Daytona 500 lineup: Starting order, pole for 2021 race based on qualifying results

Tom Gatto

Daytona 500 lineup: Starting order, pole for 2021 race based on qualifying results image

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

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.