The starting lineup for the 2021 Daytona 500 was determined Thursday night after the Bluegreen Vacation Duel races.
Heading into Thursday’s Bluegreen Vacations Duel races at Daytona International Speedway, we knew the front row for Sunday’s Daytona 500 main event after single-car qualifying Wednesday.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman is on the Busch Pole, his fourth consecutive front-row start in The Great American Race and first driving the No. 48 Chevrolet. His teammate, William Byron, will officially be credited with second-place starting position when the green flag drops Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), although he may need to drop to the back if his team uses a backup car after a Thursday night wreck.
We also knew Thursday’s twin 60-lap races would set the remainder of the running order, as well as the final two spots in the field.
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As a refresher, Duel 1 results set the inside row of the Daytona 500 starting lineup. Duel 2 set the outside row. The 36 Charter teams are guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500 field, and eight Open, non-Charter teams competed for the final four spots via a mix of Duel results and single-car qualifying speeds from earlier in the week.
After the Bluegreen Vacations Duel races, here is the Daytona 500 starting lineup.
* indicates one of the four open teams that made the field.
Starting |
Driver | Team |
1. | Alex Bowman | No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports |
2. | William Byron | No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports |
3. | Aric Almirola | No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing |
4. | Austin Dillon | No. 3 Richard Childress Racing |
5. | Christopher Bell | No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing |
6. | Bubba Wallace | No. 23 23XI Racing |
7. | Ryan Newman | No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing |
8. | Kevin Harvick | No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing |
9. | Joey Logano | No. 22 Team Penske |
10. | Kyle Busch | No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing |
11. | Ryan Preece* | No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing* |
12. | Chase Elliott | No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports |
13 | Kyle Larson | No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports |
14. | Ryan Blaney | No. 12 Team Penske |
15. | Daniel Suarez | No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Team |
16. | Corey LaJoie | No. 7 Spire Motorsports |
17. | Michael McDowell | No. 34 Front Row Motorsports |
18. | David Ragan* | No. 36 Front Row Motorsports* |
19. | Jamie McMurray | No. 77 Spire Motorsports |
20. | Kurt Busch | No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing |
21. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing |
22. | Chris Buescher | No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing |
23. | Matt DiBenedetto | No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing |
24. | Brad Keselowski | No. 2 Team Penske |
25. | Denny Hamlin | No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing |
26. | Martin Truex Jr. | No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing |
27. | Cole Custer | No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing |
28. | Joey Gase | No. 53 Rick Ware Racing |
29. | Tyler Reddick | No. 8 Richard Childress Racing |
30. | Chase Briscoe | No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing |
31. | Erik Jones | No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports |
32. | Derrike Cope | No. 15 Rick Ware Racing |
33. | Quin Houff | No. 00 StarCom Racing |
34. | Ross Chastain | No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing |
35. | Cody Ware | No. 51 Rick Ware Racing |
36. | Anthony Alfredo | No. 38 Front Row Motorsports |
37. | Josh Bilicki | No. 52 Rick Ware Racing |
38. | BJ McLeod | No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports |
39. | Austin Cindric* | No. 33 Team Penske |
40. | Kaz Grala* | No. 16 Kaulig Racing |