A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 14 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | May 23, 2021 | ||
| Location | Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 3.426 mi (5.514 km) | ||
| Distance | 54 laps, 185 mi (298 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 68 laps, 231 mi (372 km) | ||
| Average speed | 59.024 miles per hour (94.990 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Richard Childress Racing | ||
| Time | 2:12.911 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Joey Logano | Team Penske | |
| Laps | 14 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | FS1 | ||
| Announcers | Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Doug Rice and Mark Garrow | ||
| Turn Announcers | Rob Albright (1), Brett McMillan (2 to Becketts), Doug Turnbull (Chapel to S do Senna), Ralph Sheheen (To Sepang Hairpin), Pat Patterson (Motodrom) and Brad Gillie (Istanbul 8 to Turn 20) | ||
The 2021 EchoPark Texas Grand Prix was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on May 23, 2021, at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Originally scheduled for 68 laps on the 3.426-mile (5.514 km) road course, the race was shortened to 54 laps by heavy rain. It was the 14th race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Report
Background
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a grade 1 FIA-specification motorsports facility located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas. It features a 3.426-mile (5.514 km) road racing circuit. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand Prix, and the Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas, a round of the FIM Road Racing World Championship. It previously hosted the Supercars Championship, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the IMSA SportsCar Championship, and IndyCar Series.
On September 30, 2020, it was announced that COTA would host a NASCAR Cup Series event for the first time on May 23, 2021.[7] The lower Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series were also added as support events.[8] On December 11, 2020, it was announced that NASCAR would run the full 3.41 mile course.[9]
British IMSA driver Kyle Tilley made his NASCAR debut, replacing B. J. McLeod for Live Fast Motorsports.[10]
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who are ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
In a wet practice session, William Byron was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 2:37.694 with an average speed of 77.847 mph (125.283 km/h).[11]
Practice results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:37.694 | 77.847 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 2:38.281 | 77.558 |
| 3 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2:38.468 | 77.467 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
In a dry track, Tyler Reddick scored the pole for the race with a time of 2:12.911 and a speed of 92.363 mph (148.644 km/h).[12]
NASCAR also implemented a new rule for qualifying. For road course qualifying, a timing loop marked on the circuit, not the start-finish line, will set official time. The rule is similar to that used by INDYCAR, which also uses knockout qualifying. At this circuit, the exit of Istanbul 8 will be used as the timing line.