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 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. 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 is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway. The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is long. The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees. The race will be the return of multiple retired drivers, such as 2010 winner Jamie McMurray and Derrike Cope, the 1990 winner. The race will also be the debut of drivers Anthony Alfredo, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson. 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.
This is the first Daytona 500 without two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson since 2001.
Entry list
(W) denotes past 500 winner. (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch (W) Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon (W) Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick (W) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Ryan Newman (W) Roush Fenway Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin (W) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 Garrett Smithley (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Derrike Cope (W) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 16 Kaz Grala Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano (W) Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 33 Austin Cindric (i) Team Penske Ford 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 36 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 53 Joey Gase Rick Ware Racing Ford 62 Noah Gragson (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 77 Jamie McMurray (W) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 96 Ty Dillon (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team ChevroletOfficial entry list
First practice (February 9) Bubba Wallace was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 45.057 seconds and a speed of . 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.
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 45.057 199.747 2 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.069 199.694 3 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 45.070 199.689Official first practice results
Qualifying
Alex Bowman scored the pole for the race with a time of 47.056 and a speed of . Electrical problems for Derrike Cope and multiple inspection failures for Noah Gragson kept them from taking a timed lap.
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 148 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 47.056 224 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 47.314 310 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 47.324 423 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 47.474 547 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 47.477 64 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 47.489 720 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.573 837 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 47.585 93 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 47.631 1099 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 47.636 1111 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.695 129 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 47.695 1336 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 47.730 141 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 47.742 155 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 47.752 1618 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 47.780 1721 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 47.881 1812 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 47.895 1933 Austin Cindric (i) Team Penske Ford 47.900 2016 Kaz Grala Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 47.925 2122 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 47.943 2214 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 47.956 236 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 47.960 2442 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 47.972 2541 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 48.060 262 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48.072 2734 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 48.124 2819 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48.165 2943 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 48.189 3017 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 48.269 318 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 48.347 3238 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 48.422 3396 Ty Dillon (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 48.446 3477 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 48.746 357 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 48.767 3600 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 49.571 3713 Garrett Smithley (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 49.880 3878 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 49.985 3966 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 50.016 4051 Cody Ware Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 50.074 4153 Joey Gase Rick Ware Racing Ford 50.630 4252 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 50.926 4315 Derrike Cope Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 0.000 4462 Noah Gragson (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 0.000Official qualifying results
Bluegreen Vacations Duels
Duel 1
Duel 1 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 2 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 60 102 4 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 93 12 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 60 84 11 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 60 75 5 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 60 66 17 96 Ty Dillon (i) Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota 60 07 8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 60 48 6 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 60 39 14 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 60 210 18 77 Jamie McMurray Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 60 111 3 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 60 012 9 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 60 013 7 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 014 13 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 60 015 16 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 60 016 10 33 Austin Cindric (i) Team Penske Ford 59 017 15 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 59 018 19 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 58 019 20 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 57 020 1 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 56 021 21 51 Cody Ware Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 56 022 22 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 14 0Official race results
Duel 2
Duel 2 results Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 4 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 63 102 2 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 63 93 3 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 63 84 8 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 63 75 5 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 63 66 9 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 63 57 17 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 63 48 6 36 David Ragan Front Row Motorsports Ford 63 39 7 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 63 210 15 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 63 111 13 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 63 012 14 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 63 013 20 53 Joey Gase Rick Ware Racing Ford 63 014 10 16 Kaz Grala Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 63 015 11 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 61 016 18 13 Garrett Smithley (i) MBM Motorsports Ford 61 017 21 15 Derrike Cope Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 59 018 22 62 Noah Gragson (i) Beard Motorsports Chevrolet 56 019 1 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 56 020 12 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 56 021 16 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 022 19 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 35 0Official race results
Starting lineup