NASCAR live updates: Christopher Bell wins his first Cup Series race

Updates to this file are complete. Results and NASCAR race analysis can be found here.

The NASCAR Cup Series is points racing today at the Daytona International Speedway road course. The O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 is scheduled for 3 p.m. on FOX.

Chase Elliott is starting on the pole for the 70-lap race on the 3.61-mile road course. Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell is also starting in the front row. Stages will end on laps 16, 34 and 70.

Results will be posted here after the race. All times are ET.

NASCAR race results at Daytona road course

NASCAR at Daytona RC live updates

Stage 3

CHECKERED FLAG: Christopher Bell wins the NASCAR race at the Daytona road course with a pass of Joey Logano with 2 laps to go. It’s his first career Cup Series victory. Full results will be posted here shortly.

6:13 p.m., Lap 66: Chase Elliott spins out and is all but out of the running to win this one. Joey Logano is way out in front with 3 to go.

6:06 p.m., Lap 63: Kyle Larson was making a move to try to get into second place ahead of Kurt Busch but could not complete it, lost control on a turn and slid straight into a tire wall and has considerable damage. No caution. Joey Logano still running out front with Kurt Busch and Christopher Bell about 2 seconds behind.

5:51 p.m., Lap 59: Another caution as Tyler Reddick takes a turn wide and is pushed into the grass. Elliott, on the inside, also lost some spots by getting into the grass. He’s back in 11th now. Logano still out front.

5:49 p.m., Lap 58: Caution is over and Joey Logano is out front, followed by Chase Briscoe and Kurt Busch. Previous leaders Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell decided to pit during the yellow flag and will have to weave through traffic to get back to the front. They would benefit from a couple of cautions before the checkered flag.

5:40 p.m., Lap 55: Caution flag comes out. Rain appears to be very light, but teams have to make a decision whether to pick wet-weather tires or stick with standard “slicks.” If there’s not enough water on the track to make a difference, those rain tires will slow cars down. Chase Elliott is still in front, followed by Christopher Bell.

5:36 p.m., Lap 54: Light rain falling on the track, but the race remains green. It’s still sunny, most of the track remains dry, but there is precipitation.

5:31 p.m., Lap 52: Elliott and Bell decided to pit. Elliott wins the race off pit road and put a little distance between himself and Bell — about one second.

5:23 p.m., Lap 48: It’s Chase Elliott and Christopher Bell battling for the lead now. Bell, who has never won a Cup Series race, has put about 6 seconds between himself and teammate Martin Truex Jr., who’s in third. Elliott and bell last pitted at Lap 34.

5:11 p.m., Lap 42: Chase Elliott is once again back out in front after a pass of Christopher Bell, who is followed by JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. Kurt Busch, who held a short lead, lost control a couple of laps back and found himself in the grass, going from first to 27th.

5:01 p.m., Lap 37: We start Stage 3 with Daniel Suarez in the lead after pit stops during the caution between stages. He’s followed by Matt DiBenedetto and Kurt Busch. Busch won the race of pit road. Hamlin sits in fourth. Suarez and DiBenedetto last pitted at Lap 27.

Stage 2

4:50 p.m., Lap 34: Denny Hamlin wins Stage 2. Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Martin Truex, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Cole Custer, A.J. Allmendinger and Kyle Busch finish the stage in the top-10 for points. It was Hamlin’s third stage win in two races this season.

4:46 p.m., Lap 33: Martin Truex Jr. hits an inside curb, allowing Joey Logano to slide by him for a position in the top-five. Denny Hamlin is leading. Truex says on his radio that he braked too hard. Crew chief James Small tells Truex he’s better than every car out there.

“We just need to stop making mistakes,” Small says.

4:36 p.m., Lap 28: A.J. Allmendinger stays out, along with Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski to restart in the first two rows as the previous leaders pit. By the first lap after the Lap 29 restart, Denny Hamlin gets up to second with new tires. Chase Briscoe received an uncontrolled tire penalty on pit road and had to restart in the rear.

4:29 p.m., Lap 27: The fourth caution of the race comes out for Ross Chastain, who was running in 20th and wrecked into the outside wall of the oval. He heads to pit road for repairs, but his day ultimately ends with damage. The running order is Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger and Kurt Busch in the top-five.

4:25 p.m., Lap 26: Martin Truex Jr. continues to drive through the field. He passes Denny Hamlin on the inside for the second place spot, but is still three seconds behind Elliott in the lead.

