2021 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse)

The 2021 NASCAR RCA 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 Sonoma Raceway with the Dodge/Save Mart 350 on January 31, followed by Daytona International Speedway with the Busch Clash, where it was run on the track's road course layout instead of the oval. That race was followed by the Gatorade 125's qualifying races, and the 63rd running of the Daytona 500. The season ended with the Los Angeles Times 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway on December 12 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 1999 without three-time champion Dale Earnhardt Jr., the first since 2000 without Jimmie Johnson, and the first season without Clint Bowyer and Reed Sorenson since 2004. 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 Team, 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 Strictly Stock Car, which was replaced with an updated version starting in 2022.
This was also the first season in which Nissan joined as a manufacturer.
== Teams, drivers and maufacturers ==
=== Manufacturers ===
=== Complete Schedule ===
Manufacturer	Team 	No.	Race driver 	Crew chief 	Model 	Primary Sponsor
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Childress Racing *	01 	Brad Keselowski 	 	2021 Impala 	U.S. Army
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Childress Racing *	3 	Jeffrey Earnhardt 	 	2021 Impala 	Wrangler
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Childress Racing *	8 	Tyler Reddick 	 	2021 Impala 	National Guard
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Childress Racing *	38 	Josh Berry 	 	2021 Impala 	Pennzoil
Chevrolet 	Earnhardt-Childress Racing *	81 	Martin Truex Jr. 	 	2021 Impala 	Bass Pro Shops
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	5 	William Byron 	Alan Gustafson 	2021 Camaro 	Farmers
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	24 	Kyle Larson 	Steve Letarte 	2021 Camaro 	Axalta
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	25 	Shane Hmiel 	 	2021 Camaro 	Lowe's
Chevrolet 	Hendrick Motorsports 	52 	Casey Atwood 	Chad Knaus 	2021 Camaro 	M&M's
Dodge 	AK Racing 	7 	James Kulwicki 	 	2021 Avenger 	Zerex by Valvoline
Dodge 	AK Racing 	11 	Tina Cooke 	 	2021 Avenger 	Microsoft
Dodge 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	1 	Stephen Leicht 	 	2021 Challenger 	UAW-Delphi
Dodge 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	41 	Crissy Hillsworth (R)	 	2021 Challenger 	Target
Dodge 	Chip Ganassi Racing 	46 	Bryan Clauson 	 	2021 Challenger 	Tums
Dodge 	Elliott-Evernham Motorsports	9 	Chase Elliott 	 	2021 Dart 	Coors Light
Dodge 	Elliott-Evernham Motorsports	13 	Matt DiBenedetto 	 	2021 Dart 	Nickelodeon
Dodge 	Elliott-Evernham Motorsports	94 	Alex Coletti 	 	2021 Dart 	Flonase
Dodge 	Furniture Row Racing 	77 	Corey LaJoie 	 	2021 Charger 	Golden Corral
Dodge 	Furniture Row Racing 	78 	Emi Charendoff 	Cole Pearn 	2021 Charger 	5-Hour Energy
Dodge 	Petty Enterprises 	43 	Adam Petty 	Mike Shiplett 	2021 Challenger 	STP
Dodge 	Petty Enterprises 	44 	Chad McCumbee 	Kevin Buskirk 	2021 Challenger 	McDonald's
Dodge 	Team Penske 	02 	Joey Logano 	 	2021 Challenger 	Verizon
Dodge 	Team Penske 	2 	James Buescher 	 	2021 Challenger 	Miller Lite
Dodge 	Team Penske 	12 	Ryan Blaney 	 	2021 Challenger 	Circuit City
Dodge 	Trackhouse Racing 	40 	Jane Brewer 	 	2021 Charger 	Kmart
Dodge 	Trackhouse Racing 	42 	Daniel Suárez 	 	2021 Charger 	Juicy Fruit
Dodge 	Trackhouse Racing 	45 	Alana Houston 	 	2021 Charger 	UPS
