2021 Daytona 500 Last updated February 08, 2025 63rd Running of the event, held in Daytona Beach, Florida
The 2021 Daytona 500 , the 63rd running of the event , was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on February 14–15, 2021 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida . Contested over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. In one of the biggest surprise upsets in Daytona 500 history, Michael McDowell , driving for Front Row Motorsports , won after Team Penske teammates Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski wrecked battling for the lead on the final lap. [ 13] [ 14] McDowell was a 100–1 underdog, making his 358th Cup Series start and driving for a team with only two previous Cup Series victories.
Report Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida that is one of six superspeedways , the others being Auto Club Speedway , Pocono Raceway , Indianapolis Motor Speedway , Michigan International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway .
Background Daytona International Speedway , the circuit where the 63rd annual Daytona 500 took place The program cover for the 2021 Daytona 500. Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway . [ 15] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. [ 16] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees , while the front stretch , the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. [ 16] The race will be the return of multiple retired drivers, such as 2010 winner Jamie McMurray [ 17] and Derrike Cope , the 1990 winner. [ 18] The race will also be the debut of drivers Anthony Alfredo , Chase Briscoe , Austin Cindric [ 19] and Noah Gragson . [ 20] Although Gragson missed the race due to Crashing in duel 2. The race will also be the debut of many new teams, most notably 23XI Racing . [ 21]
This is the first Daytona 500 without two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson since 2001 .
Entry list Denny Hamlin , double defending race winner. Kurt Busch , the 2017 winner, had the most prior starts of the field at 20. (W) denotes past 500 winner.(R) denotes rookie driver.(i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points. Bubba Wallace was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 45.057 seconds and a speed of 199.747 mph (321.462 km/h) . [ 22] This was the first practice session for a NASCAR Cup Series race in almost a year, the last one being at the 2020 March Phoenix Race .
Qualifying Alex Bowman won the pole. Alex Bowman scored the pole for the race with a time of 47.056 and a speed of 191.261 mph (307.805 km/h) . [ 23] Electrical problems for Derrike Cope and multiple inspection failures for Noah Gragson kept them from taking a timed lap.
Bluegreen Vacations Duels Duel 1 Duel 1 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points 1 2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 60 10 2 4 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 9 3 12 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60 8 4 11 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 60 7 5 5 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 60 6 6 17 96 Ty Dillon (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 60 0 7 8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 4 8 6 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 60 3 9 14 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 2 10 18 77 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 60 1 11 3 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 60 0 12 9 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 60 0 13 7 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 0 14 13 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 60 0 15 16 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 60 0 16 10 33 Austin Cindric (i) Team Penske Ford 59 0 17 15 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 59 0 18 19 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 58 0 19 20 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 57 0 20 1 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 56 0 21 21 51 Cody Ware Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 56 0 22 22 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 14 0 Official race results
Duel 2 Duel 2 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points 1 4 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 63 10 2 2 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 63 9 3 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 63 8 4 8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 63 7 5 5 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 63 6 6 9 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 63 5 7 17 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 63 4 8 6 36 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 63 3 9 7 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 63 2 10 15 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 63 1 11 13 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 63 0 12 14 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 63 0 13 20 53 Joey Gase Rick Ware Racing Ford 63 0 14 10 16 Kaz Grala Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 63 0 15 11 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 61 0 16 18 13 Garrett Smithley (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 61 0 17 21 15 Derrike Cope Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 59 0 18 22 62 Noah Gragson (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 56 0 19 1 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 56 0 20 12 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 56 0 21 16 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 0 22 19 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 35 0 Official race results
Starting lineup Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Notes 1 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Fastest in pole qualifying 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Second in pole qualifying 3 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Duel 1 Winner 4 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Duel 2 Winner 5 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Second in Duel 1 6 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota Second in Duel 2 7 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford Third in Duel 1 8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Third in Duel 2 9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford Fourth in Duel 1 10 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Fourth in Duel 2 11 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Fifth in Duel 1 12 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Fifth in Duel 2 13 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Seventh in Duel 1 14 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford Sixth in Duel 2 15 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet Eighth in Duel 1 16 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Seventh in Duel 2 17 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford Ninth in Duel 1 18 36 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford Eighth in Duel 2 19 77 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet Tenth in Duel 1 20 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Ninth in Duel 2 21 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet Eleventh in Duel 1 22 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford Tenth in Duel 2 23 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford Twelfth in Duel 1 24 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford Eleventh in Duel 2 25 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Thirteenth in Duel 1 26 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Twelfth in Duel 2 27 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Fourteenth in Duel 1 28 53 Joey Gase Rick Ware Racing Ford Thirteenth in Duel 2 29 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet Fifteenth in Duel 1 30 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Fifteenth in Duel 2 31 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet Seventeenth in Duel 1 32 15 Derrike Cope Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet Seventeenth in Duel 2 33 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet Eighteenth in Duel 1 34 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Twentieth in Duel 2 35 51 Cody Ware Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 21st in Duel 1 36 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 21st in Duel 2 37 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 22nd in Duel 1 38 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 22nd in Duel 2 39 33 Austin Cindric (i) Team Penske Ford Qualifying speed 40 16 Kaz Grala Kaulig Racing Chevrolet Qualifying speed Did not qualify 41 96 Ty Dillon (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 42 13 Garrett Smithley (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 43 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 44 62 Noah Gragson (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet Official starting lineup
Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 45.826 seconds and a speed of 196.395 mph (316.067 km/h) . [ 24]
Final practice session scheduled for Saturday was cancelled due to rain.
