Kyle Larson Wins at Phoenix and Claims the 2021 Cup Championship
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AVONDALE, AZ – RIS – In a season that he dominated, Kyle Larson got a good pit stop just when he needed it and went on to win the final NASCAR Cup race and get the trophy as the 2021 champion. The other two Championship 4 contenders were not far behind. Denny Hamlin finished third and Chase Elliott finished fifth. Ryan Blaney came home fourth, the first of the non-playoff drivers.
Larson's pit crew has been more than good all year, and they shined again on a pit stop following a caution on Lap 283 for David Starr. The No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports crew helped Larson gain three positions during pit stops as Larson launched to the lead from the number one pit stall, and as they say, that was all she wrote.
Larson and Hamlin restarted on the front row with Truex and Elliott on row 2, and Larson took off with the lead. Truex surged as well, though, and passed Hamlin to take over second.
While running fourth behind the other three title contenders, Truex and his team opted to pit on Lap 247, and they caught a big break. While Truex's pit crew was servicing his car, Anthony Alfredo triggered a caution after plowing into the outside wall.
Truex’s pit crew was able to get Truex back on the track before the leaders crossed the start-finish line, and that made a huge difference. When Elliott, Hamlin and Larson pitted, Truex cycled to the lead, and led the field to a restart on Lap 255. The other three championship drivers restarted in the top 10, and by Lap 260, all four title contenders were running 1-2-3-4 again.
As the race rolled on to conclusion, Truex made up time, but could not catch Larson which ended his quest to be a two-time champion. Elliott also wanted a second championship, but after leading 92 laps, we finished in 5th place.
Stage one was won by our second-place finisher. Truex took the green-and-white checkered flag after 75 laps to win the first stage. In the championship race, points don't matter for the but all four title contenders, led by Truex in his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Blaney showed strong early speed, but Truex stole the lead away from Blaney on Lap 51 and held onto it through the end of the stage.
Harvick, who like Blaney, was previously eliminated from the playoffs, finished second and was followed by the other three title contenders: Elliott, Hamlin and Larson, respectively, in the top five. William Byron, Cole Custer, Blaney, Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto rounded out the top-10 finishers.
Just seven laps into the race, Bubba Wallace’s season finale was done. The rear of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota slammed into the Turn 3 wall after Corey LaJoie in the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet made contact with Wallace’s left rear side and sent him up the track. Understandably frustrated, Wallace exited his toasted car, and as LaJoie passed him again on the track under caution, Wallace clapped his hands at the No. 7 driver. This was one of the few confrontations in the race, unlike the final races for the Craftsman Truck and Xfinity Series finales.
Now the long wait until February for the next race at Daytona International Speedway. The drivers will have an exhibition race at the LA Coliseum before Daytona, but the first official points race will be the Daytona 500 on February 19, 2022.
Unofficial Results: 34th Annual NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race, November 7, 2021, Phoenix Raceway: 1. Mile Paved
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 1, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 312, 5, 7, 107, 6, 1, 40, Running
2) 12, Martin Truex Jr. (P), No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 312, 1, 3, 72, 1, 4, 35, Running
3) 6, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota, 312, 4, , , , 3, 34, Running
4) 4, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Jack Links Ford, 312, 8, 2, 33, , 5, 42, Running
5) 2, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 312, 3, 4, 94, , 2, 32, Running
6) 18, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 312, , , , , , 31, Running
7) 13, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Toyota, 312, , , , , 8, 33, Running
