2021 FireKeepers Casino 400

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.

2021 FireKeepers Casino 400
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Race 25 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series
Date August 22, 2021 (2021-08-22)
Location Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan
Course Permanent racing facility
2.0 mi (3.2 km)
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)

Report

edit

Background

edit
 
Michigan International Speedway, the track where the race was held.
 
The 2021 FireKeepers Casino 400 program cover.

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

edit
  • (R) denotes rookie driver.
  • (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
No. 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 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford
7 Josh Berry (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford
14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
15 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford
18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
19 Martin Truex Jr. 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 Rick Ware Racing Ford
53 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford
77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford
99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
Official entry list

Qualifying

edit

Kyle Larson was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.[4]

Starting Lineup

edit
Pos No. Driver Team Manufacturer
1 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
3 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford
4 21 Matt DiBenedetto Wood Brothers Racing Ford
5 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
6 1 Kurt Busch Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
7 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
8 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
9 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
10 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
11 17 Chris Buescher Roush Fenway Racing Ford
12 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
13 43 Erik Jones Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet
14 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
15 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota
16 6 Ryan Newman Roush Fenway Racing Ford
17 77 Justin Haley (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
18 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
19 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford
20 2 Brad Keselowski Team Penske Ford
21 14 Chase Briscoe (R) Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
22 42 Ross Chastain Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
23 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
24 7 Josh Berry (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
25 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford
26 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
27 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
28 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
29 52 Josh Bilicki Rick Ware Racing Ford
30 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet
31 00 Quin Houff StarCom Racing Chevrolet
32 37 Ryan Preece JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
33 53 Garrett Smithley (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
34 15 Joey Gase (i) Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet
35 38 Anthony Alfredo (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford
36 78 B. J. McLeod Live Fast Motorsports Ford
37 51 Cody Ware (i) Petty Ware Racing Chevrolet
Official starting lineup

Race

edit

Kyle Larson started on pole. Chase Elliott won the first stage while Kyle Busch won the second stage. At the end of the second stage, Brad Keselowski made contact with Austin Dillon and sent Dillon spinning into the wall, ending his race. In the final stage, drivers had different pit strategies, with William Byron gaining the lead. A caution came out for rain with 21 laps to go and for a multicar wreck with 14 laps to go. Following a restart with eight laps to go, Ryan Blaney gained the lead and held off Byron and Kyle Larson to win the race, his second win of the season.

Stage Results

edit

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

edit

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

edit
  • 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)

Media

edit

Television

edit

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and two-time Michigan 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.

NBCSN
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

edit

Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle called the race in the booth while the field was racing on the front stretch. Dave Moody called the race from a billboard outside of turn 2 when the field is racing through turns 1 and 2. Kyle Rickey called the race from a platform outside of turn 3 when the field races through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post and Kim Coon worked pit road for the radio side.

MRN
Booth announcers Turn announcers Pit reporters
Lead announcer: Alex Hayden
Announcer: Jeff Striegle
Turns 1 & 2: Dave Moody
Turns 3 & 4: Mike Bagley
Steve Post
Kim Coon

Standings after the race

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "2021 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "Michigan International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on April 7, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  3. ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  5. ^ "FireKeepers Casino 400 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. August 22, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  6. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 22, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  7. ^ Taranto, Steven (2021-08-19). "Corey LaJoie to miss NASCAR at Michigan due to COVID protocols, Josh Berry to drive No. 7 car, per reports". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  8. ^ Pockrass, Bob (2021-08-23). "Navigating COVID-19 protocols is tricky for NASCAR, drivers". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2022-06-18.


Previous race:
2021 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard
NASCAR Cup Series
2021 season
Next race:
2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400