2021 Drive for the Cure 250

Race details[1]
Race 29 of 33 in the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season
Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval
Date	October 9, 2021
Location	Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 2.28 mi (3.67 km)
Distance	67 laps, 152.76 mi (245.84 km)
Average speed	74.396
Pole position
Driver	Austin Cindric	Team Penske
Grid positions set by competition-based formula
Most laps led
Driver	Austin Cindric	Team Penske
Laps	22
Winner
No. 16	A. J. Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing
Television in the United States
Network	NBCSN
Announcers	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The 2021 Drive for the Cure 250 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that was held on October 9, 2021, at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Contested over 68- extended from 67 laps due to an overtime finish—laps on the 2.28 mi (3.67 km) road course, it was the 29th race of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, the third race of the Playoffs, and the final race of the Round of 12.

Report

Background

Since 2018, deviating from past NASCAR events at Charlotte, the race will utilize a road course configuration of Charlotte Motor Speedway, promoted and trademarked as the "Roval". The course is 2.28 miles (3.67 km) in length and features 17 turns, utilizing the infield road course and portions of the oval track. The race will be contested over a scheduled distance of 109 laps, 400 kilometres (250 mi).

During July 2018 tests on the road course, concerns were raised over drivers "cheating" the backstretch chicane on the course. The chicanes were modified with additional tire barriers and rumble strips in order to encourage drivers to properly drive through them, and NASCAR will enforce drive-through penalties on drivers who illegally "short-cut" parts of the course. The chicanes will not be used during restarts. In the summer of 2019, the bus stop on the backstretch was changed and deepened, becoming a permanent part of the circuit, compared to the previous year where it was improvised.

If a driver fails to legally make the backstretch bus stop, the driver must skip the frontstretch chicane and make a complete stop by the dotted line on the exit before being allowed to continue. A driver who misses the frontstretch chicane must stop before the exit.

Entry list

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

Qualifying

Austin Cindric was awarded the pole for the race as determined by competition-based formula. Timmy Hill did not have enough points to qualify for the race.

Starting Lineups

Race

Race results

Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 20

Stage Two Laps: 20

Final Stage Results

Laps: 27

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 6 among 5 different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 7 for 13
• Time of race: 2 hours, 7 minutes, and 14 seconds
• Average speed: 74.396 mph (119.729 km/h)