2021 Daytona 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
Race 1 of 36 in the2021 NASCAR Cup Series
Date	February 14–15, 2021
Location	Daytona International Speedway inDaytona Beach, Florida
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km)
Distance	200 laps, 500 mi (800 km)
Average speed	144.416 miles per hour (232.415 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports
Time	47.056
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing
Duel 2 Winner	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing
Most laps led
Driver	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	98
Winner
No. 34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	Fox
Announcers	Mike Joy,Jeff Gordon andClint Bowyer
Nielsen ratings	4.830 million[12]
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth announcers	Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle, andRusty Wallace
Turn announcers	Dave Moody (1 & 2),Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4)

The2021 Daytona 500, the 63rd running of theevent, was aNASCAR Cup Series race that was held on February 14–15, 2021 atDaytona International Speedway inDaytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 200 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km)asphalt superspeedway, it was the first race of the2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. In one of the biggest surprise upsets in Daytona 500 history,Michael McDowell, driving forFront Row Motorsports, won afterTeam Penske teammatesJoey Logano andBrad 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.

Daytona International Speedway is arace track inDaytona Beach, Florida that is one of sixsuperspeedways, the others beingAuto Club Speedway,Pocono Raceway,Indianapolis Motor Speedway,Michigan International Speedway andTalladega Superspeedway.

Daytona International Speedway is one of threesuperspeedways to holdNASCAR races, the other two beingIndianapolis Motor Speedway andTalladega 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 thefront 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 winnerJamie McMurray^[17] andDerrike Cope, the1990 winner.^[18] The race will also be the debut of driversAnthony Alfredo,Chase Briscoe,Austin Cindric^[19] andNoah 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 notably23XI Racing.^[21]

This is the first Daytona 500 without two-time Daytona 500 winnerJimmie Johnson since2001.

• (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 the2020 March Phoenix Race.

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.

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.

Stage OneLaps: 65

Stage TwoLaps: 65

Stage ThreeLaps: 70

• 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)

Since2001—with the exception of2002,2004 and2006—theDaytona 500 has been broadcast onFox in the United States. The booth crew consisted of longtime NASCAR lap-by-lap announcerMike Joy, three-time Daytona 500 championJeff Gordon andClint Bowyer.Jamie Little,Regan Smith andVince Welch handled pit road for the television side. 1992 and 1998 Daytona 500 winning crew chiefLarry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

The race was broadcast on radio by theMotor Racing Network—who has covered the Daytona 500 since1970—and was simulcast onSirius XM NASCAR Radio. The booth crew consisted of Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 1989 Cup Series championRusty Wallace. Longtime turn announcerDave Moody was the lead turn announcer, calling the race from atop theSunoco 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.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Austin Dillon 58 2 Denny Hamlin 52 (–6) 3 Kevin Harvick 50 (–8) 4 Chase Elliott 48 (–10) 5 Michael McDowell 46 (–12) 6 Ryan Preece 46 (–12) 7 Kyle Larson 41 (–17) 8 Bubba Wallace 41 (–17) 9 Joey Logano 40 (–18) 10 Christopher Bell 35 (–23) 11 Ross Chastain 32 (–26) 12 Corey LaJoie 32 (–26) 13 Kyle Busch 32 (–26) 14 Jamie McMurray 30 (–28) 15 Cole Custer 27 (–31) 16 Brad Keselowski 25 (–33) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 40 2 Chevrolet 35 (–5) 3 Toyota 32 (–8) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

• 2021 NASCAR Cup Series
• 2021 in sports in Florida
• February 2021 sports events in the United States
• NASCAR races at Daytona International Speedway

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• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from February 2025