2021 Instacart 500

2021 Instacart 500

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Race 5 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series
Date	March 14, 2021 (2021-03-14)
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	Brad Keselowski	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]

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.

Report[]

Background[]

2021 Instacart 500 program cover

Phoenix Raceway was the site of the fifth race of the season

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

Stage Two Laps: 115

Final Stage Results[]

Stage Three Laps: 122

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.

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.

Standings after the race[]

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Denny Hamlin 235 2 Brad Keselowski 197 (–38) 3 3 Joey Logano 192 (–43) 4 4 Martin Truex Jr. 180 (–55) 2 5 Kyle Larson 179 (–56) 2 6 Chase Elliott 179 (–56) 7 Kevin Harvick 176 (–59) 3 8 Christopher Bell 167 (–68) 2 9 William Byron 152 (–83) 10 Kurt Busch 144 (–91) 2 11 Michael McDowell 140 (–95) 12 Austin Dillon 135 (–100) 2 13 Ryan Blaney 134 (–101) 1 14 Ryan Preece 123 (–112) 1 15 Kyle Busch 115 (–120) 1 16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 113 (–123) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 180 1 2 Toyota 180 (–0) 1 3 Ford 177 (–3) Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.

References[]