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The 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 28, 2021, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 165 laps -- extended from 160 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.5-mile (4.0 km) superspeedway, it was the 26th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, and the final race of the regular season before the playoffs.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 26 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | August 28, 2021 | ||
| Location | Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.5 mi (4 km) | ||
| Distance | 165 laps, 412.5 mi (663.9 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 160 laps, 400 mi (640 km) | ||
| Average speed | 142.201 miles per hour (228.850 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Joey Logano | Team Penske | |
| Laps | 37 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dave Moody (1 & 2), Mike Bagley (Backstretch) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4) | ||
Ryan Blaney won an incident-filled race in overtime, while Tyler Reddick, who finished in fifth place, secured the final spot in the playoffs.
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Background
The race was held at Daytona International Speedway, a race track located in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since its opening in 1959, the track has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts ARCA, AMA Superbike, USCC, SCCA, and Motocross races. It features multiple layouts including the primary 2.5 miles (4.0 km) high speed tri-oval, a 3.56 miles (5.73 km) sports car course, a 2.95 miles (4.75 km) motorcycle course, and a .25 miles (0.40 km) karting and motorcycle flat-track. The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
The track was built in 1959 by NASCAR founder William "Bill" France, Sr. to host racing held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course. His banked design permitted higher speeds and gave fans a better view of the cars. Lights were installed around the track in 1998 and today, it is the third-largest single lit outdoor sports facility. The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004 and the track repaved twice — in 1978 and in 2010.
On January 22, 2013, the track unveiled artist depictions of a renovated speedway. On July 5 of that year, ground was broken for a project that would remove the backstretch seating and completely redevelop the frontstretch seating. The renovation to the speedway was done by Rossetti Architects. The project, named "Daytona Rising", was completed in January 2016, at a cost of US $400 million, placing emphasis on improving fan experience with five expanded and redesigned fan entrances (called "injectors") as well as wider and more comfortable seating with more restrooms and concession stands. After the renovations, the track's grandstands included 101,000 permanent seats with the ability to increase permanent seating to 125,000.[7][8] The project was completed before the start of Speedweeks.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
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Kyle Larson was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.[4]
Starting Lineup
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Kyle Larson was awarded the pole for the race. Chase Elliott won the first stage while Joey Logano won the second stage. Logano led the most laps in the race. Several lead changes occurred and the race was red-flagged due to a multicar wreck late in the race. In overtime, Ryan Blaney took the lead and won the race as a nine-car wreck occurred in turn 3 on the final lap. Blaney scored his second consecutive win and third win of the season. Larson won the regular season championship while Tyler Reddick clinched the final spot in the playoffs. B. J. McLeod and Josh Bilicki got their first top 10 results in this race.
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 50
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 50
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 60
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 165 | 45 |
| 2 | 20 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 165 | 37 |
| 3 | 23 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 165 | 34 |
| 4 | 24 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 165 | 35 |
| 5 | 17 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 165 | 39 |
| 6 | 28 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 165 | 0 |
| 7 | 15 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 165 | 30 |
| 8 | 5 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 165 | 39 |
| 9 | 30 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 165 | 0 |
| 10 | 36 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 165 | 27 |
| 11 | 21 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 165 | 26 |
| 12 | 8 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 165 | 25 |
| 13 | 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 165 | 33 |
| 14 | 19 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 165 | 23 |
| 15 | 11 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 165 | 22 |
| 16 | 33 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 164 | 25 |
| 17 | 27 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | 34 |
| 18 | 29 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | 26 |
| 19 | 26 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 164 | 18 |
| 20 | 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 164 | 23 |
| 21 | 16 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 164 | 16 |
| 22 | 12 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 164 | 19 |
| 23 | 22 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 164 | 27 |
| 24 | 25 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 164 | 13 |
| 25 | 9 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 164 | 12 |
| 26 | 32 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 163 | 11 |
| 27 | 40 | 66 | David Starr (i) | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 163 | 0 |
| 28 | 31 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | 0 |
| 29 | 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 163 | 14 |
| 30 | 34 | 53 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 163 | 0 |
| 31 | 37 | 15 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 162 | 0 |
| 32 | 14 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 157 | 7 |
| 33 | 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 156 | 4 |
| 34 | 4 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 156 | 14 |
| 35 | 38 | 16 | Kaz Grala (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 156 | 0 |
| 36 | 39 | 96 | Landon Cassill (i) | Gaunt Brothers Racing | Toyota | 146 | 0 |
| 37 | 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 146 | 9 |
| 38 | 35 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 136 | 1 |
| 39 | 18 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 23 | 1 |
| DSQ | 13 | 17 | Chris Buescher[a] | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 165 | 1 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 45 among 15 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 8 for 31
- Red flags: 1 for 14 minutes and 51 seconds
- Time of race: 2 hours, 54 minutes and 3 seconds
- Average speed: 142.201 miles per hour (228.850 km/h)
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Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 2000 Coke Zero 400 winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and two-time Coke Zero 400 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
| NBC | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Parker Kligerman Marty Snider | |
Radio
MRN 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 Backstretch: Mike Bagley Turns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey | Steve Post Hannah Newhouse |
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- Buescher initially finished 2nd, but was disqualified after failing post-race inspection for an unapproved track bar mounting assembly.[9]
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