The 2021 Goodyear 400[7] was a NASCAR Cup Series race was held on May 9, 2021, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 293 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped oval, it was the 12th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, and the 65th running of the race.
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 12 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
Date | May 9, 2021 | ||
Location | Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina | ||
Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km) | ||
Distance | 293 laps, 400.238 mi (644.121 km) | ||
Average speed | 123.562 miles per hour (198.854 km/h) | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Team Penske | ||
Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
Most laps led | |||
Driver | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
Laps | 248 | ||
Winner | |||
No. 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
Television in the United States | |||
Network | FS1 | ||
Announcers | Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer | ||
Radio in the United States | |||
Radio | MRN | ||
Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle | ||
Turn Announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Mike Bagley (3 & 4) |
Report
editBackground
editDarlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
Events leading up to the race
editWhen the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule was announced on September 30, 2020, a second race at Darlington was added for May 9, 2021, marking the first time since 2004 that the track had two races on the schedule (the 2020 season, changed by the pandemic, had three races).[8]
On December 11, 2020, Darlington Raceway announced its highly popular NASCAR Throwback weekend would move to the new May 7–9 weekend, effectively making a lineal swap of the two race meetings at the track.[9] On April 14, 2021, longtime NASCAR tire provider Goodyear announced a race sponsorship deal to call the race the Goodyear 400.[10]
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
editBrad Keselowski was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.[4]
Starting Lineup
editRace
editBrad Keselowski was awarded the pole for the second straight race. Aric Almirola slammed the wall after a flat tire while Kyle Busch spun while leading with a flat tire. Martin Truex Jr. dominated by leading the most laps and winning both stages. Cole Custer slammed the wall after contact with Anthony Alfredo while Kurt Busch got into the wall and caught fire after making contact with Bubba Wallace. Drivers split the final stage by pitting for green flag pit stops three different times. Kyle Larson was the only driver to challenge Truex for the lead as lapped traffic caused issues. Truex was able to pull away from Larson and win for his third win of the season.
Stage Results
editStage One Laps: 90
Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
3 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
4 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
8 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
9 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
10 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Official stage one results |
Stage Two Laps: 95
Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
2 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
8 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
10 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 1 |
Official stage two results |
Final Stage Results
editStage Three Laps: 108
Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 293 | 60 |
2 | 14 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 293 | 48 |
3 | 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 293 | 43 |
4 | 5 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 293 | 43 |
5 | 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 293 | 48 |
6 | 2 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 293 | 37 |
7 | 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 293 | 33 |
8 | 16 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 293 | 35 |
9 | 11 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 293 | 29 |
10 | 20 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 292 | 27 |
11 | 22 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 292 | 26 |
12 | 10 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 292 | 36 |
13 | 12 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 292 | 33 |
14 | 21 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 292 | 28 |
15 | 18 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 291 | 22 |
16 | 9 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 291 | 21 |
17 | 19 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 291 | 21 |
18 | 26 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 291 | 19 |
19 | 8 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 290 | 18 |
20 | 28 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 290 | 17 |
21 | 23 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 290 | 16 |
22 | 30 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 290 | 15 |
23 | 15 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 290 | 14 |
24 | 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 290 | 13 |
25 | 29 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 290 | 12 |
26 | 25 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 289 | 11 |
27 | 13 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 288 | 10 |
28 | 31 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 288 | 0 |
29 | 34 | 53 | J. J. Yeley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 286 | 0 |
30 | 35 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 286 | 7 |
31 | 36 | 15 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 286 | 6 |
32 | 32 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 285 | 0 |
33 | 37 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 245 | 4 |
34 | 33 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 188 | 0 |
35 | 17 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 106 | 2 |
36 | 24 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 97 | 1 |
37 | 27 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 | 1 |
Official race results |
Race statistics
edit- Lead changes: 19 among 10 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 6 for 36
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 14 minutes and 21 seconds
- Average speed: 123.562 miles per hour (198.854 km/h)
Media
editTelevision
editThe race was carried by FS1 in the United States. Mike Joy, five-time Darlington winner Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
FS1 | ||
---|---|---|
Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer |
Jamie Little Regan Smith |
Larry McReynolds |
Radio
editMRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
MRN Radio | ||
---|---|---|
Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle |
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody Turns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley |
Steve Post Kim Coon |
Standings after the race
edit
|
|
References
edit- ^ "2021 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
- ^ "Darlington Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
- ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
- ^ a b "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ "Darlington 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ "Darlington Raceway Rolls with Goodyear for the Goodyear 400 on May 9". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 14, 2021.
- ^ "NASCAR's 2021 Cup Series schedule revealed". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 30, 2020.
- ^ "NASCAR Throwback Weekend at Darlington shifts to May". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. December 11, 2020.
- ^ "Darlington Raceway rolls with Goodyear for Goodyear 400". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 14, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad "2021 Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway Paint Schemes". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 30, 2021.