# 2021 Xfinity 500

The 2021 Xfinity 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on October 31, 2021, at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Contested over 501 laps—extended from 500 laps due to an overtime finish, on the .526 mile (.847 km) short track, it was the 35th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, the ninth race of the Playoffs, and final race of the Round of 8. Alex Bowman moved Denny Hamlin during the closing laps to earn his fourth win in 2021, as well as his sixth overall.

## Report
### Background

Martinsville Speedway is an International Speedway Corporation-owned NASCAR stock car racing track located in Henry County, in Ridgeway, Virginia, just to the south of Martinsville. At 0.526 miles (0.847 km) in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track is also one of the first paved oval tracks in NASCAR, being built in 1947 by H. Clay Earles. It is also the only race track that has been on the NASCAR circuit from its beginning in 1948. Along with this, Martinsville is the only NASCAR oval track on the entire NASCAR track circuit to have asphalt surfaces on the straightaways, then concrete to cover the turns.

#### 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 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware 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 |
| 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 (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 53 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
| 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet |
| Official entry list ||||

## Qualifying

Kyle Larson was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula. This was the final round that it was scheduled, but NASCAR made a change at Bristol in March when the formula was used when rain cancelled qualifying.

### Starting Lineup

| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
| 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford |
| 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford |
| 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
| 9 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 10 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 11 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 12 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
| 13 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 14 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 15 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 16 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet |
| 17 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
| 18 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
| 19 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 20 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet |
| 21 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford |
| 22 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 23 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 24 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford |
| 25 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 26 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet |
| 27 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford |
| 28 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 29 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 30 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford |
| 31 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 32 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford |
| 33 | 52 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford |
| 34 | 53 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 35 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
| 36 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet |
| 37 | 15 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet |
| 38 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota |
| Official starting lineup |||||

## Race
### Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 130
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 8 |
| 4 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 1 |
| Official stage one results ||||||
Stage Two Laps: 130
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 10 |
| 2 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results ||||||

### Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 240
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
| 1 | 13 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 501 | 52 |
| 2 | 7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 501 | 42 |
| 3 | 6 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Ford | 501 | 43 |
| 4 | 4 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 501 | 48 |
| 5 | 11 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 501 | 47 |
| 6 | 23 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 501 | 37 |
| 7 | 10 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 501 | 31 |
| 8 | 28 | 43 | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Chevrolet | 501 | 29 |
| 9 | 15 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 501 | 28 |
| 10 | 5 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 501 | 29 |
| 11 | 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 501 | 26 |
| 12 | 9 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 501 | 25 |
| 13 | 14 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 501 | 28 |
| 14 | 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 501 | 32 |
| 15 | 21 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 501 | 22 |
| 16 | 2 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 501 | 41 |
| 17 | 12 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 501 | 24 |
| 18 | 18 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 501 | 19 |
| 19 | 25 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 501 | 18 |
| 20 | 32 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 501 | 17 |
| 21 | 29 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 501 | 16 |
| 22 | 22 | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 501 | 15 |
| 23 | 24 | 41 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 501 | 14 |
| 24 | 3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 501 | 19 |
| 25 | 17 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 501 | 12 |
| 26 | 19 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 499 | 11 |
| 27 | 16 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | Chevrolet | 498 | 10 |
| 28 | 20 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 498 | 9 |
| 29 | 30 | 78 | B. J. McLeod (i) | Live Fast Motorsports | Ford | 496 | 0 |
| 30 | 31 | 51 | Cody Ware (i) | Petty Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 495 | 0 |
| 31 | 35 | 77 | Justin Haley (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 492 | 0 |
| 32 | 27 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Ford | 491 | 5 |
| 33 | 37 | 15 | Garrett Smithley (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 490 | 0 |
| 34 | 36 | 00 | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | Chevrolet | 483 | 3 |
| 35 | 33 | 52 | Josh Bilicki (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 483 | 0 |
| 36 | 26 | 37 | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 414 | 1 |
| 37 | 38 | 66 | Timmy Hill (i) | MBM Motorsports | Toyota | 206 | 0 |
| 38 | 34 | 53 | Joey Gase (i) | Rick Ware Racing | Chevrolet | 10 | 0 |
| Official race results ||||||||

### Race statistics

* Lead changes: 15 among 7 different drivers
* Cautions/Laps: 15 for 91
* Red flags: 0
* Time of race: 3 hours, 42 minutes and 48 seconds
* Average speed: 70.968 miles per hour (114.212 km/h)

## Media
### Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, 1997 race winner Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and 2014 race winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Dillon Welch handled the pit road duties from pit lane. Rutledge Wood handled the features from the track.
NBC :
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters | Features reporter |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte Color-commentator: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dave Burns Parker Kligerman Marty Snider Dillon Welch | Rutledge Wood |

### Radio

MRN covered the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden, Jeff Striegle and 7 time Martinsville winner Rusty Wallace had the call for MRN when the field raced down the front straightaway. Dave Moody covered the action for MRN when the field raced down the backstraightway into turn 3. Steve Post and Kim Coon covered the action for MRN from pit lane.
MRN :
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Alex Hayden Announcer: Jeff Striegle Announcer: Rusty Wallace | Backstretch: Dave Moody | Steve Post Kim Coon |

## Standings after the race

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Kyle Larson | 5,000 |
| | 2 | Chase Elliott | 5,000 (–0) |
| 3 | 3 | Martin Truex Jr. | 5,000 (–0) |
| 1 | 4 | Denny Hamlin | 5,000 (–0) |
| 2 | 5 | Brad Keselowski | 2,323 (–2,677) |
| 3 | 6 | Kevin Harvick | 2,318 (–2,682) |
| 2 | 7 | Ryan Blaney | 2,308 (–2,692) |
| | 8 | Joey Logano | 2,308 (–2,692) |
| 5 | 9 | Kyle Busch | 2,285 (–2,715) |
| 1 | 10 | William Byron | 2,280 (–2,720) |
| 1 | 11 | Kurt Busch | 2,274 (–2,726) |
| | 12 | Christopher Bell | 2,251 (–2,749) |
| | 13 | Tyler Reddick | 2,232 (–2,768) |
| | 14 | Alex Bowman | 2,221 (–2,779) |
| | 15 | Aric Almirola | 2,184 (–2,816) |
| | 16 | Michael McDowell | 2,139 (–2,861) |
| Official driver's standings ||||
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1 | Chevrolet | 1,296 |
| 2 | Toyota | 1,204 (–92) |
| 3 | Ford | 1,203 (–93) |