During the 2011 season, NASCAR announced the Sprint Cup Series would be changing to fuel injection from carburetors, which had been used since NASCAR's founding in 1949. Sprint Nextel announced at the 2011 Awards Ceremony that they had extended their sponsorship of the series until 2016. Roger Penske won the Owners' Championship, while Brad Keselowski won the Drivers' Championship at the final race of the season. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship with 249 points. Keselowski became the first Dodge driver to win the championship since Richard Petty in 1975; he was also the last Dodge driver to do so, as 2012 was the manufacturer's final year in the Cup series. It was the first time since 2004 that the championship was won by someone other than Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson. Despite starting his season late, Stephen Leicht was the 2012 NASCAR Rookie of the Year after beating Josh Wise.[1]
2012 was the final season that the fifth-generation cars (also known as the Car of Tomorrow)–which debuted in the 2007 season–were used in competition; as the new Generation 6 cars were introduced for the 2013 season.
^ The No. 33 changed owners in April. Joe Falk acquired the assets and ownership and was listed as owner after Martinsville; however Childress still fielded the car in races which Austin Dillon competed in.[3]
Roush Fenway Racing supported only three Sprint Cup Series teams after sponsorship troubles led to the closure of the No. 6 team, then driven by David Ragan.[4] The team ran the Daytona 500 with 2011 Nationwide Series champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and ran other races that depended on sponsorship.[5]
Richard Childress Racing also downsized to three teams. Their No. 33 entry ran the first six races, with Elliott Sadler running the Daytona 500, Brendan Gaughan running the next four, and Hermie Sadler running at Martinsville. After Martinsville, Virginia car dealer and LJ Racing owner Joe Falk acquired ownership of the #33.
Turn One Racing and Go Green Racing announced plans to enter the Cup Series in 2012. Turn One had scheduled 8 to 10 races after the Daytona 500, while Go Green Racing fielded the No. 19 Ford for Tim Andrews with his father Paul as the crew chief for 10 races.
Turner Motorsports attempted to make its Cup Series debut at Daytona in July. The team fielded a No. 50 Chevrolet for veteran Bill Elliott sponsored by retail chain Walmart in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the chain's founding.
Stewart-Haas Racing and Tommy Baldwin Racing announced on January 31 that they had formed an alliance for the 2012 season. TBR transferred the owners points of its No. 36 car over to SHR's No. 10 team, ensuring Danica Patrick a spot in the Daytona 500. Furthermore, David Reutimann drove the No. 10 in the 26 races that Patrick does not drive in.
In February 2012, former Red Bull Racing Team director Thomas Ueberall purchased the owner's points of the No. 83 and No. 4 (later changed to 93). The team is known as BK Racing. Landon Cassill drove the No. 83 and Travis Kvapil drove the No. 93 at most of the races with David Reutimann piloting the car for the Daytona 500.
On February 13, 2012, Michael Waltrip Racing purchased the owner's points from FAS Lane Racing and transferred them to the No. 55 ride, which guaranteed Mark Martin a spot in the Daytona 500.[8] FAS Lane later acquired the 2011 owner's points from the Roush Fenway Racing team's No. 6 ride.
Inception Motorsports acquired the owner's points of the dormant TRG Motorsports team, which finished 36th in 2011 Owners Championship.[9]
Mike Ford, the crew chief for Denny Hamlin in 2011, was fired by Joe Gibbs Racing. He eventually took over Crew Chief Duties for Aric Almirola midway through the 2012 season
After being released by Red Bull Racing Team after the 2011 season, Ryan Pemberton was the crew chief for Dave Blaney at Tommy Baldwin Racing after Philippe Lopez left the team for Richard Petty Motorsports' Nationwide Series team.
Expressing the desire to run a limited schedule, Mark Martin joined MWR for 2012 for 25 races, driving the No. 55[15] Aaron's Toyota vacated by David Reutimann.[16]
On January 4, 2012, Richard Petty Motorsports announced that Aric Almirola would drive the team's 'iconic'[20] No. 43 Ford after driving in the Nationwide Series in 2011.
