorsport.com Avondale, Arizona : Motorsport Network . Retrieved November 6, 2021 .
