2021 Drive for the Cure 250
The 2021 Drive for the Cure 250 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that was held on October 9, 2021, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 68- extended from 67 laps due to an overtime finish—laps on the 2.28 mi (3.67 km) road course, it was be the 29th race of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the third race of the Playoffs, and the final race of the Round of 12.
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 29 of 33 in the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season | |||
 Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval | |||
| Date | October 9, 2021 | ||
| Location | Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 2.28 mi (3.67 km) | ||
| Distance | 67 laps, 152.76 mi (245.84 km) | ||
| Average speed | 74.396 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | |
| Laps | 22 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBCSN | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. | ||
Report
Background
Since 2018, deviating from past NASCAR events at Charlotte, the race will utilize a road course configuration of Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoted and trademarked as the "Roval". The course is 2.28 miles (3.67 km) in length and features 17 turns, utilizing the infield road course and portions of the oval track. The race will be contested over a scheduled distance of 109 laps, 400 kilometres (250 mi).
During July 2018 tests on the road course, concerns were raised over drivers "cheating" the backstretch chicane on the course. The chicanes were modified with additional tire barriers and rumble strips in order to encourage drivers to properly drive through them, and NASCAR will enforce drive-through penalties on drivers who illegally "short-cut" parts of the course. The chicanes will not be used during restarts. In the summer of 2019, the bus stop on the backstretch was changed and deepened, becoming a permanent part of the circuit, compared to the previous year where it was improvised.
If a driver fails to legally make the backstretch bus stop, the driver must skip the frontstretch chicane and make a complete stop by the dotted line on the exit before being allowed to continue. A driver who misses the frontstretch chicane must stop before the exit.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Qualifying
Austin Cindric was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula. Timmy Hill did not have enough points to qualify for the race.
Starting Lineups
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 20
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Kaulig Racimg | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 20
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 8 | Sam Mayer (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
Final Stage Results
Laps: 27
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 49 | Running |
| 2 | 1 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 68 | 35 | Running |
| 3 | 3 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 68 | 54 | Running |
| 4 | 5 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 48 | Running |
| 5 | 6 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 68 | 48 | Running |
| 6 | 10 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 | 42 | Running |
| 7 | 37 | 90 | Preston Pardus | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 30 | Running |
| 8 | 13 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 37 | Running |
| 9 | 2 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 | 28 | Running |
| 10 | 15 | 8 | Sam Mayer (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 | 28 | Running |
| 11 | 17 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 26 | Running |
| 12 | 11 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 32 | Running |
| 13 | 7 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 28 | Running |
| 14 | 20 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 23 | Running |
| 15 | 8 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 68 | 29 | Running |
| 16 | 19 | 48 | Jade Buford (R) | Big Machine Racing Team | Chevrolet | 68 | 21 | Running |
| 17 | 35 | 4 | Landon Cassill | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 | 20 | Running |
| 18 | 40 | 61 | Austin Hill (i) | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 68 | 0 | Running |
| 19 | 23 | 99 | J. J. Yeley | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 | 18 | Running |
| 20 | 32 | 0 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 | 17 | Running |
| 21 | 12 | 54 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 68 | 26 | Running |
| 22 | 16 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 | 15 | Running |
| 23 | 24 | 47 | Kyle Weatherman | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 14 | Running |
| 24 | 36 | 78 | Stefan Parsons | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 | 13 | Running |
| 25 | 28 | 31 | Sage Karam | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 68 | 12 | Running |
| 26 | 25 | 23 | Ty Dillon | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 | 11 | Running |
| 27 | 4 | 1 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 68 | 10 | Running |
| 28 | 30 | 17 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 9 | Running |
| 29 | 29 | 26 | Will Rodgers | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 67 | 8 | Running |
| 30 | 26 | 5 | Matt Mills | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Toyota | 67 | 7 | Running |
| 31 | 33 | 52 | Spencer Boyd (i) | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 67 | 0 | Running |
| 32 | 18 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 66 | 5 | Running |
| 33 | 21 | 44 | Tommy Joe Martins | Martins Motorsports | Chevrolet | 63 | 4 | Accident |
| 34 | 9 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 61 | 7 | Suspension |
| 35 | 34 | 66 | Loris Hezemans | MBM Motorsports | Ford | 59 | 2 | Electrical |
| 36 | 27 | 6 | Ryan Vargas | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 47 | 1 | Axle |
| 37 | 22 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 30 | 1 | Accident |
| 38 | 31 | 07 | Josh Bilicki | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 28 | 1 | Accident |
| 39 | 38 | 15 | Kris Wright (i) | JD Motorsports/Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 19 | 0 | Suspension |
| 40 | 39 | 74 | Gray Gaulding | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 10 | 1 | Rear gear |
| Official race results | ||||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 6 among 5 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 7 for 13
- Time of race: 2 hours, 7 minutes, and 14 seconds
- Average speed: 74.396 mph (119.729 km/h)
References
- "Entry List". jayski.com. October 5, 2021. Retrieved October 5, 2021.