On February 15, Rick Ware Racing announced its partnership with Larry Gunselman's Max Q Motorsports to run 2011 Nationwide Series ROTY Timmy Hill in the No. 37 Ford. Mike Wallace attempted Daytona. Ware dissolved the partnership after Hill decided to return to the Nationwide Series. Max Q reformed in July 2012 with a technical agreement from Tommy Baldwin Racing.
On January 20, 2012, Go Green Racing announced they would attempt at least 10 Sprint Cup Series races with Tim Andrews in the No. 19 Ford, with his father Paul Andrews, a longtime crew chief, leading the effort.
Exited the series
After being released by TRG Motorsports following the 2011 season, 2011 Rookie of the Year winner Andy Lally returned to the Rolex Sports Car Series to drive for Magnus Racing in the GT category.[21] TRG later suspended its Cup team.[7]
Changes
Technology
On January 21, 2011, NASCAR announced that the Sprint Cup Series would change to electronic fuel injection from carburetors, which had been used since 1949, for the 2012 season. During the 2010 off-season, NASCAR had discussed doing the change during the 2011 season; however, in the January 21 announcements, Robin Pemberton stated, "We don't anticipate any points races this year, or races with fuel injection. It'll be a year dedicated to finetuning and getting the process down, whether it be inspection or the team side of it, with building engines. That's going along quite well." Afterward, John Darby, NASCAR's managing director of competition, said he hoped to debut the electronic fuel injection engine at least in the second race of the 2012 season.[22]
Communication
After the 2011 season ended, NASCAR decided to ban communication between the driver and spotter to other drivers. The change was initially made to break up two-car racing at restrictor plate tracks, which had received criticism from spectators, but was later announced that it would be banned at all the races.[23][24]
Schedule
On September 28, 2011, the final calendar was released containing 36 races, with the addition of two exhibition races. The schedule also includes two Gatorade Duels, which are the qualifying races for the Daytona 500.[25]
Pre-season testing began on January 12, 2012, with NASCAR Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The tests lasted three days, with each having a morning and afternoon session. In the morning session on the first day, Jeff Gordon was quickest ahead of Paul Menard and Kurt Busch with a time of 46.687 seconds.[30] The afternoon test session featured limited tandem drafting, and Kyle Busch and six other cars broke the 200 MPH mark. Defending champion Tony Stewart stated his excitement for returning to Daytona, "Our sport is unique obviously having our biggest race the first race of the year, but it's very fitting at the same time because this race, we have more time during the offseason to prepare for this race than we do the others. You bring cars here that you have the extra time to just make them that little bit nicer than you normally have time to do."[31]
On the second day, Martin Truex Jr. was quickest in the morning session after posting a time of 43.962 seconds, while Kurt Busch was quickest in the afternoon with a time of 43.677.[32] The final day of testing was led by Jeff Gordon who topped the charts. The final day focused on neutralizing the controversial two-car draft. The third day of testing focused on drafting, and Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton was pleased with the progress drivers and teams had made. "The way the cars run in the draft, the way they can draft and do draft and what they do to get their cars running to their maximum potential. So far, we like what we've seen. It's been a good mix of what they can do in a larger pack and how close they can get for a limited time to push."[33]
The season began with the annual Budweiser Shootout. Multiple cautions stemming from tight pack racing whittled down the field to only a few cars. On the last lap, Kyle Busch used a slingshot move to pass defending champion Tony Stewart to win his first Shootout. In the Duels, defending champion Tony Stewart held off the field for his third Duel victory, while Roush Fenway Racing teammates Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle dominated the second duel, with Kenseth prevailing. In the season opening Daytona 500, persistent showers on February 26 forced the race to be postponed to Monday for the first time in its 53-year history. Starting at night, the race would take its most dramatic turn when Juan Pablo Montoya, attempting to catch up with the field under caution, had a part failure on his car, which veered up the racetrack into a jet dryer, sparking a brief fire that forced a 2-hour red flag, causing the race to run into Tuesday (another first). After the flag was lifted, Kenseth held off teammate Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on a green-white-checkered finish to win his second Daytona 500 and capture Jack Roush's 300th victory in NASCAR.
