Cup - 2021 - YellaWood 500
Date: 2021-10-03 | Track: Talladega Superspeedway
Three ways to measure this race
| Official winner | TLS leader | Best ARP | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Bubba Wallace (#23) | Kevin Harvick (P) (#4) | Kevin Harvick (P) (#4) |
| Finish | P1 | P8 | P8 |
| TLS points | 3111 | 4146 | 4146 |
| ARP | 14.64 | 5.86 | 5.86 |
| Laps led | 5 | 16 | 16 |
Three different ways to measure a race — and they often point to different drivers.
Official winner — Bubba Wallace (#23): where the car was at the checkered flag (P1). Led 5 laps with 14.64 average running position and 3,111 TLS points.
TLS leader — Kevin Harvick (P) (#4): most position-weighted points across every scored lap (4,146 points). Finished P8 with 16 laps led and 5.86 ARP. TLS rewards running up front all afternoon, not only the final lap.
Best ARP — same as the TLS leader (5.86). The official winner ran a worse average position (14.64).
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 | 11 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | Toyota | 23XI Racing | 19 | 5 | 14.64 | 3111 |
| 2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski (P) | 2 | Ford | Team Penske | 7 | 13 | 5.97 | 4134 |
| 3 | 3 | Joey Logano (P) | 22 | Ford | Team Penske | 8 | 9 | 6.02 | 4128 |
| 4 | 10 | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chevrolet | Chip Ganassi Racing | 14 | 9 | 14.40 | 3139 |
| 5 | 7 | Christopher Bell (P) | 20 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 12 | 12 | 11.38 | 3495 |
| 6 | 5 | Chris Buescher | 17 | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | 24 | 7 | 9.81 | 3680 |
| 7 | 8 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 11 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 1 | 6 | 12.94 | 3311 |
| 8 | 1 | Kevin Harvick (P) | 4 | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 9 | 16 | 5.86 | 4146 |
| 9 | 13 | Erik Jones | 43 | Chevrolet | Richard Petty Motorsports | 26 | 0 | 15.36 | 3026 |
| 10 | 20 | Anthony Alfredo # | 38 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 30 | 1 | 19.51 | 2536 |
| 11 | 18 | Austin Dillon | 3 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 16 | 0 | 18.35 | 2673 |
| 12 | 9 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | 19 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 6 | 2 | 14.28 | 3153 |
| 13 | 12 | Cole Custer | 41 | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 28 | 7 | 14.87 | 3083 |
| 14 | 28 | Chase Briscoe # | 14 | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 17 | 0 | 26.47 | 1715 |
| 15 | 4 | Ryan Blaney (P) | 12 | Ford | Team Penske | 4 | 0 | 9.69 | 3694 |
| 16 | 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | Chevrolet | JTG Daugherty Racing | 21 | 10 | 16.57 | 2883 |
| 17 | 25 | Michael McDowell | 34 | Ford | Front Row Motorsports | 22 | 0 | 25.00 | 1888 |
| 18 | 6 | Chase Elliott (P) | 9 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 3 | 0 | 11.20 | 3516 |
| 19 | 26 | Quin Houff | 00 | Chevrolet | StarCom Racing | 35 | 0 | 25.40 | 1841 |
| 20 | 34 | * Justin Haley(i) | 16 | Chevrolet | Kaulig Racing | 38 | 4 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 21 | 30 | Ryan Newman | 6 | Ford | Roush Fenway Racing | 25 | 0 | 29.37 | 1372 |
| 22 | 22 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 29 | 0 | 23.21 | 2099 |
| 23 | 31 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Chevrolet | TrackHouse Racing | 18 | 0 | 30.35 | 1257 |
| 24 | 34 | * Landon Cassill(i) | 96 | Toyota | Gaunt Brothers Racing | 40 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 25 | 34 | Joey Gase(i) | 53 | Ford | Rick Ware Racing | 36 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 26 | 24 | Aric Almirola | 10 | Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 20 | 0 | 23.69 | 2043 |
| 27 | 15 | Kyle Busch (P) | 18 | Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 2 | 4 | 16.38 | 2905 |
| 28 | 34 | Cody Ware(i) | 51 | Chevrolet | Petty Ware Racing | 31 | 4 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 29 | 34 | Garrett Smithley(i) | 15 | Chevrolet | Rick Ware Racing | 37 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 30 | 34 | BJ McLeod(i) | 78 | Ford | Live Fast Motorsports | 32 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| 31 | 32 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Ford | Rick Ware Racing | 34 | 0 | 33.60 | 873 |
| 32 | 23 | * Ryan Preece | 37 | Chevrolet | JTG Daugherty Racing | 27 | 0 | 23.28 | 2073 |
| 33 | 21 | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chevrolet | Chip Ganassi Racing | 23 | 0 | 20.66 | 2380 |
| 34 | 33 | * James Davison | 66 | Ford | Motorsports Business Management | 39 | 0 | 38.28 | 318 |
| 35 | 27 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Ford | Wood Brothers Racing | 15 | 2 | 25.87 | 1755 |
| 36 | 14 | William Byron (P) | 24 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 10 | 0 | 15.48 | 2960 |
| 37 | 29 | Kyle Larson (P) | 5 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 5 | 3 | 25.98 | 1712 |
| 38 | 17 | Alex Bowman (P) | 48 | Chevrolet | Hendrick Motorsports | 11 | 1 | 12.71 | 2772 |
| 39 | 19 | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing | 13 | 2 | 14.87 | 2561 |
| 40 | 34 | Justin Allgaier(i) | 77 | Chevrolet | Spire Motorsports | 33 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
Season Points Standings (Up to This Race)
| Rank | Driver | Car Number | Season Points | Average Running Position | Total Laps Led | Points this race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denny Hamlin (P) | 11 | 250981 | 7.51 | 1372 | 3311 |
| 2 | Kyle Larson (P) | 5 | 236446 | 8.74 | 2003 | 1712 |
| 3 | Chase Elliott (P) | 9 | 225918 | 9.49 | 525 | 3516 |
| 4 | Kevin Harvick (P) | 4 | 223285 | 11.37 | 216 | 4146 |
| 5 | Martin Truex Jr. (P) | 19 | 222137 | 10.63 | 783 | 3153 |
| 6 | William Byron (P) | 24 | 220673 | 10.38 | 283 | 2960 |
| 7 | Joey Logano (P) | 22 | 220385 | 9.79 | 418 | 4128 |
| 8 | Ryan Blaney (P) | 12 | 214393 | 11.63 | 380 | 3694 |
| 9 | Brad Keselowski (P) | 2 | 208891 | 12.64 | 329 | 4134 |
| 10 | Kyle Busch (P) | 18 | 205814 | 10.01 | 292 | 2905 |
| 11 | Alex Bowman (P) | 48 | 196069 | 12.51 | 152 | 2772 |
| 12 | Christopher Bell (P) | 20 | 194449 | 12.70 | 100 | 3495 |
| 13 | Tyler Reddick (P) | 8 | 189596 | 14.39 | 33 | 2561 |
| 14 | Austin Dillon | 3 | 187491 | 14.99 | 22 | 2673 |
| 15 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | 170965 | 16.40 | 64 | 1755 |
| 16 | Kurt Busch (P) | 1 | 169658 | 13.22 | 201 | 3139 |
| 17 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | 163676 | 18.11 | 35 | 2883 |
| 18 | Ross Chastain | 42 | 161920 | 16.42 | 62 | 2380 |
| 19 | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 156391 | 18.56 | 62 | 3111 |
| 20 | Chris Buescher | 17 | 154901 | 17.35 | 92 | 3680 |
| 21 | Aric Almirola (P) | 10 | 149070 | 18.21 | 51 | 2043 |
| 22 | Erik Jones | 43 | 136950 | 20.59 | 9 | 3026 |
| 23 | Chase Briscoe # | 14 | 136717 | 20.03 | 18 | 1715 |
| 24 | Daniel Suarez | 99 | 135154 | 21.21 | 74 | 1257 |
| 25 | Cole Custer | 41 | 131871 | 20.06 | 9 | 3083 |
| 26 | Ryan Newman | 6 | 130794 | 21.33 | 4 | 1372 |
| 27 | Michael McDowell (P) | 34 | 125317 | 20.10 | 26 | 1888 |
| 28 | Ryan Preece | 37 | 124724 | 21.78 | 12 | 2073 |
| 29 | Corey LaJoie | 7 | 104792 | 24.03 | 13 | 2099 |
| 30 | Anthony Alfredo # | 38 | 76114 | 27.93 | 5 | 2536 |
| 31 | Quin Houff | 00 | 43134 | 32.49 | 0 | 1841 |
| 32 | Josh Bilicki | 52 | 40668 | 32.95 | 0 | 873 |
| 33 | James Davison | 66 | 22707 | 32.21 | 0 | 318 |
| 34 | Joey Gase(i) | 53 | 6196 | 30.63 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | * Kaz Grala(i) | 16 | 5270 | 22.87 | 10 | 0 |
| 36 | Jamie McMurray | 77 | 4907 | 16.59 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Cody Ware(i) | 53 | 3643 | 22.51 | 5 | 0 |
| 38 | * Mike Marlar | 66 | 2450 | 30.00 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | Kyle Tilley | 78 | 1350 | 33.14 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | Scott Heckert | 78 | 1288 | 31.79 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | RC Enerson | 15 | 599 | 31.27 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | Chris Windom | 15 | 588 | 30.67 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | * Timmy Hill(i) | 66 | 482 | 37.05 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | * David Ragan | 36 | 372 | 14.43 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Shane Golobic | 78 | 260 | 33.50 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | Ryan Eversley | 53 | 195 | 34.04 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | Derrike Cope | 15 | 54 | 27.50 | 0 | 0 |