8) 9, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light #BuschPitBoss Ford, 312, 2, 1, 1, , 6, 43, Running
9) 8, Christopher Bell, No. 20 DEWALT Toyota, 312, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 11, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 312, , , , , 7, 31, Running
11) 10, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 312, , , , , 9, 28, Running
12) 15, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 312, 10, , , , , 26, Running
13) 7, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 312, 7, , , , , 28, Running
14) 16, Ross Chastain, No. 42 Clover Chevrolet, 312, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 23, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Dow Coatings Chevrolet, 312, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 5, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet, 312, 9, 1, 1, , , 23, Running
17) 3, William Byron, No. 24 Raptor Chevrolet, 312, 6, , , , 10, 26, Running
18) 14, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 312, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 20, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 BetMGM Chevrolet, 312, , 1, 4, , , 18, Running
20) 31, * Ryan Preece, No. 37 Kroger Chevrolet, 312, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 17, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Good Sam Chevrolet, 312, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 27, Erik Jones, No. 43 Rellevate Chevrolet, 312, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 19, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Castrol GTX Full Synthetic Ford, 312, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 28, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 312, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 26, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 311, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 29, Justin Haley(i), No. 77 Peacock - Streaming Now Chevrolet, 310, , , , , , 0, Running
27) 32, BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Pala Casino Ford, 309, , , , , , 0, Running
28) 33, Cody Ware(i), No. 51 Nurtec ODT Chevrolet, 306, , , , , , 0, Running
29) 34, Joey Gase(i), No. 53 DonateLife Chevrolet, 303, , , , , , 0, Running
30) 37, Josh Bilicki(i), No. 52 Boom Ford, 303, , , , , , 0, Running
31) 38, Garrett Smithley(i), No. 15 Carpets of Arizona Chevrolet, 301, , , , , , 0, Running
32) 24, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Schluter Systems Chevrolet, 281, , , , , , 5, Running
33) 36, * David Starr(i), No. 13 Bob Menery Ripper Magoo Toyota, 273, , , , , , 0, Brakes
34) 30, Anthony Alfredo #, No. 38 Boot Barn Ford, 242, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 22, Chase Briscoe #, No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford, 153, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 21, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Honey Nut Cheerios Chevrolet, 140, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 35, Quin Houff, No. 00 CREEK Enterprises Inc. Chevrolet, 122, , , , , , 1, Accident
38) 39, * Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 Coble Enterprises/Darn Transport Toyota, 57, , , , , , 0, Handling
39) 25, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Door Dash Toyota, 5, , , , , , 1, Accident
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 6 Mins, 33 Secs.
Race Length: 312 Laps, 312 Miles
Average Speed: 100.348 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.398 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 19, 4, 9, 11, 5, 24, 41, 12, 1, 21
Stage 2 Top 10: 5, 9, 11, 19, 12, 4, 2, 18, 22, 24
Comments: Kyle Larson has won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway, his 16th career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. Kyle Larson has won the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Prior to the start, the following vehicle dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason indicated: Nos. 52, 66 (Uapproved adjustments).
Caution Flags: 9 for 51 laps;
Laps: 8-11 (#7, 23 Incident Turn 3 [None]);
16-20 (#7, 47 Incident Turn 3 [None]);
77-83 (Stage 1 Conclusion [42]);
130-135 (#00 Incident Turn 4 [34]);
141-145 (#47 Incident Turn 3 [3]);
156-161 (#14, 18 Incident Turn 3 [37]);
192-197 (Stage 2 Conclusion [17]);
249-254 (#38 Incident Turn 2 [34]);
283-288 (Debris in Turn 3 [17]).
Lead Changes: 18 among 7 drivers;
