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2021 Goodyear 400

Race details
Race 12 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series
Layout of Darlington Raceway, the track where the race was held
Date	May 9, 2021 (2021-05-09)
Location	Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance	293 laps, 400.238 mi (644.121 km)
Average speed	123.562 miles per hour (198.854 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Brad Keselowski	Team Penske
Grid positions set by competition-based formula
Most laps led
Driver	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	248
Winner
No. 19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network	FS1
Announcers	Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN
Booth Announcers	Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle
Turn Announcers	Dave Moody (1 & 2) and Mike Bagley (3 & 4)

The 2021 Goodyear 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race was held on May 9, 2021, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 293 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped oval, it was the 12th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, and the 65th running of the race.

Report

Background

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

Events leading up to the race

When the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule was announced on September 30, 2020, a second race at Darlington was added for May 9, 2021, marking the first time since 2004 that the track had two races on the schedule (the 2020 season, changed by the pandemic, had three races).

On December 11, 2020, Darlington Raceway announced its highly popular NASCAR Throwback weekend would move to the new May 7–9 weekend, effectively making a lineal swap of the two race meetings at the track. On April 14, 2021, longtime NASCAR tire provider Goodyear announced a race sponsorship deal to call the race the Goodyear 400.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.

Qualifying

Brad Keselowski was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.

Starting Lineup

Race

Brad Keselowski was awarded the pole for the second straight race. Aric Almirola slammed the wall after a flat tire while Kyle Busch spun while leading with a flat tire. Martin Truex Jr. dominated by leading the most laps and winning both stages. Cole Custer slammed the wall after contact with Anthony Alfredo while Kurt Busch got into the wall and caught fire after making contact with Bubba Wallace. Drivers split the final stage by pitting for green flag pit stops three different times. Kyle Larson was the only driver to challenge Truex for the lead as lapped traffic caused issues. Truex was able to pull away from Larson and win for his third win of the season.

Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 90

Stage Two Laps: 95

Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 108

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 19 among 10 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 6 for 36
• Red flags: 0
• Time of race: 3 hours, 14 minutes and 21 seconds
• Average speed: 123.562 miles per hour (198.854 km/h)

Media

Television

The race was carried by FS1 in the United States. Mike Joy, five-time Darlington winner Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.

Radio

MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Denny Hamlin 529 2 Martin Truex Jr. 454 (–75) 3 William Byron 428 (–101) 4 Joey Logano 406 (–123) 5 Ryan Blaney 405 (–124) 3 6 Kyle Larson 385 (–144) 1 7 Kevin Harvick 385 (–144) 1 8 Chase Elliott 382 (–147) 3 9 Brad Keselowski 379 (–150) 10 Kyle Busch 373 (–156) 1 11 Christopher Bell 320 (–209) 1 12 Austin Dillon 316 (–213) 2 13 Chris Buescher 287 (–242) 14 Alex Bowman 281 (–248) 2 15 Michael McDowell 278 (–251) 2 16 Tyler Reddick 268 (–261) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Ford 428 2 Chevrolet 427 (–1) 3 Toyota 422 (–6) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

References

1. "2021 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
2. "Darlington Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
3. "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 3, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
4. ^ "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
5. "Darlington 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
6. "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. May 9, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
7. "Darlington Raceway Rolls with Goodyear for the Goodyear 400 on May 9". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 14, 2021.
8. "NASCAR's 2021 Cup Series schedule revealed". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. September 30, 2020.
9. "NASCAR Throwback Weekend at Darlington shifts to May". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. December 11, 2020.
10. "Darlington Raceway rolls with Goodyear for Goodyear 400". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. April 14, 2021.
11. ^ "2021 Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway Paint Schemes". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved April 30, 2021.

• 2021 NASCAR Cup Series
• May 2021 sports events in the United States
• NASCAR races at Darlington Raceway
• 2021 in sports in South Carolina