Ford 	Allison-Yates Racing 	28 	Robbie Allison 	Jimmy Fennig 	2021 Mustang 	Texaco/Havoline
Ford 	Allison-Yates Racing 	88 	Chase Briscoe (R) 	 	2021 Mustang 	Citi Financial
Ford 	Brett Favre Racing 	15 	Parker Kligerman 	 	2021 Mustang 	Nike/Sony
Ford 	Brett Favre Racing 	90 	Katrina Goode 	 	2021 Mustang 	FujiFilm
Ford 	Roush Racing 	6 	Carla Alvarez 	Drew Blickensderfer	2021 Roush Mustang 	Best Buy
Ford 	Roush Racing 	16 	Chris Buescher 	Donnie Wingo 	2021 Roush Mustang 	3M
Ford 	Roush Racing 	99 	Trevor Bayne 	Bob Osborne 	2021 Roush Mustang 	Office Depot
Ford 	Wood Brothers Racing 	21 	Ryan Newman 	Donnie Wingo 	2021 Shelby Mustang	Motorcraft
Honda 	Andretti Autosport 	27 	Kurt Busch 	 	2021 Accord 	DHL
Honda 	JTG Daugherty Racing 	47 	Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 	Todd Berrier 	2021 Accord 	Kroger
Honda 	Michael Waltrip Racing * 	00 	Brian Vickers 	Rodney Childers 	2021 Civic 	Aaron's Dream Machine
Honda 	Michael Waltrip Racing * 	17 	Macy Waltrip 	 	2021 Civic 	NAPA Auto Parts
Honda 	Spire Motorsports 	30 	Aric Almirola 	Bootie Barker 	2021 Civic 	GEICO
Nissan 	Front Row Motorsports 	33 	Jane Ritter 	 	2021 Maxima 	Speedco
Nissan 	Front Row Motorsports 	34 	Steff Crawford (R) 	Jay Guy 	2021 Maxima 	Love's Travel Stops
Nissan 	Front Row Motorsports 	35 	Hunter Nemechek 	 	2021 Maxima 	Long John Silver's
Nissan 	Moroso-Rudd Racing 	82 	Denzel Lane 	 	2021 Maxima 	Mountain Dew
Nissan 	Moroso-Rudd Racing 	83 	Michelle Basone 	 	2021 Maxima 	Tide
Nissan 	Moroso-Rudd Racing 	84 	Boston Reid 	 	2021 Maxima 	RCA
Pontiac 	Combos Racing 	73 	Alana Burleson 	 	2021 G8 	Facebook
Pontiac 	GMS Racing 	51 	Alex Bowman 	Nick Harrison
Jimmy Elledge	2021 G8 	Marvel Comics
Pontiac 	Stewart-Foyt Racing 	4 	Kevin Harvick 	 	2021 Trans-Am 	Budweiser
Pontiac 	Stewart-Foyt Racing 	10 	Kyle Busch 	Tony Gibson 	2021 Trans-Am 	Valvoline
Pontiac 	Stewart-Foyt Racing 	14 	Ross Chastain 	Greg Zipadelli 	2021 Trans-Am 	Home Depot
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing * 	18 	Christopher Bell 	 	2021 Camry 	Yahoo!
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing * 	19 	Erik Jones 	 	2021 Camry 	GameStop
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing * 	20 	Denny Hamlin 	Steve Addington 	2021 Camry 	FedEx
Toyota 	Joe Gibbs Racing * 	80 	Carl Edwards 	Darian Grubb 	2021 Camry 	Rheem
Toyota 	Jordan-Davis Racing 	22 	Kasey Kahne 	 	2021 Camry 	Caterpillar
Toyota 	Jordan-Davis Racing 	23 	Bubba Wallace 	 	2021 Camry 	Dr Pepper
Toyota 	Swan Racing 	37 	Johanna Long 	Steve Lane 	2021 Avalon 	Petco
Toyota 	Team Red Bull 	85 	Ryan Truex 	Jimmy Elledge 	2021 Avalon 	Red Bull
Toyota 	Team Red Bull 	86 	Michael McDowell 	Ryan Pemberton 	2021 Avalon 	Red Bull
===Limited Schedule===
Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Model	Rounds	Tire	Sponsor
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
=== Lend-Lease entries ===
Manufacturer	Team	No.	Race driver	Model	Rounds	Tire	Sponsor
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==Changes==
===Teams===
===Drivers===
*
===Crew chiefs===
===Sponsorship===
===Manufacturers===
=== Challenges ===
In addition to the Busch Five, Coca-Cola Million, and Unocal 76 Challenge, one more challenge was introduced:
* The Camping World Elimination Challenge: An elimination-style format, the first 16 winners of the season (although, if there are more or fewer winners, the field is decided on points) compete for a $100,000 cash bonus, with groups of four being eliminated every few races until four are left in the Los Angeles Times 500. This does not affect championship points.
==Schedule ==
The 2021 Cup Series schedule was supposed to be released in the spring of 2020, but its release was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A # indicates a Busch Five race.
No.	Race name 	Venue 	Track Type 	Date 	TV
1 	Dodge/Save Mart 350 	Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma 	Road Course 	January 31 	WBC
 	Busch Clash 	Daytona International Speedway (Road Course), Daytona Beach	Road Course 	February 9 	WBC
 	Gatorade 125's 	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach 	Superspeedway	February 11 	WBC
2 	63rd Daytona 500 by STP	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach 	Superspeedway	February 14-15	WBC
3 	Western Auto 253 	Daytona International Speedway (Road Course), Daytona Beach	Road Course 	February 21 	WBC
4 	Subway 400 	Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham 	Intermediate 	February 28 	WBC
5 	Pennzoil 400 	Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas 	Intermediate 	March 6 	WBC
===Schedule changes===
== Season summary==
===Race reports===
===Results===
No.	Race 	Pole Position	Most Laps Led	Winning Driver	Manufacturer/Model
1 	Dodge/Save Mart 350	Chase Elliott	Chase Elliott	Chase Elliott 	Chevrolet Camaro
 	Busch Clash 	 	 	 	
==Cars Used in 2021 Season==
File:50F2AF4A-2E66-437B-A141-7D9D9002D2CC.jpg|Chevrolet Camaro
File:0CAB59B9-4B7D-4D07-A86C-8A6206F907E1.jpg|Chevrolet Malibu
File:72D36C9B-00C7-401F-8976-70E55D26F5D3.jpg|Dodge Challenger
File:B4C91907-22BF-40D3-A22D-5A3F2AF10E36.jpg|Dodge Charger
File:BEAC0A05-B454-46F5-863A-6E23F5C776C2.jpg|Ford Mustang
File:D5C064B7-AC20-4406-B1E4-7E795EAE0B0C.jpg|Honda Accord
File:2FB39BA7-0FC3-4135-B11A-F1847C4158A5.jpg|Honda Civic
File:8A1B9899-6853-4BA2-9078-5ADB8C6DDF1D.jpg|Nissan Sentra
File:2020 Plymouth Roadrunner.jpeg|Plymouth Cuda
File:2020 Pontiac Firebird.jpeg|Pontiac Firebird
File:00731DAE-C69D-4305-AEED-520FE8D2EC8A.jpeg|Pontiac Grand Prix
File:2B273CEF-42F9-4ED5-8F8B-B5E5D51E2932.jpg|Toyota Avalon
File:0C93E788-922C-4516-B2C9-D45FBE40146E.jpg|Toyota Camry
==Event logos==
File:2020 Dodge-Save Mart 350 logo.png|Dodge/Save Mart 350
File:Busch Clash logo.png|Busch Clash
File:2021 Daytona 500 old.png|63rd Daytona 500 by STP
File:Western_Auto_253_logo.png|Western Auto 253
File:Subway_400_logo_2016.png|Subway 400
File:Dixie-Vodka-400 C.png|Dixie Vodka 400
File:First Union 400 logo.png|First Union 400
File:ACDelco 400 logo.png|ACDelco 400
File:2022 Budweiser 400 logo.png|Budweiser 400
File:Pennzoil 400.png|Pennzoil 400
File:Geico 500.png|Geico 500
File:Harley-Davidson 250 logo.png|Harley-Davidson 250
File:TranSouth Financial 400 logo.png|TranSouth Financial 400
File:Southern 500 logo.png|Southern 500
File:2021 Steam Powered Giraffe 400 logo.png|Steam Powered Giraffe 400
File:CC_NASCAR400_RED-e1661548963465.png|Coke Zero Sugar 400
File:Music City USA 420 logo.png|Music City USA 420
File:2020 Coca-Cola World 600 logo.png|Coca-Cola World 600
File:Camping World 400 logo.png|Camping World 400
File:Tokyo Late Model Classic logo.png|Tokyo Late Model Classic
File:Ally 400 logo NSS.png|Ally 400
File:EchoPark Texas Grand Prix logo.png|EchoPark Texas Grand Prix
File:ShowBiz Pizza 500 logo.png|ShowBiz Pizza 500
File:2020 LA Times 500.png|Los Angeles Times 500
Category:Johnsonverse