The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on November 7, 2021 at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the one mile (1.6 km) oval, it was the 36th and final race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, and was also the last race for the Generation 6 chassis, as it was replaced in 2022 by the seventh-generation chassis with composite body. Kyle Larson won the race and claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Report
Background
Phoenix Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The raceway was originally constructed with a road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.
Phoenix Raceway is home to two annual NASCAR race weekends, one of 13 facilities on the NASCAR schedule to host more than one race weekend a year. The track is both the first and last stop in the western United States, as well as the fourth and the last track on the schedule.
Championship drivers Kyle Larson was the first of the four drivers to clinch a spot in the Championship 4, winning the first race of the Round of 8 at Texas. Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., and Denny Hamlin clinched the remaining three spots based on points.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points. (CC) denotes championship contender.
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 (CC) 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 (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 13 David Starr (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. (CC) 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 Cody Ware (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 52 Josh Bilicki (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 53 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 66 Timmy Hill (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 Brad Keselowski was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 26.591 with an average speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 26.591 135.384 2 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.609 135.293 3 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 26.645 135.110Official practice results
Qualifying Kyle Larson scored the pole for the race with a time of 26.116 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 15 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.116 29 Chase Elliott (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.289 324 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.307 412 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 26.315 51 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.327 611 Denny Hamlin (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.361 741 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 26.432 820 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.433 94 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 26.434 1022 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 26.436 112 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 26.469 1219 Martin Truex Jr. (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.494 1318 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 26.502 1448 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 26.544 1521 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 26.544 1642 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 26.544 1799 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 26.558 1810 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 26.568 196 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.576 208 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.592 2147 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 26.594 2214 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 26.623 233 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 26.649 247 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 26.652 2523 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 26.665 2617 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 26.683 2743 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet 26.722 2834 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.811 2977 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 26.812 3038 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 26.906 3137 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 26.921 3278 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 27.181 3351 Cody Ware (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 27.560 3453 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 27.716 3500 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 27.861 3613 David Starr (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 27.874 3752 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford 27.887 3815 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 28.243 3966 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 0.000Official qualifying results
Race Stage Results Source:Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott were ineligible for stage points because of their participation in the Championship 4.
Stage One Laps: 75
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 19 Martin Truex Jr. (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 02 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 93 9 Chase Elliott (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 04 11 Denny Hamlin (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 05 5 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 06 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 57 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 48 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 39 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 210 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 115
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 5 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 02 9 Chase Elliott (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 03 11 Denny Hamlin (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 04 19 Martin Truex Jr. (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 05 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 66 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 57 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 48 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 39 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 210 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 122
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 1 5 Kyle Larson (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 402 12 19 Martin Truex Jr. (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 353 6 11 Denny Hamlin (CC) Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 344 4 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 312 425 2 9 Chase Elliott (CC) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 326 18 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 312 317 13 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 338 9 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 312 439 8 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 312 2810 11 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford 312 3111 10 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 312 2812 15 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford 312 2613 7 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 312 2814 16 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 312 2315 23 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 2216 5 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 312 2317 3 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 2618 14 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 312 1919 20 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 312 1820 31 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 312 1721 17 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 312 1622 27 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motrsports Chevrolet 312 1523 19 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford 312 1424 28 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 312 1325 26 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford 311 1226 29 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 310 027 32 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 309 028 33 51 Cody Ware (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet 306 029 34 53 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 303 030 37 52 Josh Bilicki (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 303 031 38 15 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 301 032 24 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 281 533 36 13 David Starr (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 273 034 30 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 242 335 22 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 153 236 21 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 140 137 35 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet 122 138 39 66 Timmy Hill (i) MBM Motorsports Toyota 57 039 25 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 5 1Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 18 among 7 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 9 for 51 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 6 minutes and 33 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, two–time Phoenix winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and three-time Phoenix winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast handled the pit road duties from pit lane. Rutledge Wood handled the features from the track.
NBCBooth announcersPit reportersFeatures reporter Lap-by-lap: Rick AllenColor-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve LetarteColor-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dave BurnsParker KligermanMarty SniderKelli Stavast Rutledge Wood
Radio MRN covered the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and Rusty Wallace called the action from the broadcast booth when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody called the action from turns 1 & 2 and Mike Bagley called the action from turns 3 & 4. Steve Post and Kim Coon covered the action for MRN from pit lane.
MRN Booth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Jeff StriegleAnnouncer: Rusty Wallace Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyTurns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley Steve PostKim Coon
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Kyle Larson 5,040 1 2 Martin Truex Jr. 5,035 (–5) 1 3 Denny Hamlin 5,034 (–6) 2 4 Chase Elliott 5,032 (–8) 1 5 Kevin Harvick 2,361 (–2,679) 1 6 Brad Keselowski 2,354 (–2,686) 7 Ryan Blaney 2,350 (–2,690) 8 Joey Logano 2,336 (–2,704) 9 Kyle Busch 2,318 (–2,722) 10 William Byron 2,306 (–2,734) 11 Kurt Busch 2,297 (–2,743) 12 Christopher Bell 2,279 (–2,761) 13 Tyler Reddick 2,250 (–2,790) 14 Alex Bowman 2,240 (–2,800) 15 Aric Almirola 2,215 (–2,825) 16 Michael McDowell 2,152 (–2,888)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings