Cup - 2021 - DAYTONA 500

Date: 2021-02-14 | Track: Daytona International Speedway

Previous Next

Three ways to measure this race

Official winner TLS leader Best ARP
Driver Michael McDowell (#34) Kyle Busch (#18) Aric Almirola (#10)
Finish P1 P14 P34
TLS points 5460 7183 538
ARP 13.84 5.08 2.57
Laps led 1 0 0

Three different ways to measure a race — and they often point to different drivers.

Official winner — Michael McDowell (#34): where the car was at the checkered flag (P1). Led 1 laps with 13.84 average running position and 5,460 TLS points.

TLS leader — Kyle Busch (#18): most position-weighted points across every scored lap (7,183 points). Finished P14 with 0 laps led and 5.08 ARP. TLS rewards running up front all afternoon, not only the final lap.

Best ARP — Aric Almirola (#10): lowest average running position (2.57). Finished P34 with 538 TLS points and 0 laps led. ARP is an average across all laps — a driver can run near the front all day yet score fewer TLS points if they led fewer laps, completed fewer laps, or lost ground late while keeping a strong average.

The checkered flag reflects who survived the final seconds. TLS reflects where drivers ran across the whole race. ARP tells you the typical running spot — but not who banked the most valuable laps.

Finish Position Points Position Driver Car Number Manufacturer Team Start Position Laps Led ARP Points
1 14 Michael McDowell 34 Ford Front Row Motorsports 17 1 13.84 5460
2 6 Chase Elliott 9 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 12 3 8.16 6600
3 4 Austin Dillon 3 Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 4 7 6.10 7015
4 2 Kevin Harvick 4 Ford Stewart-Haas Racing 8 17 6.00 7034
5 3 Denny Hamlin 11 Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing 25 98 6.09 7017
6 7 * Ryan Preece 37 Chevrolet JTG Daugherty Racing 11 0 9.26 6379
7 12 Ross Chastain 42 Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing 34 0 12.45 5739
8 17 Jamie McMurray 77 Chevrolet Spire Motorsports 19 0 16.59 4907
9 15 Corey LaJoie 7 Chevrolet Spire Motorsports 16 0 14.37 5352
10 8 Kyle Larson 5 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 13 1 9.36 6359
11 13 Cole Custer 41 Ford Stewart-Haas Racing 27 1 12.85 5658
12 5 Joey Logano 22 Ford Team Penske 9 26 6.49 6902
13 11 Brad Keselowski 2 Ford Team Penske 24 0 11.86 5828
14 1 Kyle Busch 18 Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing 10 0 5.09 7183
15 39 * Austin Cindric(i) 33 Ford Team Penske 39 2 0.00 0
16 9 Christopher Bell 20 Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing 5 32 11.09 5983
17 10 Bubba Wallace 23 Toyota 23XI Racing 6 1 11.69 5833
18 16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 Chevrolet JTG Daugherty Racing 21 0 15.32 5110
19 19 Chase Briscoe # 14 Ford Stewart-Haas Racing 30 0 22.09 3745
20 18 Joey Gase 53 Ford Rick Ware Racing 28 0 20.50 4039
21 20 Cody Ware 51 Chevrolet Petty Ware Racing 35 0 22.51 3643
22 22 Kurt Busch 1 Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing 20 0 24.51 3232
23 39 BJ McLeod(i) 78 Ford Live Fast Motorsports 38 0 0.00 0
24 21 Josh Bilicki 52 Ford Rick Ware Racing 37 0 22.33 3640
25 23 Martin Truex Jr. 19 Toyota Joe Gibbs Racing 26 0 26.31 2850
26 25 William Byron 24 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 2 0 26.53 2779
27 24 Tyler Reddick 8 Chevrolet Richard Childress Racing 29 0 25.96 2842
28 26 * Kaz Grala 16 Chevrolet Kaulig Racing 40 10 18.73 2583
29 27 Quin Houff 00 Chevrolet StarCom Racing 33 0 24.84 614
30 31 Ryan Blaney 12 Ford Team Penske 14 0 14.47 398
31 35 Chris Buescher 17 Ford Roush Fenway Racing 22 0 21.20 297
32 37 Anthony Alfredo # 38 Ford Front Row Motorsports 36 0 26.07 224
33 34 Matt DiBenedetto 21 Ford Wood Brothers Racing 23 0 22.25 300
34 28 Aric Almirola 10 Ford Stewart-Haas Racing 3 0 2.57 538
35 29 Alex Bowman 48 Chevrolet Hendrick Motorsports 1 1 4.00 518
36 32 Daniel Suarez 99 Chevrolet TrackHouse Racing 15 0 12.64 397
37 33 * David Ragan 36 Ford Front Row Motorsports 18 0 14.43 372
38 30 Ryan Newman 6 Ford Roush Fenway Racing 7 0 6.71 480
39 36 Erik Jones 43 Chevrolet Richard Petty Motorsports 31 0 22.00 266
40 38 Derrike Cope 15 Chevrolet Rick Ware Racing 32 0 27.50 54

Season Points Standings (Up to This Race)

Previous Next
Rank Driver Car Number Season Points Average Running Position Total Laps Led Points this race
1 Kyle Busch 18 7183 5.09 0 7183
2 Kevin Harvick 4 7034 6.00 17 7034
3 Denny Hamlin 11 7017 6.09 98 7017
4 Austin Dillon 3 7015 6.10 7 7015
5 Joey Logano 22 6902 6.49 26 6902
6 Chase Elliott 9 6600 8.16 3 6600
7 * Ryan Preece 37 6379 9.26 0 6379
8 Kyle Larson 5 6359 9.36 1 6359
9 Christopher Bell 20 5983 11.09 32 5983
10 Bubba Wallace 23 5833 11.69 1 5833
11 Brad Keselowski 2 5828 11.86 0 5828
12 Ross Chastain 42 5739 12.45 0 5739
13 Cole Custer 41 5658 12.85 1 5658
14 Michael McDowell 34 5460 13.84 1 5460
15 Corey LaJoie 7 5352 14.37 0 5352
16 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 5110 15.32 0 5110
17 Jamie McMurray 77 4907 16.59 0 4907
18 Joey Gase 53 4039 20.50 0 4039
19 Chase Briscoe # 14 3745 22.09 0 3745
20 Cody Ware 51 3643 22.51 0 3643
21 Josh Bilicki 52 3640 22.33 0 3640
22 Kurt Busch 1 3232 24.51 0 3232
23 Martin Truex Jr. 19 2850 26.31 0 2850
24 Tyler Reddick 8 2842 25.96 0 2842
25 William Byron 24 2779 26.53 0 2779
26 * Kaz Grala 16 2583 18.73 10 2583
27 Quin Houff 00 614 24.84 0 614
28 Aric Almirola 10 538 2.57 0 538
29 Alex Bowman 48 518 4.00 1 518
30 Ryan Newman 6 480 6.71 0 480
31 Ryan Blaney 12 398 14.47 0 398
32 Daniel Suarez 99 397 12.64 0 397
33 * David Ragan 36 372 14.43 0 372
34 Matt DiBenedetto 21 300 22.25 0 300
35 Chris Buescher 17 297 21.20 0 297
36 Erik Jones 43 266 22.00 0 266
37 Anthony Alfredo # 38 224 26.07 0 224
38 Derrike Cope 15 54 27.50 0 54