The 2021 FireKeepers Casino 400 was a

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...

race held on August 22, 2021, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. Contested over 200 laps on the D-shaped oval, it was the 25th race of the

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, wher ...

season.

Report

Background

The race was held at Michigan International Speedway, a moderate-banked D-shaped

speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...

located in Brooklyn, Michigan. The track is used primarily for

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

events. It is known as a "sister track" to Texas World Speedway as MIS's oval design was a direct basis of TWS, with moderate modifications to the banking in the corners, and was used as the basis of

Auto Club Speedway Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previ ...

. The track is owned by

International Speedway Corporation International Speedway Corporation (ISC) was a corporation whose primary business is the ownership and management of motorsports race tracks. ISC was founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. in 1953 for the construction of Daytona International ...

. Michigan International Speedway is recognized as one of motorsports' premier facilities because of its wide racing surface and high banking (by open-wheel standards; the 18-degree banking is modest by stock car standards).

Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver. * (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.

Qualifying

Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champ ...

was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula.

Starting Lineup

Race

Kyle Larson started on pole. Chase Elliott won the first stage while Kyle Busch won the second stage. At the end of the second stage, Brad Keselowski made contact with Austin Dillon and sent Dillon spinning into the wall, ending his race. In the final stage, drivers had different pit strategies, with William Byron gaining the lead. A caution came out for rain with 21 laps to go and for a multicar wreck with 14 laps to go. Following a restart with eight laps to go, Ryan Blaney gained the lead and held off Byron and Kyle Larson to win the race, his second win of the season.

Stage Results

Stage One ''Laps:'' 60 Stage Two ''Laps:'' 60

Final Stage Results

Stage Three ''Laps:'' 80

Race statistics

* Lead changes: 20 among 11 different drivers * Cautions/Laps: 6 for 29 * Red flags: 0 * Time of race: 2 hours, 48 minutes and 27 seconds * Average speed:

Media

Television

NBC Sports NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...

covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen,

Jeff Burton Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...

, Steve Letarte and two-time Michigan winner,

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...

called the race from the broadcast booth. Dave Burns,

Parker Kligerman Parker L. Kligerman (born August 8, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro for Big Machine Racing. Kligerman is a former development driver ...

and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.

Radio

Radio coverage of the race was broadcast by Motor Racing Network (MRN) and simulcast on

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

NASCAR Radio. Alex Hayden and Jeff Striegle called the race in the booth while the field was racing on the front stretch. Dave Moody called the race from a billboard outside of turn 2 when the field is racing through turns 1 and 2. Kyle Rickey called the race from a platform outside of turn 3 when the field races through turns 3 and 4. Steve Post and Kim Coon worked pit road for the radio side.

Standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Manufacturers' Championship standings *Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. *. – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

References

{{2021 NASCAR Cup

FireKeepers Casino 400 The NASCAR Cup Series has held stock car races annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. Traditionally, the track held two Cup Series races, one in June, around Father's Day weekend and another in August. The A ...

NASCAR races at Michigan International Speedway