The official 40-car starting lineup for the 2021 Daytona 500 (2:30 p.m. ET; Fox, TSN, MRN, SiriusXM Nascar Radio) is set after pole qualifying and the twin Duel at Daytona 150-mile races at Daytona International Speedway. Not all the cars will roll off from the positions their drivers earned during Speedweeks, however.
Wrecks and mechanical problems during the Duels caused a lineup shakeup that included one of the fastest cars in pole qualifying being forced to move to the rear of the field for the start of the race.
DAYTONA 500: Highlights from Duel races
A look at who won the Daytona 500 pole in 2021 and the official starting lineup for the race.
Who won the Daytona 500 pole for 2021?
Alex Bowman won the pole with a qualifying lap time of 47.056 seconds (190.261 mph). The pole was Bowman's second in the Daytona 500; his first came in 2018. He has now qualified for the Daytona 500 front row four consecutive times (2018 through 2021).
Bowman's Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron qualified second at 47.314 seconds (190.219 mph). The drivers' 1-2 order is a reversal of how they qualified for the 2019 race, when Byron won the pole and Bowman qualified second.
Bowman's No. 48 team will occupy the No. 1 pit stall for the race.
Daytona 500 2021 starting lineup
As noted previously, the starting positions in the chart below won't correspond with the order in which the 40 cars will take the green flag on the track. For example, Byron's car was damaged in a wreck in his Duel race. Byron's No. 24 team was forced to go to a backup car Friday, which means Byron will drop to the rear of the field for the start of the race. He will still be credited with qualifying second.
At least six other drivers will move to rear with Byron: Brad Keselowski, Chase Briscoe, Kaz Grala, Anthony Alfredo, Cole Custer and Ross Chastain. More drivers could drop back prior to the race. For example, Bowman would have to go to the rear if his team changes engines in the 48 car before the 500. Bowman reported an issue with his engine during his Duel race.
| Starting pos. | Driver | Car No. | Team |
| 1. | Alex Bowman | 48 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 2. | William Byron | 24 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 3. | Aric Almirola | 10 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 4. | Austin Dillon | 3 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 5. | Christopher Bell | 20 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 6. | Bubba Wallace | 23 | 23XI Racing |
| 7. | Ryan Newman | 6 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 8. | Kevin Harvick | 4 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 9. | Joey Logano | 22 | Team Penske |
| 10. | Kyle Busch | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 11. | Ryan Preece | 37 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 12. | Chase Elliott | 9 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 13 | Kyle Larson | 5 | Hendrick Motorsports |
| 14. | Ryan Blaney | 12 | Team Penske |
| 15. | Daniel Suarez | 99 | Trackhouse Racing Team |
| 16. | Corey LaJoie | 7 | Spire Motorsports |
| 17. | Michael McDowell | 34 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 18. | David Ragan | 36 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 19. | Jamie McMurray | 77 | Spire Motorsports |
| 20. | Kurt Busch | 1 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 21. | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 | JTG Daugherty Racing |
| 22. | Chris Buescher | 17 | Roush Fenway Racing |
| 23. | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 | Wood Brothers Racing |
| 24. | Brad Keselowski | 2 | Team Penske |
| 25. | Denny Hamlin | 11 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 26. | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
| 27. | Cole Custer | 41 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 28. | Joey Gase | 53 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 29. | Tyler Reddick | 8 | Richard Childress Racing |
| 30. | Chase Briscoe | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing |
| 31. | Erik Jones | 43 | Richard Petty Motorsports |
| 32. | Derrike Cope | 15 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 33. | Quin Houff | 00 | StarCom Racing |
| 34. | Ross Chastain | 42 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 35. | Cody Ware | 51 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 36. | Anthony Alfredo | 38 | Front Row Motorsports |
| 37. | Josh Bilicki | 52 | Rick Ware Racing |
| 38. | BJ McLeod | 78 | Live Fast Motorsports |
| 39. | Austin Cindric | 33 | Team Penske |
| 40. | Kaz Grala | 16 | Kaulig Racing |