The next week in Phoenix, Kevin Harvick dominated the race, but Denny Hamlin grabbed the lead late, and held off Harvick for his first win of 2012. The next week in Las Vegas, Tony Stewart dominated the race once again and held off Jimmie Johnson on a late restart to grab his first win of 2012 and his first at Las Vegas. The first short track race was at Bristol, and Brad Keselowski dominated the race, leading 232 laps and rolling to his first win of the season. The following weekend in California, Kyle Busch led for 80 laps, but Tony Stewart stayed on track when the rain came on lap 124, and was declared the winner when the race was called on lap 129. The next race at Martinsville, Jeff Gordon dominated the race, leading 329 laps. However, a late crash caused by Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson set up a green-white-checkered finish, enabling Ryan Newman to take the lead and hold of A. J. Allmendinger for the win.
After an off-week, the teams returned to action at Texas. There, Greg Biffle held off Jimmie Johnson and grabbed his first win in 49 races. The next week at Kansas, Denny Hamlin held off a dominant Martin Truex Jr. to take his second win of 2012 under Darian Grubb. At Richmond, Carl Edwards dominated the race before a black flag on the restart knocked him out of contention. Tony Stewart held the point, but got caught up by a faulty final stop. Kyle Busch then inherited the lead to take his first win of 2012 and his fourth consecutive spring Richmond win. The series traveled to Talladega for its second superspeedway race of the year. After a flurry of late race cautions took out a number of contenders, Brad Keselowski, with help from Kyle Busch, drove past Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle to take his second win of 2012. At the Southern 500, Jimmie Johnson dominated the field, but stayed on track during the final round of pit stops on the advice of Chad Knaus and held off Denny Hamlin for his first win of 2012 and Rick Hendrick's 200th victory. At the Sprint All-Star Race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and A. J. Allmendinger raced into the main event via finishing 1–2 in the Sprint Showdown, while veteran Bobby Labonte won the fan vote to transfer in. A slow restart after the fourth segment by Matt Kenseth allowed Jimmie Johnson to cruise to his third All-Star win. The following was NASCAR's longest race, the Coke 600. Greg Biffle once again had the dominant intermediate car, but Kasey Kahne drove past Denny Hamlin and teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the final restart to take his first win of 2012 with Hendrick Motorsports.
The series moved to Dover, where Jimmie Johnson dominated the field and cruised to his second win of the year. At the repaved Pocono, polesitter Joey Logano pulled a bump and run on former mentor Mark Martin to score his first win since 2009. At a repaved Michigan, drivers had to contend with a new tire as well as a pre-race shower. Once the race got underway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominated the race, leading 95 laps en route to his first victory in 143 races. At Sonoma, Clint Bowyer dominated the race, leading 71 laps and holding off Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch on a green-white-checkered finish to win his first race with Michael Waltrip Racing. In the series return to Kentucky, Kyle Busch dominated the early stages of the race until a broken shock took him out of contention. A late crash by Ryan Newman set up a fuel mileage race, and Brad Keselowski took the lead and preserved enough fuel for his third win of the year. On the return trip to Daytona, the Roush duo of Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle dominated the race. A late push from Kasey Kahne handed Tony Stewart the lead as well as his fourth Daytona victory. The next stop was Loudon, where Denny Hamlin dominated the race, leading 150 laps. However, a decision to take four tires on a final stop dropped him to 13th. Kasey Kahne held the lead on the final restart and held off a surging Hamlin for his second win of 2012.
After a week off, the Cup Series returned to action at the famed Brickyard. Denny Hamlin dominated the initial stages of the race, but lost the lead to Jimmie Johnson after a cycle of green flag pit stops on lap 30. From there, Johnson took over the lead and easily held off Kyle Busch for his 4th Brickyard victory. Moving for its return trip to Pocono, rain plagued the race all day, wreaking havoc on championship contenders. However, Jeff Gordon moved through a late wreck to shake off the bad luck and take his first win of the year; the race was called after 98 laps due to a second rainstorm that hit the circuit after earlier rain had delayed the start. The Cup Series made its final road course stop of the season at Watkins Glen. In a repeat of last year's race, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose dominated the day, but Busch, appearing on his way to a second win, spun in the esses with 2 laps to go, while Ambrose pulled a bump and run on Keselowski in turn 9, holding him off for the win. The drivers returned to Michigan, where polesitter Mark Martin dominated the early stages of the race until he was involved in a wreck with Kasey Kahne. Jimmie Johnson took the lead in the late stages of the race until his engine blew on lap 195, setting up a green-white-checkered finish. Greg Biffle took the lead and held off Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne for his second win of 2012.
