NASCAR: Early look at the 2021 All-Star Race field
By Asher Fair
If the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race were held today, here are the 14 drivers who would be eligible to compete in it.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott secured his first career NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race victory in his fifth attempt by winning Wednesday evening’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the first ever All-Star Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in the 36-year history of the event.
Typically, the All-Star Race is held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, schedule changes resulted in the date being changed from Saturday, May 16 to Wednesday, July 15 and the location being moved to the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked oval in Bristol, Tennessee.
Wednesday evening’s 140-lap race was just the second All-Star Race to be contested at a track other than Charlotte Motor Speedway. The first one was contested at Atlanta Motor Speedway back in 1986, and that race was also won by an Elliott, Chase’s father Bill.
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Chase’s All-Star Race victory secures him a permanent All-Star Race bid (throughout his career), given what the three criteria are to secure an annual bid.
Full-time drivers who have (a) won a Cup Series championship, (b) won a past All-Star Race or (c) won a Cup Series race in the previous and/or current seasons are all eligible to compete in the All-Star Race. Nobody can ever take away (a) or (b) from a driver, and there are now 11 drivers who have met one or both of these criteria.
With this in mind, let’s take an early look at the 2021 All-Star Race field. This group is subject to change, as not all drivers listed are under contract for next year.
NOTE: Drivers listed in italics have clinched permanent bids in the race.
Chip Ganassi Racing
- Kurt Busch, #1 Chevrolet — 2004 Cup Series champion, 2010 All-Star Race winner
- Matt Kenseth, #42 Chevrolet — 2003 Cup Series champion, 2004 All-Star Race winner
Hendrick Motorsports
- Chase Elliott, #9 Chevrolet — 2020 All-Star Race winner, one race victory in the 2020 Cup Series season
- Jimmie Johnson*, #48 Chevrolet — Seven-time Cup Series champion, four-time All-Star Race winner
- Alex Bowman, #88 Chevrolet — One race victory in the 2020 Cup Series season
* = Jimmie Johnson is set to retire from full-time competition after the 2020 season.
Joe Gibbs Racing
- Denny Hamlin, #11 Toyota — 2015 All-Star Race winner, four race victories in the 2020 Cup Series season
- Kyle Busch, #18 Toyota — Two-time Cup Series champion, 2017 All-Star Race winner
- Martin Truex Jr., #19 Toyota — 2017 Cup Series champion, one race victory in the 2020 Cup Series season
Roush Fenway Racing
- Ryan Newman, #6 Ford — 2002 All-Star Race winner
Stewart-Haas Racing
- Kevin Harvick, #4 Ford — 2014 Cup Series champion, two-time All-Star Race winner, four race victories in the 2020 Cup Series season
- Cole Custer, #41 Ford — One race victory in the 2020 Cup Series season
Team Penske
- Brad Keselowski, #2 Ford — 2012 Cup Series champion, two race victories in the 2020 Cup Series season
- Ryan Blaney, #12 Ford — One race victory in the 2020 Cup Series season
- Joey Logano, #22 Ford — 2018 Cup Series champion, 2016 All-Star Race winner, two race victories in the 2020 Cup Series season
Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time. dark
Points-paying NASCAR Cup Series action is scheduled to resume on Sunday, July 19 with the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, which is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET.