# 2021 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard

The 2021 Verizon 200 at the Brickyard was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on August 15, 2021, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the inaugural running of the Verizon 200 on the road course, and officially the 28th edition of NASCAR at the Speedway. Contested over 95 laps—extended from 82 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 2.439-mile (3.925 km) road course, it was the 24th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
This race marked the first time a NASCAR Cup Series race was contested on the infield road course after the 2020 Xfinity Series race was held there the previous year as part of the INDYCAR/NASCAR doubleheader.
A. J. Allmendinger earned his first victory since 2014, as well as his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory, and the race also marked the first career NASCAR Cup Series victory for Kaulig Racing.

## Report
### Background

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana, (an enclave suburb of Indianapolis) in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. It is located on the corner of 16th Street and Georgetown Road, approximately six miles (10 km) west of Downtown Indianapolis.
Constructed in 1909, it is the original speedway, the first racing facility so named. It has a permanent seating capacity estimated at 235,000 with infield seating raising capacity to an approximate 400,000. It is the highest-capacity sports venue in the world.
After running the support races last year on the road course, the Speedway moved the Cup Series feature division to the road course configuration. As a result, the July 4 weekend spot it held was occupied by Road America and the race was moved to mid-August. As was the case during the pandemic-affected 2020 season, the NTT IndyCar Series will race on the Saturday card with the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix. The events were part of four different divisions of racing within a week at the Speedway, with the Bryan Clauson Classic midget car events at the Speedway the next week.
Prior to the race, NASCAR had the rumble strip on turn 6 removed after it caused severe damage to several cars during the first lap of the Xfinity race the day before.

#### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
* (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
| No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 15 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 16 | A. J. Allmendinger (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 33 | Austin Cindric (i) | Team Penske | Ford |
| 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 53 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | Andy Lally (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
| 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## Practice

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 1:29.577 and a speed of 98.021 mph (157.750 km/h).

### Practice results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1:29.577 | 98.021 |
| 2 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:30.067 | 97.487 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:30.106 | 97.445 |
| Official practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

William Byron scored the pole for the race with a time of 1:27.765 and a speed of 100.044 mph (161.005 km/h).
Byron was the only driver in the 1:27 range during the entire event, and the first NASCAR race car to exceed 100 MPH average speed on the road course.

### Qualifying results

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:28.148 | 1:27.765 |
| 2 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1:28.034 | 1:28.191 |
| 3 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:28.318 | 1:28.229 |
| 4 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:27.931 | 1:28.305 |
| 5 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 1:28.327 | 1:28.431 |
| 6 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1:28.148 | 1:28.502 |
| 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 1:28.271 | 1:28.511 |
| 8 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 1:28.144 | 1:28.518 |
| 9 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 1:28.288 | 1:28.562 |
| 10 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1:28.225 | 1:28.562 |
| 11 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1:28.248 | 1:28.596 |
| 12 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1:28.295 | 1:29.302 |
| 13 | 33 | Austin Cindric (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 1:28.359 | — |
| 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1:28.400 | — |
| 15 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 1:28.414 | — |
| 16 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 1:28.591 | — |
| 17 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1:28.727 | — |
| 18 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1:28.762 | — |
| 19 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 1:28.811 | — |
| 20 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 1:28.812 | — |
| 21 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1:28.818 | — |
| 22 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 1:28.970 | — |
| 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 1:29.017 | — |
| 24 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:29.026 | — |
| 25 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1:29.071 | — |
| 26 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:29.074 | — |
| 27 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 1:29.278 | — |
| 28 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:29.318 | — |
| 29 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1:29.410 | — |
| 30 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 1:29.544 | — |
| 31 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 1:29.577 | — |
| 32 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 1:29.639 | — |
| 33 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 1:29.640 | — |
| 34 | 15 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 1:29.976 | — |
| 35 | 78 | Andy Lally (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 1:30.345 | — |
| 36 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 1:31.203 | — |
| 37 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 1:31.656 | — |
| 38 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 1:31.837 | — |
| 39 | 53 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 1:31.865 | — |
| 40 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 1:32.691 | — |
| Official qualifying results |||||||

