# 2021 NASCAR Cup Series

The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series was the 73rd season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 50th season for the modern era Cup Series. The season started at Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, where it was the first year that the non-points event was run on the track's road course layout instead of the oval. That race was followed by the Bluegreen Vacations Duel qualifying races, and the 63rd running of the Daytona 500, the first points race of the season. The regular season also ended at Daytona with the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 on August 28, where Kyle Larson won the Regular Season Championship. Following the 2021 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway on October 31, Chevrolet claimed its 40th Manufacturer's Championship and its first since 2015. The NASCAR playoffs ended with the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 7 with Larson earning his first Cup Series championship after a 10-win season.
The 2021 season represented a new era as several mainstays of the sport were absent. This was the first season since 2000 without seven-time Champion Jimmie Johnson. This was also the first season without Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson since 2004, the former of which joined the NASCAR on Fox booth as a color commentator. This was also the first season for 23XI Racing, co-owned by Joe Gibbs Racing Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin and basketball legend Michael Jordan, and Trackhouse Racing, co-owned by former NASCAR and current sports car racing driver Justin Marks and musician Pitbull. It was also the last season for Chip Ganassi Racing, as Trackhouse purchased the entirety of CGR's NASCAR team for 2022, StarCom Racing, as they ceased operations after 2021, Team Penske crew chief Todd Gordon, who announced his retirement from crew chiefing following the 2021 season, and the Cup Series Generation 6 car, which will be replaced with the Next Gen car starting in 2022; by extension, it was also the final season for the Car of Tomorrow chassis, as the Next Gen car will have a completely-new chassis design. In addition, this was the final season to have races covered by NBCSN, which shut down at the end of the year and had its coverage of NASCAR and all other sporting events taken over by USA Network.

## Teams and drivers
### Chartered teams

| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Driver | Crew chief |
| Chevrolet | Chip Ganassi Racing | 1 | Kurt Busch | Matt McCall |
| Chevrolet | Chip Ganassi Racing | 42 | Ross Chastain | Phil Surgen |
| Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 5 | Kyle Larson | Cliff Daniels |
| Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 9 | Chase Elliott | Alan Gustafson 35 Tom Gray 1 |
| Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 24 | William Byron | Rudy Fugle |
| Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 48 | Alex Bowman | Greg Ives |
| Chevrolet | JTG Daugherty Racing | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Brian Pattie |
| Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Austin Dillon | Justin Alexander |
| Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Randall Burnett 35 Andrew Dickenson 1 |
| Chevrolet | Richard Petty Motorsports | 43 | Erik Jones | Jerry Baxter |
| Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 7 | Corey LaJoie 35 | Ryan Sparks 35 Steve Letarte 1 |
| Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 7 | Josh Berry 1 | Ryan Sparks 35 Steve Letarte 1 |
| Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 77 | Jamie McMurray 1 | Kevin Bellicourt 34 Peter Sospenzo 2 |
| Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 77 | Justin Haley 30 | Kevin Bellicourt 34 Peter Sospenzo 2 |
| Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 77 | Stewart Friesen 1 | Kevin Bellicourt 34 Peter Sospenzo 2 |
| Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 77 | Josh Berry 1 | Kevin Bellicourt 34 Peter Sospenzo 2 |
| Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 77 | Ben Rhodes 1 | Kevin Bellicourt 34 Peter Sospenzo 2 |
| Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 77 | Justin Allgaier 2 | Kevin Bellicourt 34 Peter Sospenzo 2 |
| Chevrolet | StarCom Racing | 00 | Quin Houff | George Church |
| Chevrolet | Trackhouse Racing | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Travis Mack 34 Jose Blasco-Figueroa 2 |
| Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 34 | Michael McDowell | Drew Blickensderfer 35 Jason Sheets 1 |
| Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 38 | Anthony Alfredo (R) | Seth Barbour 34 Derrick Finley 2 |
| Ford | Live Fast Motorsports | 78 | B. J. McLeod 28 | Frank Kerr |
| Ford | Live Fast Motorsports | 78 | Scott Heckert 3 | Frank Kerr |
| Ford | Live Fast Motorsports | 78 | Shane Golobic 1 | Frank Kerr |
| Ford | Live Fast Motorsports | 78 | Kyle Tilley 3 | Frank Kerr |
| Ford | Live Fast Motorsports | 78 | Andy Lally 1 | Frank Kerr |
| Ford | Rick Ware Racing | 52 | Josh Bilicki 35 | Peter Sospenzo 10 Jason Houghtaling 26 |
| Ford | Rick Ware Racing | 52 | Joey Hand 1 | Peter Sospenzo 10 Jason Houghtaling 26 |
| Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | 6 | Ryan Newman | Scott Graves 31 Luke Lambert 5 |
| Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | 17 | Chris Buescher | Luke Lambert 31 Scott Graves 5 |
| Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Rodney Childers 35 Greg Zipadelli 1 |
| Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 10 | Aric Almirola | Mike Bugarewicz |
| Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 14 | Chase Briscoe (R) | Johnny Klausmeier 35 Michael Cook 1 |
| Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 41 | Cole Custer | Mike Shiplett 35 Davin Restivo 1 |
| Ford | Team Penske | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Jeremy Bullins 33 Grant Hutchens 3 |
| Ford | Team Penske | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Todd Gordon |
| Ford | Team Penske | 22 | Joey Logano | Paul Wolfe 35 Jonathan Hassler 1 |
| Ford | Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Greg Erwin 15 Jonathan Hassler 21 |
| Toyota | 23XI Racing | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Mike Wheeler 28 Bootie Barker 8 |
| Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chris Gabehart |
| Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Kyle Busch | Ben Beshore 35 Seth Chavka 1 |
| Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | James Small |
| Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 20 | Christopher Bell | Adam Stevens 35 Chris Sherwood 1 |
| Chevrolet 35 Ford 1 | Petty Ware Racing | 51 | Cody Ware 31 | Mike Hillman Sr. 35 Billy Plourde 1 |
| Chevrolet 35 Ford 1 | Petty Ware Racing | 51 | Garrett Smithley 2 | Mike Hillman Sr. 35 Billy Plourde 1 |
| Chevrolet 35 Ford 1 | Petty Ware Racing | 51 | J. J. Yeley 2 | Mike Hillman Sr. 35 Billy Plourde 1 |
| Chevrolet 35 Ford 1 | Petty Ware Racing | 51 | James Davison 1 | Mike Hillman Sr. 35 Billy Plourde 1 |
| Chevrolet 34 Ford 2 | Rick Ware Racing | 15 | Derrike Cope 1 | Pat Tryson 23 Ken Evans 11 Billy Plourde 2 |
| Chevrolet 34 Ford 2 | Rick Ware Racing | 15 | James Davison 17 | Pat Tryson 23 Ken Evans 11 Billy Plourde 2 |
| Chevrolet 34 Ford 2 | Rick Ware Racing | 15 | Joey Gase 8 | Pat Tryson 23 Ken Evans 11 Billy Plourde 2 |
| Chevrolet 34 Ford 2 | Rick Ware Racing | 15 | Chris Windom 1 | Pat Tryson 23 Ken Evans 11 Billy Plourde 2 |
| Chevrolet 34 Ford 2 | Rick Ware Racing | 15 | J. J. Yeley 1 | Pat Tryson 23 Ken Evans 11 Billy Plourde 2 |
| Chevrolet 34 Ford 2 | Rick Ware Racing | 15 | Bayley Currey 1 | Pat Tryson 23 Ken Evans 11 Billy Plourde 2 |
| Chevrolet 34 Ford 2 | Rick Ware Racing | 15 | R. C. Enerson 1 | Pat Tryson 23 Ken Evans 11 Billy Plourde 2 |
| Chevrolet 34 Ford 2 | Rick Ware Racing | 15 | Garrett Smithley 4 | Pat Tryson 23 Ken Evans 11 Billy Plourde 2 |
| Chevrolet 34 Ford 2 | Rick Ware Racing | 15 | Josh Bilicki 1 | Pat Tryson 23 Ken Evans 11 Billy Plourde 2 |
| Chevrolet 34 Ford 2 | Rick Ware Racing | 15 | Ryan Ellis 1 | Pat Tryson 23 Ken Evans 11 Billy Plourde 2 |
| Ford 8 Chevrolet 28 | Rick Ware Racing | 53 | Joey Gase 8 | Billy Plourde 33 Mike Hillman Sr. 1 Ken Evans 2 |
| Ford 8 Chevrolet 28 | Rick Ware Racing | 53 | Garrett Smithley 21 | Billy Plourde 33 Mike Hillman Sr. 1 Ken Evans 2 |
| Ford 8 Chevrolet 28 | Rick Ware Racing | 53 | J. J. Yeley 4 | Billy Plourde 33 Mike Hillman Sr. 1 Ken Evans 2 |
| Ford 8 Chevrolet 28 | Rick Ware Racing | 53 | Cody Ware 1 | Billy Plourde 33 Mike Hillman Sr. 1 Ken Evans 2 |
| Ford 8 Chevrolet 28 | Rick Ware Racing | 53 | Ryan Eversley 1 | Billy Plourde 33 Mike Hillman Sr. 1 Ken Evans 2 |
| Ford 8 Chevrolet 28 | Rick Ware Racing | 53 | James Davison 1 | Billy Plourde 33 Mike Hillman Sr. 1 Ken Evans 2 |

