Starting from 5th place Car 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Toyota won the 17th Annual Instacart 500, his 28th win in 554 Cup Series races. This is his 1st win & 3rd Top 10 finish in 2021, breaking a 29-race winless streak. Truex’s last win came at Martinsville Speedway on June 10, 2020. This is his 1st win & 13th Top 10 finish in 31 races at Phoenix Raceway. Joe Gibbs Racing (Truex, Christopher Bell) joins Hendrick Motorsports (William Byron, Kyle Larson) with two drivers qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. 2nd Place Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford, started from 9th place posted his 14th Top 10 finish in 25 races at Phoenix Raceway. It is his 3rd Top 10 finish in 2021. 3rd Place Car 11 Denny Hamlin Offerpad Toyota, started from 3rd place posted his 19th Top 10 finish in 32 races at Phoenix Raceway.
4th Place Car 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford, started from pole followed by 5th place Car 9 Chase Elliott UniFirst Chevrolet, started from 6th place. 6th Place Car 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Ford, started from 18th place followed by 7th place Car 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, started from 2nd place. 8th Place Car 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet, started from 10th place followed by 9th place Car 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota, started from 4th place. Lastly in the Top 10 was Car 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford, in 10th place, started from 8th place. Chase Briscoe (22nd) was the highest finishing rookie.
The race had 7 Cautions for 45 Laps: 1st Caution on lap 32 for Competition Caution. 2nd Caution on lap 47 for #48, #3, #42 Crash in Turn 2. 3rd Caution on lap 77 for Stage 1 Conclusion. 4th Caution on lap 90 for #38, #51 Crash in Turn 2. 5th Caution on lap 192 for Stage 2 Conclusion. 6th Caution on lap 263 for #8 Crash in Turn 2. 7th Caution on lap 283 for #18, #42 Crash on the Frontstretch.
The race had 22 Lead Changes among 9 drivers; B. Keselowski 1-2; D. Hamlin 3-33; B. Keselowski 34-43; R. Blaney 44-78; B. Keselowski 79; J. Logano 80-141; K. Larson 142; B. Wallace 143; C. LaJoie 144-155; J. Logano 156-193; D. Hamlin 194; J. Logano 195-223; M. Truex Jr. 224-253; R. Stenhouse Jr. 254; M. Truex Jr. 255-263; D. Hamlin 264; B. Wallace 265-267; J. Logano 268; B. Keselowski 269-273; J. Logano 274-283; B. Keselowski 284; J. Logano 285-287; M. Truex Jr. 288-312.
Stages:
Stage 1 Top 10: 12, 22, 2, 11, 9, 18, 4, 24, 5, 21
Stage 2 Top 10: 22, 19, 11, 2, 12, 4, 24, 10, 9, 20
NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 5
Race Results for the 17th Annual Instacart 500 – Sunday, March 14, 2021
Phoenix Raceway – Avondale, AZ – 1. – Mile Paved
Total Race Length – 312 Laps – 312. Miles
Finish Start Car Team Laps Status
| 1. 5. Car 19 Martin Truex Jr. Bass Pro Toyota 312 Running |
| 2. 9. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 312 Running |
| 3. 3. Car 11 Denny Hamlin Offerpad Toyota 312 Running |
| 4. 1. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Wurth Ford 312 Running |
| 5. 6. Car 9 Chase Elliott UniFirst Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 6. 18. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Jimmy John’s Ford 312 Running |
| 7. 2. Car 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 8. 10. Car 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 9. 4. Car 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota 312 Running |
| 10. 8. Car 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford 312 Running |
| 11. 32. Car 10 Aric Almirola Pit Boss Grills Ford 312 Running |
| 12. 11. Car 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kroger/Energizer Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 13. 21. Car 48 Alex Bowman Ally/Best Friends Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 14. 20. Car 21 Matt DiBenedetto Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 312 Running |
| 15. 12. Car 1 Kurt Busch Gearwrench Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 16. 25. Car 23 Bubba Wallace McDonalds Toyota 312 Running |
| 17. 13. Car 3 Austin Dillon Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 18. 17. Car 17 Chris Buescher Roush Performance Ford 312 Running |
| 19. 22. Car 42 Ross Chastain Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 20. 14. Car 43 Erik Jones Medallion Bank Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 21. 27. Car 99 Daniel Suarez CommScope Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 22. 26. Car 14 Chase Briscoe # HighPoint.com Ford 312 Running |
| 23. 16. Car 34 Michael McDowell Love’s Travel Stops Ford 312 Running |
| 24. 29. Car 77 Justin Haley(i) Mutoh/General Formulations Chevrolet 312 Running |
| 25. 7. Car 18 Kyle Busch STANLEY Toyota 311 Running |
| 26. 15. Car 37 * Ryan Preece Soctt Brand Chevrolet 311 Running |
| 27. 33. Car 7 Corey LaJoie Youtheory Chevrolet 311 Running |
| 28. 19. Car 6 Ryan Newman Guaranteed Rate Ford 311 Running |
| 29. 23. Car 8 Tyler Reddick Quartz Hill Records Chevrolet 310 Running |
| 30. 30. Car 78 BJ McLeod(i) Surface Sunscreen Ford 309 Running |
| 31. 24. Car 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 308 Running |
| 32. 35. Car 00 Quin Houff Mount-N-Lock Chevrolet 305 Running |
| 33. 38. Car 15 James Davison Smart Sanitizer Chevrolet 303 Running |
| 34. 34. Car 53 Garrett Smithley(i) Turf Sellers Chevrolet 300 Running |
| 35. 36. Car 52 Josh Bilicki Junction Fuels Ford 258 Power |
| 36. 31. Car 51 Cody Ware(i) Nurtec ODT Chevrolet 101 Accident |
| 37. 28. Car 38 Anthony Alfredo # MDS Ford 87 Accident |
| 38. 37. Car 66 * Timmy Hill(i) LasVegas.net/Diamondback Surveying Toyota 15 Engine |
Race Comments: Prior to the start of the race the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: #5, #24, #51 (multiple inspection failures), #53 (driver change), #9, #00 (unapproved adjustments). Failed to Qualify: None. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 0 Mins, 20 Secs. Average Speed: 103.808 MPH. Margin of Victory: 1.698 Seconds. Caution Flags: 7 for 45 lap. Lead Changes: 22 among 9 drivers.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Next Race: March 21, 2021 – Atlanta Motor Speedway
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