The 2021 Coca-Cola 600, the 62nd running of the event, was a NASCAR Cup Series race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 400 laps on the 1.5 mile (2.42 km) asphalt speedway, it was the 15th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, as well as the third of the four crown jewel races.
Report
Background
The race was held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, located in Concord, North Carolina. The speedway complex includes a quad-oval track that was utilized for the race, as well as a dragstrip and a dirt track. The speedway was built in 1959 by Bruton Smith and is considered the home track for NASCAR with many race teams based in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The track is owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) with Marcus G. Smith serving as track president.
Similar to the Daytona 500, which was a four-stage race (with the first stage being the qualifying heat race), the Coca-Cola 600 is a four-stage race, with this the only race where all four stages are in the main race itself. All four stages are scheduled to consist of 100 laps. The race is official after the second stage.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Ryan Newman 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 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 James Davison Rick Ware 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 Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell 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 Garrett Smithley (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 53 Cody Ware (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 66 David Starr (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice Austin Dillon was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.845 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.845 180.935 2 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.861 180.838 3 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.866 180.838Official practice results
Qualifying Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.953 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 15 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.953 247 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 29.960 39 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.969 424 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.970 54 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.993 63 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.029 748 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.045 819 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.064 999 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 30.069 1042 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 30.072 1112 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 30.090 121 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 30.090 132 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 30.111 1411 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.112 158 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.143 1622 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 30.146 1720 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.159 1823 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 30.207 1943 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 30.231 2018 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.241 2114 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 30.270 2221 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 30.274 2341 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 30.298 2434 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.323 256 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30.325 267 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 30.330 2717 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 30.336 2837 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 30.402 2938 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.415 3077 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 30.708 3110 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 30.834 3200 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 30.939 3378 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 30.952 3453 Cody Ware (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 30.971 3515 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 31.493 3651 Garrett Smithley (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 31.499 3752 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 31.569 3866 David Starr MBM Motorsports Toyota 33.071Official qualifying results
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 100
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 75 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 66 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 210 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 100
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 66 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 57 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 39 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Stage Three Laps: 100
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 102 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 93 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 84 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 57 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 48 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 39 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 210 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 1Official stage three results
Final Stage Results
Stage Four Laps: 100
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 702 3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 603 20 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 544 4 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 585 7 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 400 436 6 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 417 14 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 400 368 27 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 400 329 15 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 400 4210 5 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 400 4011 13 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 400 2612 2 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 400 2713 11 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 400 2414 18 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 400 2515 9 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 398 2216 19 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 398 2117 16 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 398 2018 22 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 398 1919 26 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 398 1820 24 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 398 1721 23 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 397 1622 31 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 397 1523 21 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 397 1424 17 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 397 1325 29 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 397 1226 28 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 397 1127 25 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 396 1028 30 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 395 029 8 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 391 1230 34 53 Cody Ware (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 389 031 33 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 389 032 32 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 389 533 35 15 James Davison Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 388 434 36 51 Garrett Smithley (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 387 035 37 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 382 236 38 66 David Starr (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 369 037 10 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 359 138 12 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 139 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 23 among 13 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 4 for 26 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 58 minutes and 45 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television Fox Sports televised the race in the United States for the 21st consecutive year. Mike Joy was the lap-by-lap announcer, while three-time Coca-Cola 600 winner, Jeff Gordon and 2012 Fall Charlotte winner Clint Bowyer were the color commentators. Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Vince Welch reported from pit lane during the race. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
FoxBooth announcersPit reportersIn-race analyst Lap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer Jamie LittleRegan SmithVince Welch Larry McReynolds
Radio Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by the Performance Racing Network (PRN), and was simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race in the booth when the field raced through the quad-oval. Rob Albright called the race from a billboard in turn 2 when the field was racing through turns 1 and 2 and halfway down the backstretch. Pat Patterson called the race from a billboard outside of turn 3 when the field raced through the other half of the backstretch and through turns 3 and 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Wendy Venturini were the pit reporters during the broadcast.
PRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark Garrow Turns 1 & 2: Rob AlbrightTurns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson Brad GillieBrett McMillanWendy Venturini
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Denny Hamlin 633 1 2 Kyle Larson 557 (–76) 1 3 William Byron 557 (–76) 1 4 Chase Elliott 541 (–92) 1 5 Joey Logano 506 (–127) 6 Martin Truex Jr. 486 (–147) 7 Ryan Blaney 482 (–151) 2 8 Kyle Busch 476 (–157) 1 9 Kevin Harvick 468 (–165) 1 10 Brad Keselowski 448 (–185) 11 Austin Dillon 407 (–226) 12 Alex Bowman 405 (–224) 2 13 Tyler Reddick 376 (–257) 1 14 Chris Buescher 370 (–263) 1 15 Christopher Bell 350 (–383) 16 Michael McDowell 346 (–287)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 547 2 Ford 523 (–24) 3 Toyota 513 (–34)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
References