### Non-chartered teams
#### Complete schedule

| Models | Team | No. | Driver | Crew chief |
| Chevrolet | JTG Daugherty Racing | 37 | Ryan Preece | Trent Owens |

#### Limited schedule

| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Driver | Crew chief | Rounds |
| Chevrolet | Beard Motorsports | 62 | Noah Gragson | Darren Shaw | 1 |
| Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 16 | Kaz Grala | Matt Swiderski | 3 |
| Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Matt Swiderski | 5 |
| Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 16 | Justin Haley | Matt Swiderski | 1 |
| Ford | B. J. McLeod Motorsports | 55 | Matt Mills | Lee Leslie | 1 |
| Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 36 | David Ragan | Derrick Finley | 1 |
| Ford | Team Penske | 33 | Austin Cindric | Miles Stanley | 7 |
| Toyota | Gaunt Brothers Racing | 96 | Ty Dillon | Dave Winston 3 Jacob Canter 5 A. J. Genail 1 | 5 |
| Toyota | Gaunt Brothers Racing | 96 | Harrison Burton | Dave Winston 3 Jacob Canter 5 A. J. Genail 1 | 1 |
| Toyota | Gaunt Brothers Racing | 96 | Landon Cassill | Dave Winston 3 Jacob Canter 5 A. J. Genail 1 | 2 |
| Toyota | Gaunt Brothers Racing | 96 | Parker Kligerman | Dave Winston 3 Jacob Canter 5 A. J. Genail 1 | 1 |
| Ford 2 Toyota 3 | MBM Motorsports | 13 | Garrett Smithley | Mark Hillman 1 Sebastian LaForge 1 Mike Contarino 2 Johnny Roten 1 | 1 |
| Ford 2 Toyota 3 | MBM Motorsports | 13 | David Starr | Mark Hillman 1 Sebastian LaForge 1 Mike Contarino 2 Johnny Roten 1 | 3 |
| Ford 2 Toyota 3 | MBM Motorsports | 13 | Timmy Hill | Mark Hillman 1 Sebastian LaForge 1 Mike Contarino 2 Johnny Roten 1 | 1 |
| Ford 5 Toyota 17 | MBM Motorsports | 66 | Timmy Hill | Clinton Cram 7 Mike Contarino 2 Johnny Roten 13 | 13 |
| Ford 5 Toyota 17 | MBM Motorsports | 66 | Mike Marlar | Clinton Cram 7 Mike Contarino 2 Johnny Roten 13 | 1 |
| Ford 5 Toyota 17 | MBM Motorsports | 66 | David Starr | Clinton Cram 7 Mike Contarino 2 Johnny Roten 13 | 4 |
| Ford 5 Toyota 17 | MBM Motorsports | 66 | Chad Finchum | Clinton Cram 7 Mike Contarino 2 Johnny Roten 13 | 2 |
| Ford 5 Toyota 17 | MBM Motorsports | 66 | J. J. Yeley | Clinton Cram 7 Mike Contarino 2 Johnny Roten 13 | 1 |
| Ford 5 Toyota 17 | MBM Motorsports | 66 | James Davison | Clinton Cram 7 Mike Contarino 2 Johnny Roten 13 | 1 |

