2021 Instacart 500
The 2021 Instacart 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 14, 2021, at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. Contested over 312 laps on the 1.022 mi (1.645 km) oval, it was the fifth race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 5 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
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| Date | March 14, 2021 | ||
| Location | Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.022 mi (1.645 km) | ||
| Distance | 312 laps, 318.864 mi (513.162 km) | ||
| Average speed | 103.808 miles per hour (167.063 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Grid positions set by competition-based formula | |||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Joey Logano | Team Penske | |
| Laps | 143 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | Fox | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 3.857 million[7] | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle | ||
| Turn Announcers | Dan Hubbard (1 & 2) and Kyle Rickey (3 & 4) | ||
Report
Background
Phoenix Raceway, is a 1.022 mi (1.645 km), low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. The motorsport track opened in 1964 and currently hosts two NASCAR race weekends annually. PIR has also hosted the IndyCar Series, CART, USAC and the Rolex Sports Car Series. The raceway is currently owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.
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.[4]
Starting Lineup
Race
Martin Truex Jr. won the race, driving a Toyota. It was his first Cup Series win since the race at Martinsville Speedway in June 2020. He finished 1.698 seconds ahead of Ford driver Joey Logano.[8] It was Truex's 28th Cup Series win and his first at Phoenix.[9]
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 75
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 4 |
| 8 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 115
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 122
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 312 | 49 |
| 2 | 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 312 | 54 |
| 3 | 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 312 | 49 |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 312 | 48 |
| 5 | 6 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 40 |
| 6 | 18 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 312 | 40 |
| 7 | 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 32 |
| 8 | 10 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 36 |
| 9 | 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 312 | 29 |
| 10 | 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 312 | 43 |
| 11 | 32 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 312 | 29 |
| 12 | 11 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 25 |
| 13 | 21 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 24 |
| 14 | 20 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 312 | 24 |
| 15 | 12 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 22 |
| 16 | 25 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 312 | 21 |
| 17 | 13 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 20 |
| 18 | 17 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 312 | 19 |
| 19 | 22 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 312 | 18 |
| 20 | 14 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 17 |
| 21 | 27 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 312 | 16 |
| 22 | 26 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 312 | 15 |
| 23 | 16 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 312 | 14 |
| 24 | 29 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 312 | 0 |
| 25 | 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 311 | 17 |
| 26 | 15 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 311 | 11 |
| 27 | 33 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 311 | 10 |
| 28 | 19 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 311 | 9 |
| 29 | 23 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 310 | 8 |
| 30 | 30 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 309 | 0 |
| 31 | 24 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 308 | 6 |
| 32 | 35 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 5 |
| 33 | 38 | 15 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 303 | 4 |
| 34 | 34 | 53 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 300 | 0 |
| 35 | 36 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 258 | 2 |
| 36 | 31 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 101 | 0 |
| 37 | 28 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 87 | 1 |
| 38 | 37 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 15 | 0 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 22 among 9 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 7 for 45
- Red flags: 0
- Time of race: 3 hours, 0 minutes and 20 seconds
- Average speed: 103.808 miles per hour (167.063 km/h)
Media
Television
Fox Sports covered their 16th race at the Phoenix Raceway. Mike Joy, two-time Phoenix 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.
| Fox | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | In-race analyst |
| Lap-by-lap: Mike Joy Color-commentator: Jeff Gordon Color-commentator: Clint Bowyer | Jamie Little Regan Smith | Larry McReynolds |
Radio
MRN covered the radio action for the race which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle called the race when the field raced past the start/finish line. Dan Hubbard called the action from turns 1 & 2 and Kyle Rickey called the action from turns 3 & 4. Pit lane was manned by Steve Post and Dillon Welch.
| MRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle | Turns 1 & 2: Dan Hubbard Turns 3 & 4: Kyle Rickey | Steve Post Dillon Welch |
Standings after the race
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References
- "2021 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- "Phoenix International Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on March 10, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. March 10, 2021. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
- "Instacart 500 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. March 14, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
- "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. March 14, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
- "Instacart 500 ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
- Utter, Jim (14 March 2021). "Truex triumphs at Phoenix for first NASCAR Cup win in 28 starts". Autosport. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- "Martin Truex Jr. finally prevails at Phoenix Raceway". Reuters. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.