2021 FireKeepers Casino 400
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 25 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | August 22, 2021 | ||
| Location | Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 3.2 km (2.0 miles) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 400 mi (640 km) | ||
| Average speed | 142.476 miles per hour (229.293 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Laps | 71 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| 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) and Kyle Rickey (3–4) | ||
The 2021 FireKeepers Casino 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on August 22, 2021, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Contested over 200 laps on the two-mile (3.2 km) D-shaped oval, it was the 25th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Background
The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a two-mile (3.2 km) moderate-banked D-shaped speedway located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for NASCAR events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of Auto Club Speedway. The track is owned by International Speedway Corporation. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).
Josh Berry replaced Corey LaJoie for the race due to COVID-19 protocols;[7] LaJoie, then unvaccinated, had been close to a person testing positive for the COVID-19 from his Stacking Pennies podcast a week prior.[8]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
Kyle Larson was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.[4]
Starting Lineup
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 60
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 80
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 200 | 40 |
| 2 | 18 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 43 |
| 3 | 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 51 |
| 4 | 6 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 36 |
| 5 | 9 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 45 |
| 6 | 4 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 200 | 36 |
| 7 | 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 42 |
| 8 | 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 46 |
| 9 | 20 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 200 | 33 |
| 10 | 5 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 27 |
| 11 | 21 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | 26 |
| 12 | 12 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 25 |
| 13 | 28 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 200 | 33 |
| 14 | 8 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | 23 |
| 15 | 11 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 200 | 22 |
| 16 | 10 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 21 |
| 17 | 23 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | 20 |
| 18 | 13 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 19 |
| 19 | 15 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 200 | 18 |
| 20 | 25 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 200 | 17 |
| 21 | 32 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 16 |
| 22 | 30 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 200 | 15 |
| 23 | 27 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 200 | 14 |
| 24 | 16 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 200 | 13 |
| 25 | 17 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 |
| 26 | 24 | 7 | Josh Berry (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 |
| 27 | 37 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 199 | 0 |
| 28 | 36 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 198 | 0 |
| 29 | 14 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 198 | 11 |
| 30 | 31 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 196 | 7 |
| 31 | 29 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 195 | 6 |
| 32 | 33 | 53 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 194 | 0 |
| 33 | 19 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 188 | 9 |
| 34 | 35 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 178 | 3 |
| 35 | 22 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 152 | 2 |
| 36 | 26 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 120 | 14 |
| 37 | 34 | 15 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 32 | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 20 among 11 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 6 for 29
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 2 hours, 48 minutes and 27 seconds
- Average speed: 142.476 miles per hour (229.293 km/h)