Heading to a newly configured Bristol, Joey Logano dominated the early stages of the race, leading 139 laps. The lead changed hands multiple times as pit strategy dictated the nature of the race. Carl Edwards in need of a victory, stayed out after a caution involving polesitter Casey Mears. However, he dropped through the pack, handing the lead over to Denny Hamlin, who held off Jimmie Johnson for his third win of the season. At Atlanta, the battle up front was contested between Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. However, Martin Truex Jr. got out front until a late crash by Jamie McMurray brought the field down pit road, and Hamlin exiting first. Hamlin then held off Jeff Gordon on a green-white-checkered for a series high 4th win of the season. At the final regular season race at Richmond, the wild card contenders attempted to get into victory lane to make the Chase field. Denny Hamlin dominated the first half of the race, leading 202 laps. However, a caution for rain on lap 276 shuffled the running order significantly. Clint Bowyer inherited the lead on lap 312, stretching his fuel mileage and holding off Jeff Gordon for his second win of the season. Gordon, despite falling a lap down early on, rallied to leapfrog Kyle Busch for the second wild card position in the Chase.
The Chase for the Sprint Cup kicked off at Chicagoland Speedway. Polesitter Jimmie Johnson dominated the race, leading 172 laps. However, Brad Keselowski got ahead of Johnson after the final round of pit stops, enabling Keselowski to pull away and score his fourth win of the season. At Loudon, Denny Hamlin backed up a promise he made on Twitter (later stating it was overblown) to win the race, and led 193 laps despite starting 32nd to take his fifth win of the season. The following week at Dover, the JGR duo of Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin dominated the race. However, a lack of cautions in the race set up a fuel mileage race, forcing the duo to pit. June winner Jimmie Johnson attempted to take advantage, only to be forced to conserve fuel. Brad Keselowski inherited the point and managed to stretch his fuel to take his 5th win of the year as well as the points lead. The teams returned to Talladega, where a lack of cautions produced differing pit strategies between the teams. At the end, the race was about to come down to fuel mileage when leader Jamie McMurray spun with 6 to go. Matt Kenseth stayed out on track and stayed in front of the field when "The Big One" erupted, handing him his second win of 2012.
The Chase reached the halfway mark at Charlotte. Points leader Brad Keselowski dominated the race, looking to pad his points lead. However, Keselowski pitted one lap too late on his final stop and ran out of fuel on pit road, dashing his hopes for a win. Clint Bowyer, who pitted on lap 278, stretched his fuel mileage and held off Denny Hamlin for his third win of the season to tighten the points race. The series returned to Kansas, where a recent repave turned the race into a war of attrition. Matt Kenseth stayed out during the final caution and ran away from the field to pick up his third win of the season. The series headed back to Martinsville, where polesitter Jimmie Johnson dominated the race, capturing his 4th win of the season. At Texas, Johnson once again dominated from pole and held off a late charge from championship contender Brad Keselowski to take his second win in a row. The penultimate race at Phoenix was dominated by Kyle Busch. However, the championship race took a significant turn when points leader Johnson crashed out of the race. Bowyer who was third in the point standings was also knocked out of the championship contention after being intentionally wrecked by Jeff Gordon on lap 311. At the end of the race, winless Kevin Harvick would take the lead and capture his first win in 44 races. At the season finale in Homestead, the race once again came down to fuel mileage. Jimmie Johnson attempted to make the race on one less stop than his competitors, but was knocked out of contention for the win and the Championship when the drive train failed. Teammate Jeff Gordon took the point on lap 254 and used Johnson's strategy to take his first win at Homestead, while points leader Brad Keselowski finished 15th to secure his and Roger Penske's first Sprint Cup Championship.
Matthew Roy Kenseth is an American former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the competition advisor for Legacy Motor Club in the NASCAR Cup Series. He last competed part-time in the Superstar Racing Experience (SRX), driving the No. 8 car. He also currently competes often in Slinger Speedway, where he holds the record for most Slinger Nationals wins.