Race Teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano wrecked on the final lap Stage Results Stage One Laps: 65
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 10 2 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 9 3 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 8 4 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 7 5 33 Austin Cindric (i) Team Penske Ford 0 6 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 5 7 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 4 8 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 3 9 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 10 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1 Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 65
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points 1 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 10 2 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 9 3 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 8 4 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 7 5 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 6 6 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 5 7 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 4 8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 3 9 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 2 10 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 1 Official stage two results
Final Stage Results Michael McDowell won his first Cup race in his 358th start Stage Three Laps: 70
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points 1 17 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 200 44 2 12 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 42 3 4 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 200 48 4 8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200 42 5 25 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 200 52 6 11 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 200 40 7 34 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 200 32 8 19 77 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 200 29 9 16 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 200 28 10 13 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 200 37 11 27 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 200 27 12 9 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 199 33 13 24 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 199 25 14 10 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 199 25 15 39 33 Austin Cindric (i) Team Penske Ford 199 0 16 5 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 199 26 17 6 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 198 32 18 21 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 198 19 19 30 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 197 18 20 28 53 Joey Gase Rick Ware Racing Ford 196 17 21 35 51 Cody Ware Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 196 16 22 20 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 195 15 23 38 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 195 0 24 37 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 194 13 25 26 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 193 12 26 2 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 191 11 27 29 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 188 10 28 40 16 Kaz Grala Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 114 9 29 33 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 37 8 30 14 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 7 31 22 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 14 6 32 36 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 14 5 33 23 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 14 4 34 3 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 13 3 35 1 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 13 2 36 15 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 13 1 37 18 36 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 13 1 38 7 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 13 1 39 31 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 13 1 40 32 15 Derrike Cope Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 3 1 Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 22 among 13 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 7 for 40 Red flags: 1 for 5 hours, 40 minutes and 29 seconds Time of race: 3 hours, 27 minutes and 44 seconds Average speed: 144.416 miles per hour (232.415 km/h) Radio The race was broadcast on radio by the Motor Racing Network —who has covered the Daytona 500 since 1970 —and was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio . The booth crew consisted of Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 1989 Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace . Longtime turn announcer Dave Moody was the lead turn announcer, calling the race from atop the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 2 when the field raced through turns 1 and 2. Mike Bagley worked the backstretch for the race from a spotter's stand on the inside of the track & Kyle Rickey called the race when the field raced through turns 3 and 4 from the Sunoco tower outside the exit of turn 4. On pit road, MRN was manned by Steve Post and Kim Coon.
MRN Radio Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Backstretch: Mike Bagley Turns 3 & 4: Kyle RickeySteve Post
Standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Austin Dillon left the 500 as the points leader 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 January 11, 2021 . ↑ "Daytona International Speedway" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2021 . ↑ "Entry List" (PDF) . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021 . ↑ "First Practice Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021 . ↑ "Qualifying Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021 . ↑ "Bluegreen Vacations Duel 1 Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021 . ↑ "Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021 . ↑ "Starting Lineup" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR Media Group, LLC. February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2021 . ↑ "Second Practice Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021 . ↑ "Daytona 500 Results" . NASCAR.com . NASCAR . February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021 . ↑ "Points standings" (PDF) . Jayski.com . Jayski's Silly Season Site . February 15, 2021. Retrieved February 15, 2021 . ↑ "Daytona 500 TV viewers in the U.S. 2021" . ↑ "Daytona 500 2021 Results: Michael McDowell Wins After Avoiding Final-Lap Crash" . BleacherReport.com . Retrieved February 15, 2021 . ↑ "Michael McDowell emerges with Daytona 500 victory after massive crash on final lap" . USAToday.com . Retrieved February 15, 2021 . ↑ "NASCAR Race Tracks" . NASCAR . NASCAR Media Group. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010 . 1 2 "NASCAR Tracks — The Daytona International Speedway" . Speedway Guide. Archived from the original on August 30, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010 . ↑ Fair, Asher (January 19, 2021). "NASCAR: Jamie McMurray lands 2021 Daytona 500 ride" . beyondtheflag.com . Beyond the Flag. Retrieved January 25, 2021 . ↑ McCarriston, Shanna. "Derrike Cope, 62, will race in the 2021 Daytona 500 -- 31 years after he last won the race" . CBS Sports . Retrieved January 25, 2021 . ↑ Fair, Asher (January 20, 2021). "NASCAR: Austin Cindric lands 2021 Daytona 500 ride" . Beyondtheflag.com . Beyond the Flag. Retrieved January 25, 2021 . ↑ Fair, Asher (January 14, 2021). "NASCAR: 2021 Daytona 500 entry list continues to grow" . Beyondtheflag.com . Beyond the Flag. Retrieved January 25, 2021 . ↑ Associated Press (December 14, 2020). "23XI Racing fully funded for debut season with Bubba Wallace" . espn.com . ESPN. Retrieved October 18, 2022 . ↑ Utter, Jim (February 9, 2021). "Bubba Wallace leads opening Daytona 500 practice" . Motorsport.com . Daytona Beach, Florida : Motorsport Network . Retrieved February 9, 2021 . ↑ Utter, Jim (February 10, 2021). "Alex Bowman wins Daytona 500 pole in all-Hendrick front row" . Motorsport.com . Daytona Beach, Florida : Motorsport Network . Retrieved February 10, 2021 . ↑ Utter, Jim (February 13, 2021). "Keselowski fastest in Saturday's abbreviated first Cup practice" . Motorsport.com . Daytona Beach, Florida : Motorsport Network . Retrieved February 13, 2021 .
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