K. Larson (P) 1;
C. Elliott (P) 2-16;
R. Blaney 17-48;
K. Harvick 49;
R. Blaney 50;
M. Truex Jr. (P) 51-78;
K. Larson (P) 79;
C. Elliott (P) 80-119;
M. Truex Jr. (P) 120-130;
K. Larson (P) 131;
C. Elliott (P) 132-155;
K. Larson (P) 156;
T. Reddick 157-160;
K. Busch 161;
K. Larson (P) 162-235;
C. Elliott (P) 236-250;
K. Larson (P) 251;
M. Truex Jr. (P) 252-284;
K. Larson (P) 285-312.
Busch Pole Award: Kyle Larson, #5 137.847 mph
Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Anthony Alfredo, #38
Unofficial Year-End Points:
Pos Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1) Kyle Larson (P) 5 36 0 5040 0 0 10 18 65
2) Martin Truex Jr. (P) 19 36 1 5035 -5 5 4 6 29
3) Denny Hamlin (P) 11 36 1 5034 -6 1 2 10 30
4) Chase Elliott (P) 9 36 -2 5032 -8 2 2 6 22
5) Kevin Harvick 4 36 1 2361 -2679 2671 0 0 2
6) Brad Keselowski 2 36 -1 2354 -2686 7 1 2 8
7) Ryan Blaney 12 36 0 2350 -2690 4 3 4 24
8) Joey Logano 22 36 0 2336 -2704 14 1 5 13
9) Kyle Busch 18 36 0 2318 -2722 18 2 7 23
10) William Byron 24 36 0 2306 -2734 12 1 4 14
11) Kurt Busch 1 36 0 2297 -2743 9 1 3 8
12) Christopher Bell 20 36 0 2279 -2761 18 1 0 5
13) Tyler Reddick 8 36 0 2250 -2790 29 0 3 3
14) Alex Bowman 48 36 0 2240 -2800 10 4 0 15
15) Aric Almirola 10 36 0 2215 -2825 25 1 0 5
16) Michael McDowell 34 36 0 2152 -2888 63 1 0 5
17) Austin Dillon 3 36 0 935 -4105 1217 0 0 0
18) Matt DiBenedetto 21 36 1 775 -4265 160 0 1 0
19) Chris Buescher 17 36 -1 771 -4269 4 0 2 1
20) Ross Chastain 42 36 0 729 -4311 42 0 0 0
21) Bubba Wallace 23 36 0 699 -4341 30 1 2 6
22) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 36 0 666 -4374 33 0 0 0
23) Chase Briscoe # 14 36 0 655 -4385 11 0 0 0
24) Erik Jones 43 36 0 641 -4399 14 0 0 0
25) Daniel Suarez 99 36 0 634 -4406 7 0 0 0
26) Cole Custer 41 36 0 575 -4465 59 0 0 0
27) * Ryan Preece 37 36 0 557 -4483 18 0 0 0
28) Ryan Newman 6 36 0 546 -4494 11 0 0 0
29) Corey LaJoie 7 35 0 448 -4592 98 0 0 0
30) Anthony Alfredo # 38 36 0 352 -4688 96 0 0 0
31) Quin Houff 00 36 0 176 -4864 176 0 0 0
32) James Davison 20 0 117 -4923 59 0 0 0
33) Jamie Mcmurray 1 0 30 -5010 87 0 0 0
34) Scott Heckert 3 0 26 -5014 4 0 0 0
35) Joey Hand 1 0 10 -5030 16 0 0 0
36) Mike Marlar 1 0 6 -5034 4 0 0 0
37) Chris Windom 1 0 4 -5036 2 0 0 0
38) David Ragan 1 0 4 -5036 0 0 0 0
39) Rc Enerson 1 0 3 -5037 1 0 0 0
40) Shane Golobic 1 0 1 -5039 2 0 0 0
41) Ryan Eversley 1 0 1 -5039 0 0 0 0
42) Derrike Cope 1 0 1 -5039 0 0 0 0
43) A J Allmendinger(i) 5 0 0 -5040 1 1 0 0
44) Justin Haley(i) 77 31 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
45) Kaz Grala(i) 3 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
46) Austin Cindric(i) 7 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
47) BJ McLeod(i) 78 28 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
48) Josh Bilicki(i) 52 36 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
49) Ty Dillon(i) 4 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
50) Joey Gase(i) 53 16 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
51) Harrison Burton(i) 1 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
52) Parker Kligerman(i) 1 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
53) Cody Ware(i) 51 32 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
54) * David Starr(i) 13 7 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
55) Stewart Friesen(i) 1 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
56) Garrett Smithley(i) 15 27 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
57) Landon Cassill(i) 2 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
58) Jj Yeley(i) 8 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
59) Justin Allgaier(i) 2 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
60) Josh Berry(i) 2 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
61) * Timmy Hill(i) 66 13 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
62) Kyle Tilley(i) 3 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
63) Ben Rhodes(i) 1 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
64) Bayley Currey(i) 1 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
65) Chad Finchum(i) 2 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
66) Ryan Ellis(i) 1 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
67) Matt Mills(i) 1 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
68) Andy Lally(i) 1 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
69) Noah Gragson(i) 0 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
70) Drew Herring 0 0 0 -5040 0 0 0 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher
Ron Fleshman with John Davison
RIS NASCAR Editor. Has been with RIS since the middle 90's. Writes on each of the three main series of NASCAR.