## Race
### Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 15
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 9 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage Two Laps: 20
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
| 7 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 78 | Andy Lally (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 0 |
| 9 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 47
After finishing third and Hamlin finishing twenty-third, Larson took the lead in the regular-season points standings. Hamlin however was able to officially qualify in the Cup Playoffs based on points.
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 8 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 95 | 0 |
| 2 | 16 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 95 | 35 |
| 3 | 4 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 95 | 36 |
| 4 | 3 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 95 | 35 |
| 5 | 15 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 95 | 38 |
| 6 | 20 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 95 | 31 |
| 7 | 28 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 95 | 37 |
| 8 | 29 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 95 | 0 |
| 9 | 13 | 33 | Austin Cindric (i) | Team Penske | Ford | 95 | 0 |
| 10 | 32 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 95 | 27 |
| 11 | 22 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 95 | 37 |
| 12 | 19 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 95 | 25 |
| 13 | 27 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 95 | 24 |
| 14 | 25 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 95 | 23 |
| 15 | 6 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 95 | 22 |
| 16 | 26 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 95 | 25 |
| 17 | 24 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 95 | 20 |
| 18 | 36 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 95 | 19 |
| 19 | 18 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 95 | 18 |
| 20 | 21 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 95 | 17 |
| 21 | 11 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 95 | 36 |
| 22 | 38 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 95 | 15 |
| 23 | 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 95 | 14 |
| 24 | 31 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 95 | 18 |
| 25 | 10 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 94 | 12 |
| 26 | 2 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 94 | 13 |
| 27 | 40 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 94 | 0 |
| 28 | 39 | 53 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 94 | 0 |
| 29 | 9 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 93 | 8 |
| 30 | 12 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 88 | 16 |
| 31 | 23 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 88 | 23 |
| 32 | 34 | 15 | James Davison | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 80 | 5 |
| 33 | 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 77 | 4 |
| 34 | 7 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 77 | 3 |
| 35 | 30 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 77 | 16 |
| 36 | 17 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 77 | 1 |
| 37 | 5 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 77 | 1 |
| 38 | 33 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 68 | 1 |
| 39 | 35 | 78 | Andy Lally (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 55 | 0 |
| 40 | 37 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 46 | 0 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 13 among 11 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 6 for 25
* Red flags: 2 for 23 minutes and 22 seconds
* Time of race: 3 hours, 20 minutes and 59 seconds
* Average speed: 69.171 miles per hour (111.320 km/h)

## Media
### Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side as part of a Radio Style Broadcast for the race. Rick Allen, and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. MRN broadcaster Mike Bagley called the race from Turn 1, Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call from Turn 7, and Jeff Burton had the call from Turn 12. Dave Burns, Marty Snider, and Kelli Stavast handled the pit road duties from pit lane. Rutledge Wood handled the features from the track.
NBC :
| Booth announcers | Turn Announcers | Pit reporters | Features reporter |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Turn 1 Announcer: Mike Bagley Turn 7 Announcer: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Turn 12 Announcer: Jeff Burton | Dave Burns Marty Snider Kelli Stavast | Rutledge Wood |

### Radio

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network and the Performance Racing Network jointly co-produced the radio broadcast for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, and aired on IMS or PRN stations, depending on contractual obligations. The lead announcers and two pit reporters were PRN staff, while the turns announcers and two pit reporters were from IMS.
PRN/IMS Radio :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Pat Patterson Announcer: Jeff Hammond | Turns 1–4: Nick Yeoman Turns 5–9: Mark Jaynes Turns 10–11: Chris Denari Turns 12–14: Jake Query | Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Ryan Myrehn Michael Young |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Kyle Larson | 953 |
| | 2 | Denny Hamlin | 931 (–22) |
| 1 | 3 | Kyle Busch | 796 (–157) |
| 1 | 4 | William Byron | 790 (–163) |
| 1 | 5 | Chase Elliott | 774 (–179) |
| 1 | 6 | Joey Logano | 763 (–190) |
| | 7 | Martin Truex Jr. | 762 (–191) |
| | 8 | Ryan Blaney | 747 (–206) |
| | 9 | Kevin Harvick | 733 (–220) |
| | 10 | Brad Keselowski | 696 (–257) |
| 1 | 11 | Tyler Reddick | 666 (–287) |
| 1 | 12 | Alex Bowman | 653 (–300) |
| | 13 | Austin Dillon | 638 (–315) |
| | 14 | Kurt Busch | 607 (–346) |
| | 15 | Christopher Bell | 562 (–391) |
| 1 | 16 | Matt DiBenedetto | 521 (–432) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| | Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| | 1 | Chevrolet | 892 |
| 1 | 2 | Ford | 822 (–70) |
| 1 | 3 | Toyota | 813 (–79) |