#### Notes

* ↑ Entry was fielded in a collaboration with Chip Ganassi Racing.
* ↑ Entry was fielded in a collaboration with Halmar Friesen Racing.
* ↑ Entry was fielded in a collaboration with ThorSport Racing.
* ↑ Entry was fielded in a collaboration with JR Motorsports.
* ↑ Entry was fielded in a collaboration with Matt Wood Racing.
* ↑ Bilicki is running the full season for Rick Ware Racing split between the Nos. 15 and 52.
* ↑ Entry was fielded in a collaboration with Stewart-Haas Racing.
* ↑ The No. 51 car is officially listed on paper as Petty Ware Racing because they have a long-term partnership with Richard Petty Motorsports to use one of the charters they own. However, RPM is not involved with operating or helping this team out at the races in any way.
* ↑ Entry was fielded in a collaboration with StarCom Racing.
* ↑ Entry was fielded in a collaboration with Jonathan Byrd's Racing and Hayward Motorsports.
* 1 2 3 Entries were fielded in a collaboration with Rick Ware Racing.

### Changes
#### Teams

* On July 23, 2020, it was reported that Leavine Family Racing owner Bob Leavine solicited bids for the team due to the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 4, 2020, Leavine confirmed that his team has been sold and would cease operations at the end of the 2020 season. On August 11, 2020, the team's charter was officially sold to Spire Motorsports, which would be used to field a second full-time car in 2021 (which would end up being the No. 7 of Corey LaJoie). With its purchase of Leavine Family Racing's assets, Spire Motorsports will expand into a two-car operation in 2021. On August 24, 2020, the team announced that they would be looking for two full-time drivers for the season.
* On September 1, 2020, it was reported that Germain Racing owner Bob Germain was exploring conversations for a potential sale of the team due to lack of sponsorship, as their contract with primary sponsor GEICO expired at the end of the 2020 season and it was confirmed four days later that they would not return for the 2021 season. Their charter was later put up for bid, and was purchased on September 21, 2020, and as a result, Germain ceased operations at the end of the 2020 season.
* On September 21, 2020, retired NBA player and Charlotte Hornets owner Michael Jordan announced that he and Denny Hamlin would be forming 23XI Racing with Bubba Wallace as the driver after purchasing the charter from Germain Racing, which closed down after the 2020 season.
* On October 7, 2020, Trackhouse Racing, owned by Justin Marks, announced its entry into the Cup Series, fielding one full-time car, the No. 99, for Daniel Suárez in 2021. The team will run Chevrolets in a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing. The team has leased the charter from the No. 77 Spire Motorsports car for this season. On January 15, 2021, it was announced that musician Pitbull would co-own the team with Marks. On May 30, 2021, motivational speaker and philanthropist Tony Robbins hinted at investing in the team.
* On October 8, 2020, it was revealed that Spire Motorsports bought a third charter, which they will use for the No. 77 in 2021 after the team leased the original charter for the No. 77 to Trackhouse for 2021. Upon further reports on December 30, 2020, it was revealed that this third charter for Spire came from JTG Daugherty Racing for the No. 37, which will now be non-chartered in 2021.
* On October 22, 2020, Go Fas Racing owner Archie St. Hilaire announced that the team would scale down to a part-time schedule in 2021. Joe Falk will continue to own half of the team's charter while St. Hilaire transfers his half to Falk's new business partner. The following day, it was announced that B. J. McLeod and Matt Tifft had purchased Go Fas Racing's ownership stake in the charter, and it would be moved from the No. 32 to McLeod's No. 78, meaning that car will run full-time with a charter in 2021. On November 20, 2020, McLeod and Tifft announced the team's name as Live Fast Motorsports, with a technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing.
* On October 28, 2020, Hendrick Motorsports announced that the No. 88 team would be renumbered to the No. 5 in 2021.
* On November 20, 2020, Kaulig Racing announced they would run a partial schedule in 2021, with the intention of entering all superspeedway and road course races and the goal of running full-time in 2022, hoping to purchase a charter by then.
* On December 2, 2020, NY Racing Team teased a potential return to Cup competition after posting the No. 44 with "2021" on their Instagram account, as well as updating their website, which stated that they would attempt to qualify for the 2021 Daytona 500.
* On December 30, 2020, Bob Pockrass reported that Wood Brothers Racing purchased the charter they had leased from Go Fas Racing since 2017.
* On January 5, 2021, team owner John Cohen announced that NYRT will compete full-time as an open team. The team last competed in the series in 2018 with J. J. Yeley running part-time in partnerships with Premium Motorsports and BK Racing as well as one race by themselves in the 2018 Coca-Cola 600.
* On February 3, 2021, MBM Motorsports announced that NASCAR approved its number change from No. 49 to No. 13, which it had requested after the demise of Germain Racing.
* On February 9, 2021, it was revealed through the list of owner points transfers prior to the start of the season that Tommy Baldwin Racing would use the No. 71 if they end up attempting any races in 2021, a number the team previously used in 2019. The team gave their old car number, the No. 7, to Spire Motorsports to use for their new second car with Corey LaJoie.
* On April 6, 2021, Rick Ware Racing announced that the No. 53 driven by Joey Gase would be renumbered to the No. 28 with a Havoline-inspired paint scheme for the spring Talladega race to honor the late Davey Allison. Gase would also drive the No. 28 (renumbered from the No. 17) at the Talladega Xfinity race.
* On April 26, 2021, it was announced that B. J. McLeod Motorsports would return to the Cup Series and field a car, the No. 55, for Matt Mills, one of their full-time Xfinity Series drivers, in the spring race at Kansas. (This entry was not a second car for Live Fast Motorsports, which McLeod also owns).

