2021 O'Reilly Auto Parts 253

2021 O'Reilly Auto Parts 253
Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Race 2 of 36 in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series
Date February 21, 2021 (2021-02-21)
Location Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida
Course Permanent racing facility
3.570 mi (5.745 km)
Distance 70 laps, 252.7 mi (406.7 km)
Average speed 84.452 miles per hour (135.912 km/h)
Pole position
Driver
Hendrick Motorsports
Grid positions set by competition-based formula
Most laps led
Driver Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports
Laps 45
Winner
No. 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network Fox
Announcers Mike Joy, Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer
Nielsen Ratings 4.750 million[7]
Radio in the United States
Radio MRN
Booth Announcers Alex Hayden, Mike Bagley and Rusty Wallace
Turn Announcers
  • Dave Moody (Infield Section: Turns 2–6)
  • Kurt Becker (Turns 7–10)
  • Dan Hubbard (Turns 11–14)

The 2021 O'Reilly Auto Parts 253[8] was a NASCAR Cup Series race that was held on February 21, 2021 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Added as a replacement for the cancelled Auto Club 400 because of California restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 race was scheduled for 70 laps on the 3.61-mile (5.81 km) road course, it was the second race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. The race was lengthened from the 2020 schedule, where it was run at 65 laps of the course for 235 miles. It was classified as a 400-kilometer (250 mi) race in 2021, similar to the Charlotte and Road America road course races.[9]

At 84.452 miles per hour (135.912 km/h), it was the slowest Daytona race in NASCAR Cup Series history, although it was run on the road course, Christopher Bell scored his inaugural Cup Series win.

  1. ^ "2021 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  2. ^ "Daytona International Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  3. ^ "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  4. ^ "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  6. ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  7. ^ "O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 ratings". ShowBuzzDaily. Mitch Metcalf. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  8. ^ "DAYTONA Road Course Weekend". Daytona International Speedway. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  9. ^ "Stage lengths for 2021 NASCAR season". Official Site of Nascar. NASCAR. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 2021-01-26.