2021 NASCAR Cup Series
The season started at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, where it was the first year that the non-points event was run on the track's road course layout instead of the oval.In addition, this was the final season to have races covered by NBCSN, which shut down at the end of the year and had its coverage of NASCAR and all other sporting events taken over by USA Network.On lap 14, "The Big One" would strike in turn 3 as Bowman and Aric Almirola would both spin into the outside wall and into the path of traffic, collecting 16 cars.Michael McDowell, who started second, got a flat tire before entering the first turn as Kyle Busch got damage by running into the grass.Byron was able to get back to the lead and pulled away to hold off a charging Tyler Reddick for his second career Cup Series win.Lapped traffic came in play at the end as Ryan Blaney was able to run down Larson and pass him for the lead and pull away to his fifth career win.Kyle Larson was awarded the pole after the scheduled heat races were canceled due to rain, but had to start at the rear after changing engines in practice.Aric Almirola got turned after contact with Stewart Friesen (who was making his first Cup Series start), involving multiple other drivers.After this crash, NASCAR elected to conduct all restarts going forward single-file to help with visibility, as the flying dust made it hard for drivers to see.Chris Buescher got turned and caused a huge stack up that collected Keselowski, DiBenedetto, Ryan Preece, Anthony Alfredo, Alex Bowman, and others.Brad Keselowski would drive past DiBenedetto and hold off William Byron as several drivers crashed on the final lap to score his sixth career win at Talladega, tying Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon for second on the all-time Talladega win list behind Dale Earnhardt.In a two lap shootout, Larson got into Ryan Blaney and both fell back as Kyle Busch held off Kevin Harvick to win on his 36th birthday.Anthony Alfredo spun after contact with Brad Keselowski and collected Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Alex Bowman took the lead from the dominant Larson and pulled away for his second win of the season followed by teammates Larson, Chase Elliott and William Byron, making Hendrick the first team since Roush-Fenway Racing to have all four cars finish 1, 2, 3, 4.Kevin Harvick got heavy damage after making contact with Ryan Blaney, which also collected Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace.Several drivers had tire problems including Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr. Larson won the third stage and pulled away from teammate Chase Elliott to over a ten-second lead to win his second race of the season, earning the 269th win for Hendrick Motorsports, making them the winningest team in NASCAR history.Larson passed Alex Bowman for the lead with four laps to go, and looked to have the win secured until his left front tire blew out entering the final corner.[209] Round 19: Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 Owing to the top 20 finishers being inverted from the previous race to set the field, Chris Buescher started on the pole.Early, Ryan Preece suffered a blown engine and Daniel Suárez came to a stop on the track due to a broken transmission.During the first few laps it began to rain and caused Busch to slam into the wall and others spun including Martin Truex Jr., and Alex Bowman.When the race resumed, Joey Logano was penalized two laps for a crew member working on the car under the red flag.[214] Round 24: Verizon 200 at the Brickyard William Byron won the pole in qualifying for the first Cup race on the Indianapolis Road Course.Pit strategy came into play for the start of the race, allowing Tyler Reddick to win both stages while Martin Truex Jr. suffered tire issues and Brad Keselowski spun into the wall.Late in the race, Byron spun with Kyle Busch while Joey Logano and Daniel Suárez both got into the tire barrier.On the restart, Reddick made contact with teammate Austin Dillon and collected Cole Custer and Alex Bowman.In overtime, Ryan Blaney took the lead and won the race as a nine-car wreck occurred in turn 3 on the final lap.On lap 464, Chase Elliott was forced to pit from the lead when he had a flat tire from damage he received when Kevin Harvick got into his rear quarter panel.The victory made Larson the first Cup driver in NASCAR history to win three different road courses in a single season (Sonoma, Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval).Multiple playoff drivers suffered issues late in the race, with Joey Logano blowing an engine and Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. involved in wrecks.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.
NASCAR Cup SeriesChampionsSeasonsKyle LarsonMartin Truex Jr.Denny HamlinChase ElliottChase BriscoeNASCAR Rookie of the YearChevroletNASCARstock car racingDaytona International SpeedwayBusch ClashBluegreen Vacations DuelDaytona 5002021 Coke Zero Sugar 4002021 Xfinity 500Martinsville SpeedwayNASCAR playoffsNASCAR Cup Series Championship RacePhoenix RacewayJimmie JohnsonClint BowyerReed SorensonNASCAR on Fox23XI RacingMichael JordanTrackhouse Racingsports car racingJustin MarksPitbullChip Ganassi RacingStarCom RacingTeam PenskeTodd GordonGeneration 6 carNext Gen carCar of TomorrowUSA NetworkKurt BuschMatt McCallRoss ChastainHendrick MotorsportsCliff DanielsAlan GustafsonWilliam ByronRudy FugleAlex BowmanGreg IvesJTG Daugherty RacingRicky Stenhouse Jr.Brian PattieRichard Childress RacingAustin DillonTyler ReddickRichard Petty MotorsportsErik JonesSpire MotorsportsCorey LaJoieSteve LetarteJosh BerryJamie McMurrayPeter SospenzoJustin HaleyStewart FriesenBen RhodesJustin AllgaierQuin HouffDaniel SuárezFront Row MotorsportsMichael McDowellDrew BlickensderferAnthony AlfredoLive Fast MotorsportsB. J. McLeodScott HeckertShane GolobicKyle TilleyAndy LallyRick Ware RacingJosh BilickiJoey HandRoush Fenway RacingRyan NewmanLuke LambertChris BuescherStewart-Haas RacingKevin HarvickRodney ChildersGreg ZipadelliAric AlmirolaMike BugarewiczJohnny KlausmeierCole CusterMike ShiplettBrad KeselowskiJeremy BullinsRyan BlaneyJoey LoganoPaul WolfeWood Brothers RacingMatt DiBenedettoGreg ErwinToyotaBubba WallaceMike WheelerBootie BarkerJoe Gibbs RacingChris GabehartKyle BuschBen BeshoreChristopher BellAdam StevensPetty Ware RacingCody WareGarrett SmithleyJ. J. YeleyJames DavisonDerrike CopePat TrysonJoey GaseChris WindomBayley CurreyR. C. EnersonRyan Ellis