#### Drivers

* On August 6, 2020, Erik Jones and Joe Gibbs Racing announced that they would mutually part ways at the end of the 2020 season. On October 21, 2020, Jones officially joined Richard Petty Motorsports as the driver of the organization's No. 43 entry.
* On August 21, 2020, Corey LaJoie and Go Fas Racing announced that they would mutually part ways at the end of the 2020 season. On November 12, 2020, Sports Business Journal's Adam Stern reported that LaJoie was a leading candidate for one of the Spire Motorsports teams in 2021. On November 30, 2020, Spire announced that LaJoie would drive the team's new second car, the No. 7, full-time.
* On September 9, 2020, Matt Kenseth mentioned on Sirius XM's Late Shift that he would more than likely not return to the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 team in 2021. On September 21, 2020, Chip Ganassi Racing announced that Ross Chastain would replace Kenseth in 2021.
* On September 10, 2020, Bubba Wallace announced that he would not be back in the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 in 2021. On September 21, 2020, it was made official that he will be the driver of the 23XI Racing No. 23 car.
* On September 15, 2020, Daniel Suárez announced that he would not be back in the Gaunt Brothers Racing No. 96 in 2021. On October 7, 2020, Suárez joined Trackhouse Racing full-time for the 2021 season.
* On October 6, 2020, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Alex Bowman will move from the No. 88 to the No. 48 team in 2021.
* On October 8, 2020, Team Penske announced that Austin Cindric will drive the No. 33 Ford in select Cup Series races while competing full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2021. He would then transition to the Wood Brothers Racing No. 21 team in 2022.
* On October 8, 2020, Clint Bowyer announced he would retire from full-time driving at the end of the 2020 season and work as a NASCAR on Fox commentator in 2021. Chase Briscoe, who previously drove for SHR in the Xfinity Series in their No. 98 car, replaced Bowyer in the No. 14.
* On October 19, 2020, NASCAR reinstated Kyle Larson six months after he was suspended from the sport and fired by Chip Ganassi Racing for using a racial slur during an iRacing event. He will be cleared to resume all NASCAR activities on January 1, 2021. On October 28, 2020, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Larson would drive the No. 5 (renumbered from the No. 88) for the team, replacing Alex Bowman, who moved over to the No. 48 to replace Jimmie Johnson. On July 14, 2021, Larson signed a contract extension with HMS through 2023.
* On November 16, 2020, John Hunter Nemechek announced he would not return to Front Row Motorsports in 2021. On November 23, 2020, it was announced that Nemechek would return to the Camping World Truck Series to drive full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2021.
* On December 19, 2020, MBM Motorsports announced that Timmy Hill, Chad Finchum, and Stephen Leicht (who drives for the team's Xfinity Series program) will return to the team in 2021, with Hill and Finchum attempting to run the 2021 Daytona 500.
* On December 22, 2020, Adam Stern of Sports Business Journal reported that Anthony Alfredo was in talks with Front Row Motorsports to drive the No. 38 in 2021. On January 6, 2021, FRM confirmed that Alfredo will drive the No. 38 for the Rookie of the Year honors.
* On December 23, 2020, Chris Knight of Catchfence reported that JR Motorsports Xfinity Series driver and 2020 Daytona 300 winner Noah Gragson would attempt to qualify for the 2021 Daytona 500 in the No. 62 for Beard Motorsports. Since 2017, Brendan Gaughan, who retired after the 2020 season, drove this car at each of the restrictor plate races (as well as the Daytona Road Course in 2020). The team would officially announce this on January 14, 2021.
* On January 6, 2021, Front Row Motorsports announced that David Ragan would return to the No. 36 for the 2021 Daytona 500.
* On January 13, 2021, Kaulig Racing announced that Kaz Grala would attempt to qualify for the 2021 Daytona 500 for the team in the No. 16. On January 21, 2021, Kaulig announced that A. J. Allmendinger would drive the No. 16 at the Daytona road course, making his first start in the Cup Series since the end of the 2018 season.
* On January 15, 2021, Jim Utter of Motorsport.com reported that Ty Dillon was likely to drive the No. 96 Gaunt Brothers Racing car at the Daytona 500 as well as the Daytona Road Course race the following week. It is unclear if he will run any additional races for the team beyond that. On February 3, 2021, 23XI Racing announced that Dillon would drive the No. 23 at the 2021 Busch Clash, as he was eligible after winning a stage in 2020 while regular driver Bubba Wallace was not. On August 23, 2021, Gaunt Brothers Racing announced that Landon Cassill would drive the No. 96 at the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona and the 2021 YellaWood 500 at Talladega.
* On January 19, 2021, Spire Motorsports announced that Jamie McMurray would drive the No. 77 at the 2021 Daytona 500.
* On January 19, 2021, Rick Ware Racing announced that Derrike Cope would make his final Daytona 500 start in the No. 15.
* On March 15, 2021, MBM Motorsports announced that 2018 World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Mike Marlar, who drove for the team in the Xfinity Series at Richmond in September 2019, would make his Cup Series debut in the Bristol dirt race for the team in the No. 66.
* On March 16, 2021, Spire Motorsports announced that full-time Truck Series driver and accomplished dirt racer Stewart Friesen would make his Cup Series debut in their No. 77 in the Bristol dirt race. Although Friesen's Truck team, Halmar Friesen Racing, is a factory-backed Toyota team, Friesen competed for Spire, a Chevrolet team, in this one race.
* On April 13, 2021, Rick Ware Racing announced that longtime Truck Series driver Jennifer Jo Cobb would make her Cup debut in the spring race at Talladega in their No. 15. She becomes the first female driver to compete in the Cup Series since Danica Patrick retired after the 2018 Daytona 500. Cobb has competed for RWR in the past in select Xfinity races in 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2016. However, on April 19, 2021, NASCAR announced that Cobb would not be approved to compete in the race, due to lack of prior Cup experience and the lack of practice and qualifying. A similar situation happened with James Davison and Keith McGee, who were not approved for the 2020 Cup and Truck races at Talladega, respectively. J. J. Yeley would replace Cobb in the RWR No. 15 in the race.
* On April 15, 2021, it was announced that Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series driver Harrison Burton, the son of retired driver and current NASCAR on NBC color commentator Jeff Burton, would make his Cup Series debut in the Gaunt Brothers Racing No. 96 in the spring race at Talladega. He would become the first driver born in the 2000s decade and the 21st century to run a Cup Series race.
* On May 14, 2021, Spire Motorsports announced that Josh Berry would drive the No. 77 at Dover as a substitute for Justin Haley, who was sidelined in accordance with team and COVID-19 protocols. This was his Cup Series debut. On June 27, 2021, Justin Allgaier substituted for Haley in the second race of the Cup Series doubleheader at Pocono after Haley had to recover from a hard crash in the Xfinity race earlier in the same day. This was the third time that Allgaier was called on as a last minute substitute replacement driver, after filling in for Michael Annett in the 2016 Bristol Night Race and Jimmie Johnson in the 2020 Brickyard 400.
* On August 19, 2021, Spire Motorsports announced that Josh Berry would drive the No. 7 at Michigan as a substitute for Corey LaJoie, who was sidelined in accordance with team and COVID-19 protocols.
* On September 10, 2021, Rick Ware Racing announced that Garrett Smithley would drive the No. 51 at the Richmond playoff race as a substitute for Cody Ware, who was sidelined with carbon monoxide poisoning following the 2021 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington.
* On October 5, 2021, Rick Ware Racing announced that sports car racing driver Joey Hand would make his NASCAR and Cup Series debut in the No. 52 at the Charlotte Roval, and his entry would be fielded in a partnership with Stewart-Haas Racing. The normal driver of the No. 52, Josh Bilicki, instead drove RWR's No. 15 car in this race.
* On October 18, 2021, Gaunt Brothers Racing announced that Parker Kligerman would drive the No. 96 at Kansas. He would also serve as an in-race analyst for NASCAR on NBC during the race.

#### Crew chiefs

* On September 29, 2020, it was announced that the crew chiefing career of Hendrick Motorsports' seven-time championship winning crew chief Chad Knaus would end after the 2020 season, as he would be promoted to Vice President of Competition for the team starting in 2021. On October 26, 2020, it was announced that Knaus' replacement on the No. 24 car of William Byron will be Rudy Fugle, a decorated Truck Series crew chief for Kyle Busch Motorsports, who worked with Byron in 2016, winning seven races together. Fugle has won 28 races, two drivers' championships and five owners' championships with KBM.
* On October 6, 2020, Hendrick Motorsports announced that crew chief Greg Ives will join Alex Bowman in moving from the No. 88 to the No. 48 team in 2021.
* On October 28, 2020, Cliff Daniels, formerly the crew chief for Jimmie Johnson on the No. 48, was announced to be crew chief for Kyle Larson in Hendrick Motorsports' No. 5 (formerly No. 88) car, switching teams with Ives.
* On October 30, 2020, 23XI Racing announced that Mike Wheeler would be the crew chief of the No. 23 with Bubba Wallace in 2021. On September 16, 2020, Bootie Barker was named crew chief for the remainder of the season after Wheeler was promoted to Director of Competition.
* On November 13, 2020, Trackhouse Racing announced that Travis Mack will be the crew chief for Daniel Suárez in the No. 99. Mack previously served as crew chief for Michael Annett in the JR Motorsports No. 1 team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series from 2019 to 2020.
* On November 17, 2020, Joe Gibbs Racing announced changes to their crew chief lineup in 2021.
** Adam Stevens, previously the crew chief of Kyle Busch's No. 18, moved to the No. 20 JGR Cup team, now driven by Christopher Bell, replacing Chris Gayle.
** Chris Gayle became the crew chief of JGR's No. 54 team in the Xfinity Series, replacing Jacob Canter, JGR's test team manager.
** Jason Ratcliff, previously the crew chief of the JGR-aligned No. 95 Leavine Family Racing team, which has closed down, moved back to the Xfinity Series to become the crew chief of the No. 20 of Harrison Burton, replacing Ben Beshore.
** Ben Beshore moved up to the Cup Series and replaced Stevens as the crew chief of the No. 18 of Kyle Busch.
* On December 10, 2020, Spire Motorsports announced their 2021 crew chief lineup.
** Ryan Sparks will be the crew chief for Corey LaJoie's No. 7, after previously working with LaJoie at Go Fas Racing in 2020. On February 24, 2021, it was announced that Steve Letarte would fill in for Sparks at Homestead due to COVID-19 protocols.
** Kevin Bellicourt, previously the crew chief for Derek Kraus at McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in the Truck Series, will be the No. 77 crew chief, replacing Peter Sospenzo.
* On January 20, 2021, Team Penske announced that Ryan Blaney's engineer on the No. 12 car, Miles Stanley, would be the crew chief for their new part-time No. 33 car with Austin Cindric.
* On January 27, 2021, Kaulig Racing announced that Matt Swiderski, who was previously the crew chief for Team Penske's part-time No. 12 car in the Xfinity Series, would serve as crew chief for their part-time Cup Series No. 16 car.
* On January 28, 2021, it was announced that Frank Kerr would be the crew chief for the No. 78 of B. J. McLeod and his Live Fast Motorsports team in 2021. In 2020, Kerr spent part of the season with Niece Motorsports and part of the season with Martins Motorsports. The last time he was a Cup Series crew chief was in 2018 when he crew chiefed the TriStar Motorsports No. 72 of Corey LaJoie and Cole Whitt.
* On June 8, 2021, Wood Brothers Racing announced that Jonathan Hassler would replace Greg Erwin as the permanent crew chief of the team's No. 21, driven by Matt DiBenedetto. Hassler was previously an engineer with Team Penske, which WBR has an alliance with, and the team's interim crew chief at Martinsville when Erwin was suspended. It is unclear why Erwin was replaced and what his future plans are.
* On October 3, 2021, it was announced that Roush Fenway Racing crew chiefs Scott Graves and Luke Lambert will be switching teams, with Graves moving from the No. 6 of Ryan Newman to the No. 17 of Chris Buescher and Lambert moving from Buescher's No. 17 to Newman's No. 6. This change will take effect starting with the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte.

#### Interim crew chiefs

* On February 24, 2021, Spire Motorsports announced that Ryan Sparks, the crew chief of their No. 7 car of Corey LaJoie, would be unable to crew chief the car at Homestead-Miami due to being in quarantine after exposure to someone with COVID-19. NASCAR on NBC color commentator Steve Letarte, a retired crew chief who Spire had recently hired as a consultant, returned atop the pit box for the first time since 2014. Because the race was being broadcast by Fox, Letarte did not need to be in the booth for it and was available to crew chief the car for this one race.
* On March 8, 2021, it was revealed through the release of the entry list for the race at Phoenix in March that Davin Restivo would be the interim crew chief for Cole Custer's No. 41 for Stewart-Haas Racing in that race. Mike Shiplett, Custer's crew chief, was suspended for one race after the No. 41 had two loose lug nuts following the previous week's race at Homestead-Miami. Restivo is the car's engineer.
* On March 16, 2021, NASCAR announced that Brad Keselowski's crew chief Jeremy Bullins, and Daniel Suárez's crew chief Travis Mack, would both be suspended for the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta. Both cars had two loose lug nuts following the previous week's race at Phoenix. The engineers for both teams, Grant Hutchens (for Keselowski's Penske No. 2) and Jose Blasco-Figueroa (for Suárez's Trackhouse No. 99), would become the interim crew chiefs for those teams in the race at Atlanta in March. In addition, Suárez and Blasco-Figueroa made history as the first Hispanic driver-crew chief combination in Cup Series history after working together in this race.
* On April 8, 2021, Wood Brothers Racing announced that Greg Erwin, the crew chief of the No. 21 of Matt DiBenedetto, would be unable to crew chief the car at Martinsville in April after testing positive for COVID-19. Jonathan Hassler, an engineer for Team Penske, would serve as the team's interim crew chief in the race.
* On April 10, 2021, NASCAR announced that Travis Mack, the crew chief of the No. 99 of Daniel Suárez for Trackhouse, would be suspended again, this time due to the car having an improperly attached ballast prior to the race at Martinsville in April. As a result, Jose Blasco-Figueroa would return as the team's interim crew chief that weekend.
* On May 6, 2021, it was reported that Grant Hutchens would return as Brad Keselowski's interim crew chief for the 2021 Goodyear 400 at Darlington and the 2021 Drydene 400 at Dover. Jeremy Bullins had to skip both races due to COVID-19 protocols.
* On May 10, 2021, NASCAR announced that Joey Logano's crew chief Paul Wolfe would be suspended for the 2021 Drydene 400 at Dover after the No. 22 had two loose lug nuts following the previous week's race at Darlington. Team Penske engineer Jonathan Hassler served as the team's interim crew chief in the race.
* On May 30, 2021, NASCAR announced that Kevin Bellicourt, the crew chief of the No. 77 for Spire Motorsports, would be suspended for the 2021 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma after the car had two loose lug nuts following the previous week's race, the 2021 Coca-Cola 600. Peter Sospenzo, who Bellicourt replaced as the crew chief of the No. 77 in 2021, was announced as the interim crew chief for the race. Sospenzo also was the crew chief for Spire in the team's upset win at Daytona in July 2019 with Justin Haley. On September 11, 2021, Bellicourt was once again suspended for the Bristol night race after the car had two loose lug nuts following the race at Richmond.
* On June 6, 2021, NASCAR announced that Front Row Motorsports crew chief Seth Barbour would be suspended for the race at Sonoma due to his No. 38 car, driven by Anthony Alfredo, failing pre-race inspection. The interim crew chief was Derrick Finley, FRM's competition director. On August 28, 2021, Barbour and Drew Blickensderfer, the crew chief for the No. 34 of Michael McDowell (the other FRM car), were suspended for the race at Daytona after their cars failed pre-race inspection. Jason Sheets, the car chief for the No. 34, would serve as the interim crew chief for McDowell's No. 34 while Finley returned to crew chief Alfredo's No. 38 as he did at Sonoma.
* On June 13, 2021, NASCAR announced that Chip Ganassi Racing crew chief Phil Surgen would be suspended for the All-Star race weekend due to his No. 42 car, driven by Ross Chastain, failing pre-race inspection. The interim crew chief was Tony Lunders, CGR's competition director.
* On July 4, 2021, NASCAR announced that Chase Briscoe's crew chief Johnny Klausmeier would be suspended for the race at Atlanta that month after the No. 14 had two loose lug nuts following the race at Road America. Michael Cook, Briscoe's engineer, served as his interim crew chief for that race.
* On August 8, 2021, Chase Elliott's No. 9 and Christopher Bell's No. 20 were given L1 penalties for rear window air deflector issues in pre-race inspection before the race at Watkins Glen. As a result, their crew chiefs, Alan Gustafson and Adam Stevens, respectively, were suspended. The interim crew chiefs were Elliott's engineer, Tom Gray, and Bell's car chief, Chris Sherwood. On October 24, 2021, Stevens was once again suspended for the Martinsville playoff race after the No. 20 had two loose lug nuts following the Kansas playoff race.
* On September 26, 2021, NASCAR announced that Kevin Harvick's crew chief Rodney Childers would be suspended for the Talladega playoff race after the No. 4 had two loose lug nuts following the race at Las Vegas. Greg Zipadelli would serve as Harvick's crew chief for the race.
* On October 10, 2021, NASCAR announced that Kyle Busch's crew chief Ben Beshore would be suspended for the Texas race after the No. 18 had two loose lug nuts following the race at the Charlotte Roval.
* On November 4, 2021, Richard Childress Racing announced that Tyler Reddick's crew chief Randall Burnett would miss the 2021 Season Finale 500 at Phoenix due to COVID-19 protocols and would be replaced by team engineer Andrew Dickenson for the race.

#### Manufacturers

* On October 1, 2020, Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing announced that they would form a joint venture to establish a common engine specification for Chevrolet teams starting in 2021.
* On October 30, 2020, 23XI Racing revealed that they would run Toyotas in a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing.

#### Sponsorship

* On September 5, 2020, it was revealed that GEICO would not return to sponsor the Germain Racing No. 13 team in 2021, although they would remain a premier partner of the NASCAR Cup Series.
* On October 20, 2020, HighPoint Technology was announced to join Chase Briscoe in moving from Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 98 Xfinity Series car to their No. 14 Cup Series car in 2021.
* On December 2, 2020, Biohaven Pharmaceuticals announced their Nurtec ODT brand would be the primary sponsor of the Rick Ware Racing No. 51 team for the entire 2021 season.
* On December 10, 2020, Keen Parts/CorvetteParts.net announced that they would sponsor the Live Fast Motorsports No. 78 team in 2021. The online Chevrolet Corvette parts store previously sponsored Go Fas Racing from 2016 to 2020.
* On December 14, 2020, 23XI Racing announced that DoorDash, McDonald's, Columbia Sportswear, Dr Pepper, and Root Insurance Company would be the sponsors of Bubba Wallace's No. 23 car in 2021. This is Dr. Pepper's first sponsorship in NASCAR since their sponsorship of the former No. 23 BK Racing car. The other four companies moved over with Wallace from Richard Petty Motorsports. Also, with Dr. Pepper being a competitor to Coca-Cola, Bubba Wallace will also no longer be a Coca-Cola Racing Family driver.
* On December 15, 2020, it was announced that Llumar would switch teams at Hendrick Motorsports and would now sponsor Chase Elliott's No. 9 (at Circuit of the Americas as well as the Busch Clash). The window film company had previously sponsored Alex Bowman's No. 88 car for the last two seasons. Llumar replaced Mountain Dew as a sponsor for Elliott, as their contract with Hendrick Motorsports expired after the 2020 season and parent company PepsiCo did not renew it. This ended PepsiCo's 24-year sponsorship of Hendrick (dating back to 1997), which included Pepsi's sponsorship of Jeff Gordon, AMP Energy's sponsorship of Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Mountain Dew's sponsorship of Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, and Elliott. On January 12, 2021, HMS announced that energy drink Adrenaline Shoc, which is distributed in the U.S. by Keurig Dr Pepper, would join the No. 9 in 2021 as a primary sponsor for two races and an associate sponsor for the rest of the season.
* On December 16, 2020, Rheem was announced to join Christopher Bell in moving from the closed No. 95 Leavine Family Racing car to the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 car in 2021.
* On December 23, 2020, it was revealed that RoofClaim.com, which was the primary sponsor of the No. 66 of Timmy Hill for MBM Motorsports, would not return to the team in 2021 due to lack of airtime on the TV broadcasts and the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in the lack of exposure with fans at the track. On March 4, 2021, it was announced that Diamondback Land Surveying would sponsor the car in several races.
* On January 19, 2021, Dixie Vodka was announced as the sponsor of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 of Cole Custer for two races.
* On January 19, 2021, Bass Pro Shops and Black Rifle Coffee Company were announced as the sponsors of the Gaunt Brothers Racing No. 96 at the Daytona 500, driven by Ty Dillon, who Bass Pro Shops has sponsored numerous times in the past. On April 15, DEX Imaging was announced as the primary sponsor of the No. 96 driven by Harrison Burton at Talladega.
* On January 20, 2021, it was announced that Schlüter Systems would be the primary sponsor for seven races on Corey LaJoie's No. 7 for Spire Motorsports. The company moves over with LaJoie from Go Fas Racing. They had also sponsored him at BK Racing. On January 26, 2021, Youtheory Ashwagandha dietary supplement, which sponsored LaJoie at JGL Racing in the Xfinity Series in 2016, was announced as his sponsor for the Daytona 500.
* On January 28, 2021, NationsGuard, a subsidiary of the Hendrick Automotive Group, was announced as the primary sponsor of Kyle Larson's No. 5 for the first three races of the season (the Daytona 500, the Daytona Road Course, and Homestead). On February 4, 2021, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Cincinnati Inc. and Freightliner Trucks would each have two races of primary sponsorship on the No. 5, marking Larson's first outside sponsorship since returning from his suspension. On February 8, 2021, HendrickCars.com was announced as the primary sponsor for select races starting with the spring Las Vegas race. On May 24, 2021, MetroTech Automotive was announced as the primary sponsor of the No. 5 at the 2021 Coca-Cola 600.
* On January 28, 2021, Molson Coors Beverage Company announced its brand switch from Miller Lite to Keystone Light as a sponsor of the Team Penske No. 2 of Brad Keselowski in 2021. Just as they did in 2020, they will only be the primary sponsor of the car at the 2021 Coca-Cola 600.
* On February 8, 2021, Offerpad was announced as the primary sponsor of the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 for two races in 2021.
* On February 19, 2021, Richard Petty Motorsports announced Tide and Food City as the sponsors of the No. 43 for the Bristol Dirt Race. On February 22, 2021, it was revealed that World Wide Technology ended its sponsorship deal with RPM.
* On May 20, 2021, StarCom Racing and Mane 'N Tail announced a partnership with DreamWorks Animation to promote the film Spirit Untamed at the 2021 EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas.
* On August 24, 2021, Stewart-Haas Racing announced that Subway would partner with Kevin Harvick, becoming the No. 4's primary sponsor at Bristol and Las Vegas and associate sponsor for the rest of 2021.
* On September 21, 2021, Roush Fenway Racing announced that Violet Defense will sponsor both Ryan Newman and Chris Buescher for a combined four races in 2021. This was part of a multi-year deal that will last through 2023.

## Rule changes

* Following Joey Logano's flip in the spring race at Talladega, NASCAR mandated that an optional extra bar in the roll cage be mandatory at Daytona and Talladega. In addition, the tapered spacer was reduced decreasing horsepower from 520 to 470. The spoiler for the two tracks was also changed, removing the wickerbill on the top edge to reduce drag and lessen the draft.
* The color of the windshield banners and spoilers for playoff drivers' cars will be yellow for the first time since 2016, which was the last year that Sprint (one of their logo colors is yellow) was the title sponsor of the series. They were green from 2017 to 2019, which were the years that Monster Energy (one of their logo colors is green) was the series title sponsor. In 2020, there was no color change to the windshield banners for the playoff drivers, and instead the word "playoffs" replaced the series logo on the front windshield banner.

## Schedule

The 2021 schedule was released on September 30, 2020.
| No | Race title | Track | Location | Date |
| | Busch Clash | R Daytona International Speedway (Road Course) | Daytona Beach, Florida | February 9 |
| | Bluegreen Vacations Duel | O Daytona International Speedway | Daytona Beach, Florida | February 11 |
| 1 | Daytona 500 | O Daytona International Speedway | Daytona Beach, Florida | February 14–15 |
| 2 | O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 | R Daytona International Speedway (Road Course) | Daytona Beach, Florida | February 21 |
| 3 | Dixie Vodka 400 | O Homestead–Miami Speedway | Homestead, Florida | February 28 |
| 4 | Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube | O Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Las Vegas | March 7 |
| 5 | Instacart 500 | O Phoenix Raceway | Avondale, Arizona | March 14 |
| 6 | Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 | O Atlanta Motor Speedway | Hampton, Georgia | March 21 |
| 7 | Food City Dirt Race | D Bristol Motor Speedway (Dirt) | Bristol, Tennessee | March 29 |
| 8 | Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 | O Martinsville Speedway | Ridgeway, Virginia | April 10–11 |
| 9 | Toyota Owners 400 | O Richmond Raceway | Richmond, Virginia | April 18 |
| 10 | GEICO 500 | O Talladega Superspeedway | Lincoln, Alabama | April 25 |
| 11 | Buschy McBusch Race 400 | O Kansas Speedway | Kansas City, Kansas | May 2 |
| 12 | Goodyear 400 | O Darlington Raceway | Darlington, South Carolina | May 9 |
| 13 | Drydene 400 | O Dover International Speedway | Dover, Delaware | May 16 |
| 14 | EchoPark Texas Grand Prix | R Circuit of the Americas | Austin, Texas | May 23 |
| 15 | Coca-Cola 600 | O Charlotte Motor Speedway | Concord, North Carolina | May 30 |
| 16 | Toyota/Save Mart 350 | R Sonoma Raceway | Sonoma, California | June 6 |
| | NASCAR All Star Open | O Texas Motor Speedway | Fort Worth, Texas | June 13 |
| | NASCAR All-Star Race | O Texas Motor Speedway | Fort Worth, Texas | June 13 |
| 17 | Ally 400 | O Nashville Superspeedway | Lebanon, Tennessee | June 20 |
| 18 | Pocono Organics CBD 325 | O Pocono Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania | June 26 |
| 19 | Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 | O Pocono Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania | June 27 |
| 20 | Jockey Made in America 250 | R Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin | July 4 |
| 21 | Quaker State 400 | O Atlanta Motor Speedway | Hampton, Georgia | July 11 |
| 22 | Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 | O New Hampshire Motor Speedway | Loudon, New Hampshire | July 18 |
| 23 | Go Bowling at The Glen | R Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, New York | August 8 |
| 24 | Verizon 200 at the Brickyard | R Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Road Course) | Speedway, Indiana | August 15 |
| 25 | FireKeepers Casino 400 | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan | August 22 |
| 26 | Coke Zero Sugar 400 | O Daytona International Speedway | Daytona Beach, Florida | August 28 |
| NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs |||||
| Round of 16 |||||
| 27 | Cook Out Southern 500 | O Darlington Raceway | Darlington, South Carolina | September 5 |
| 28 | Federated Auto Parts 400 | O Richmond Raceway | Richmond, Virginia | September 11 |
| 29 | Bass Pro Shops Night Race | O Bristol Motor Speedway | Bristol, Tennessee | September 18 |
| Round of 12 |||||
| 30 | South Point 400 | O Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Las Vegas | September 26 |
| 31 | YellaWood 500 | O Talladega Superspeedway | Lincoln, Alabama | October 4 |
| 32 | Bank of America Roval 400 | R Charlotte Motor Speedway (Roval) | Concord, North Carolina | October 10 |
| Round of 8 |||||
| 33 | Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 | O Texas Motor Speedway | Fort Worth, Texas | October 17 |
| 34 | Hollywood Casino 400 | O Kansas Speedway | Kansas City, Kansas | October 24 |
| 35 | Xfinity 500 | O Martinsville Speedway | Ridgeway, Virginia | October 31 |
| Championship 4 |||||
| 36 | NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race | O Phoenix Raceway | Avondale, Arizona | November 7 |