4:21 p.m., Lap 23: Chase Elliott gets out to a quick lead after the race goes green. A.J. Allmendinger, who started 34th, is up to fifth place early in the second stage. Allmendinger is running full-time in the Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing, but also entering select Cup events for the team. He and Martin Truex Jr. look like they could challenge Elliott for the lead by the end of the race. Truex is up to third after passing Logano on the inside. Quin Houff goes out of the race officially with an engine problem after only running three laps. The remaining 39 cars on the lead lap.

4:06 p.m., Lap 18: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick pit from the top-10 while under caution, along with Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Ryan Preece, Bubba Wallace and Corey LaJoie, among others. Ty Dillon gets a penalty for having a crew member over the wall early. He’ll have to drop to the back for the restart. The restart order is Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, Cole Custer, Alex Bowman, A.J. Allmendinger and William Byron.

Stage 1

4 p.m., Lap 16: Chase Elliott wins stage 1 at the Daytona road course, leading second place stage finisher Joey Logano by over three seconds. Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch finish the stage in the top-five. Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick and Chris Buescher finish the stage in the top-10 for points.

3:56 p.m, Lap 13: The race restarts with Christopher Bell and Brad Keselowski in the front row. Bell didn’t take new tires during the yellow flag. Keselowski had pitted earlier for his blown tire and he continues to have a tough tire day, getting into the grass multiple times after the restart. Chase Elliott, who took new tires, restarted in the second row and quickly gets back up to first. William Byron’s and Tyler Reddick’s teams both get uncontrolled tire penalties on pit road and they have to restart in the rear.

3:48 p.m., Lap 11: Matt DiBenedetto has significant right rear tire damage, and the caution comes out for debris on the track from his ripped up tire. Keselowski also has a flat tire.

3:46 p.m., Lap 10: The running order after 10 laps is Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Austin Dillon and Martin Truex Jr. in the top-five. Erik Jones have to pit under green with a flat left rear tire and fender damage.

3:35 p.m., Lap 6: Joey Logano, who started 11th, is up to third place after the first five laps. Denny Hamlin is in second behind Chase Elliott. On lap 6, Chase Briscoe rolls over the turtle in the frontstretch chicane. Passing drivers have to evade him, but no caution come out.

3:24 p.m., Lap 1: Michael McDowell, starting in second, drops to last place after he overshoots the first turn. The caution flag comes out for tire remnants on the track from McDowell’s car. Kyle Busch’s car also has early damage to his right front after he drives through the grass. Chase Elliott is in the lead. Busch and McDowell both meet minimum speed for the restart and can continue.

Pre-race

3:01 p.m. Opening ceremonies

Chaplain Juleun Johnson from AdventHealth delivers the pre-race invocation and award winning gospel artist Cece Winans performs the national anthem, both virtually, ahead of the second points Cup race of the season. Netflix’s The Crew actor Kevin James gives the command to fire engines is at 3:08 p.m. and the green flag is at 3:20 p.m. There will be no competition caution for today’s race. The first stage ends after 16 laps.

2:40 p.m. Garrett Smithley also to the back

Rick Ware Racing driver Garrett Smithley will also drop to the back at the start of the race for unapproved adjustments on his team’s No. 53 Ford. Smithley was slated to start 25th and is ineligible for driver points.

2 p.m. Erik Jones and Justin Haley starting at the rear

NASCAR announces that two cars will drop to the back of the pack at the start of today’s race. Erik Jones and his No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports team was previously slated to drop to the back due to an engine change for the Daytona 500 (teams are penalized for two races for a Daytona 500 engine change). Justin Haley will also start at the rear due to two pre-race technical inspection failures by his No. 77 Spire Motorsports team. Jones was slated to start 37th and Haley was slated to start 20th. There were no three-time inspection failures.

NASCAR THIS WEEKEND: HOW TO WATCH THE RACE AT DAYTONA

• Race: O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 At Daytona
• When: Sunday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m.
• How to watch/listen: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
• Distance: 70 laps, 252.7 miles on the 14-turn, 3.61-mile road course
• Stages: laps 16, 34, 70
• Last year’s winner: Chase Elliott

NASCAR CUP AT DAYTONA RC STARTING LINEUP

(i) ineligible for driver points, # rookie

This story was originally published February 21, 2021 at 2:00 PM.

Alexandra Andrejev

The Charlotte Observer

NASCAR and Charlotte FC beat reporter Alex Andrejev joined The Observer in January 2020 following an internship at The Washington Post. She is a two-time APSE award winner for her NASCAR beat coverage and National Motorsports Press Association award winner. She is the host of McClatchy’s podcast “Payback” about women’s soccer. Support my work with a digital subscription