The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium is an annual non-championship pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event held in February before the season-opening Daytona 500. The event was held each year at Daytona International Speedway from the race's inception in 1979 until 2021, after which it was moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 2022 until 2024, when it was announced the Clash would be moved to Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025. Previously at Daytona, the race, along with the ARCA Menards Series' season-opening BRANDT 200, served as the kickoff events for Daytona Speedweeks. The event is one of two non-points races on the Cup Series schedule, the other being the NASCAR All-Star Race.
James Dennis Alan Hamlin is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also co-owns and operates 23XI Racing with basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.
Bradley Aaron Keselowski is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RFK Racing, a team he also co-owns. He was the owner of Brad Keselowski Racing, which fielded two full-time trucks in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Cup Series has been held at the Homestead–Miami Speedway since 1999. The race is currently held as a 267 lap, 400.5 mile (644.542 km) race under the moniker Straight Talk Wireless 400.
The Pala Casino 400 was a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It was the second race of the Cup Series season during its final years as well as from 2005 to 2010.
Joseph Thomas Logano is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang for AM Racing. He previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, as well as what is now the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West.
The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 61st season of professional stock car racing in the United States, the 38th modern-era Cup series, and the last Cup season of the 21st century's first decade, the 2000s. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races with the regular season beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final ten races were known as 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup. Rick Hendrick won the Owners' Championship, while Jimmie Johnson won the Drivers' Championship with a fifth-place finish at the final race of the season. Chevrolet won the Manufacturers' Championship with 248 points.
The 2010 Coca-Cola 600, the 51st running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race held on May 30, 2010 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina as the 13th race of the 2010 Sprint Cup season It also was the longest race of the 2010 season, having consisted over 400 laps and 600 miles (970 km).
The 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 63rd season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 40th modern-era Cup series season. The season included 36 races and two exhibition races, beginning with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and ending with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The final ten races were known as 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup.
The 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 65th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 42nd modern-era Cup season. The season began on February 16, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway, with the Sprint Unlimited, followed by the Daytona 500 on February 24. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 17.
The 2012 Bank of America 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on October 13, 2012, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 334 laps on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) asphalt quad-oval, it was the thirty-first race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the fifth race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season.
The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 66th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 43rd modern-era Cup season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway, with the Sprint Unlimited, followed by the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The 2014 Sprint Unlimited at Daytona was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on February 15, 2014, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 75 laps, it was the first exhibition race of the 2014 Sprint Cup Series season. Denny Hamlin won the race, his second win in the Unlimited, while Brad Keselowski finished second and Kyle Busch finished third. Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the first five finishers.
The 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 67th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 44th modern-era Cup season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race, the Budweiser Duels, and the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kyle Busch won the championship, despite missing the first third of the season due to severe leg injuries suffered in an Xfinity Series race at Daytona. Busch also became the first Toyota driver to win a Cup championship. Despite not running the full season, Brett Moffitt was named Rookie of the Year.
The 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 68th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 45th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Sprint Unlimited, the Can-Am Duel and the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports won his seventh drivers' championship, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for most all-time. Toyota won the manufacturer's championship, becoming the first manufacturer to win the manufacturer's championship other than Chevrolet since 2002.
The 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was the 69th season of professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 46th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the Can-Am Duel qualifying races and the 59th running of the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Jimmie Johnson entered the season as the defending champion, having won his record-tying seventh Cup championship that he shares with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing won the championship, his first in the series. Toyota won the Manufacturers' Championship for the second year in a row.
The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series was the 70th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States, and the 47th modern-era Cup series season. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the Can-Am Duel qualifying races and the 60th running of the Daytona 500. The regular season ended with the Brickyard 400 on September 9, 2018. The playoffs ended with the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18, 2018. Martin Truex Jr. was the defending champion, having won his first in the series.
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series was the 72nd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 49th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season began at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races, and the 62nd running of the Daytona 500. The regular season ended with the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona on August 29. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the Season Finale 500, the first finale at Phoenix Raceway on November 8.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series was the 73rd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 50th season for the modern era 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. That race was followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races, and the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, the first points race of the season. The regular season also ended at Daytona with the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 28, where Kyle Larson won the Regular Season Championship. Following the 2021 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 31, Chevrolet claimed its 40th Manufacturer's Championship and its first since 2015. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 7 with Larson earning his first Cup Series championship after a 10-win season.
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