2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race
The 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on November 6, 2021. It was contested over 200 laps on the 1.00-mile (1.61 km) oval. It was the thirty-third and final race of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, as well as the championship race.
| Race details[1] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 33 of 33 in the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season | |||
.png.webp) Phoenix Raceway | |||
| Date | November 6, 2021 | ||
| Location | Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.00 mi (1.60 km) | ||
| Distance | 200 laps, 200.000 mi (321.869 km) | ||
| Average speed | 85.845 | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Team Penske | ||
| Time | 27.293 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | |
| Laps | 113 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | NBC | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Letarte, and Jeff Burton | ||
Report
Background
Phoenix Raceway – also known as PIR – is a one-mile, low-banked tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. It is named after the nearby metropolitan area of Phoenix. 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.
The raceway was originally constructed with a 2.5 mi (4.0 km) road course that ran both inside and outside of the main tri-oval. In 1991 the track was reconfigured with the current 1.51 mi (2.43 km) interior layout. PIR has an estimated grandstand seating capacity of around 67,000. Lights were installed around the track in 2004 following the addition of a second annual NASCAR race weekend.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
John Hunter Nemechek was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 27.610 seconds and a speed of 130.388 mph (209.839 km/h).[2]
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 54 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.610 | 130.388 |
| 2 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 27.632 | 130.284 |
| 3 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 27.729 | 129.828 |
| Official first practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Austin Cindric scored the pole position after a time of 27.293 seconds and a speed of 131.902 mph (212.276 km/h). Landon Cassill, Stephen Leicht, Spencer Boyd, Ryan Ellis, Timmy Hill, and Joey Gase failed to qualify.
Qualifying results
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 45
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 10 |
| 2 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 54 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
Stage Two Laps: 45
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 54 | John Hunter Nemechek (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 4 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 3 |
| 9 | 1 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
Final Stage Results
Laps: 110 After 120 Xfinity Series starts, Daniel Hemric would come home to win at Phoenix. Additionally, he scored the championship as well.
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 18 | Daniel Hemric | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 204 | 40 | Running |
| 2 | 1 | 22 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 204 | 35 | Running |
| 3 | 36 | 20 | Harrison Burton | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 204 | 37 | Running |
| 4 | 5 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 204 | 36 | Running |
| 5 | 8 | 11 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 204 | 37 | Running |
| 6 | 2 | 54 | John Hunter Nemechek | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 204 | 0 | Running |
| 7 | 6 | 19 | Brandon Jones | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 204 | 35 | Running |
| 8 | 20 | 02 | Brett Moffitt | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 29 | Running |
| 9 | 3 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 42 | Running |
| 10 | 10 | 78 | Sheldon Creed | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 0 | Running |
| 11 | 13 | 1 | Michael Annett | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 31 | Running |
| 12 | 7 | 9 | Noah Gragson | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 25 | Running |
| 13 | 11 | 8 | Sam Mayer (R) | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 24 | Running |
| 14 | 12 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 204 | 23 | Running |
| 15 | 32 | 26 | Dylan Lupton | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 204 | 22 | Running |
| 16 | 21 | 23 | Blaine Perkins | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 21 | Running |
| 17 | 14 | 38 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Chevrolet | 204 | 20 | Running |
| 18 | 22 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 204 | 19 | Running |
| 19 | 17 | 2 | Myatt Snider | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 204 | 18 | Running |
| 20 | 19 | 68 | Brandon Brown | Brandonbilt Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 17 | Running |
| 21 | 27 | 66 | David Starr | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 204 | 16 | Running |
| 22 | 29 | 07 | J. J. Yeley | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 204 | 15 | Running |
| 23 | 9 | 10 | Jeb Burton | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 204 | 14 | Running |
| 24 | 23 | 44 | Tommy Joe Martins | Martins Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 13 | Running |
| 25 | 33 | 31 | Sage Karam | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 204 | 12 | Running |
| 26 | 24 | 47 | Kyle Weatherman | Mike Harmon Racing | Chevrolet | 204 | 11 | Running |
| 27 | 18 | 39 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 204 | 10 | Running |
| 28 | 30 | 6 | Ryan Vargas (R) | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 9 | Running |
| 29 | 35 | 5 | Matt Mills | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 204 | 8 | Running |
| 30 | 26 | 36 | Alex Labbé | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 202 | 7 | Running |
| 31 | 25 | 15 | Bayley Currey (i) | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running |
| 32 | 16 | 92 | Josh Williams | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 194 | 5 | Accident |
| 33 | 15 | 48 | Jade Buford (R) | Big Machine Racing Team | Chevrolet | 193 | 4 | Accident |
| 34 | 28 | 99 | Stefan Parsons | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | Chevrolet | 123 | 3 | Engine |
| 35 | 34 | 17 | Joe Graf Jr. | SS-Green Light Racing with Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 97 | 2 | Accident |
| 36 | 31 | 0 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | JD Motorsports | Chevrolet | 57 | 1 | Accident |
| Official race results | ||||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 16 among 5 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 10 for 61
- Time of race: 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 35 seconds
- Average speed: 85.845 mph (138.154 km/h)
References
- "Entry List". jayski.com. November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
- "2021 Phoenix Xfinity Practice".