The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season will (kinda) start Tuesday night with the Bush Clash.
This year's version of the annual preseason exhibition race will take place on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, which also will host the regular season's second race. Due to last year's wonky, COVID-19-impacted qualifying format, driver eligibility for this year's Clash is somewhat different from that of prior NASCAR seasons.
All drivers participating in Tuesday night's race met one of the following criteria:
-- 2020 Busch Pole Award winners
-- Past Busch Clash Winners who competed full-time in 2020
-- Daytona 500 Champions who competed full-time in 2020
-- Former Daytona 500 Busch Pole Winners who competed full-time in 2020
-- 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff drivers
-- 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Race winners
-- 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Stage winners
Here's the full lineup for the 2021 Bush Clash:
1st – Ryan Blaney
2nd – Alex Bowman
3rd – Denny Hamlin
4th – Brad Keselowski
5th – William Byron
6th – Tyler Reddick
7th – Chase Elliott
8th – Cole Custer
9th – Erik Jones
10th – Joey Logano
11th – Ryan Newman
12th – Matt DiBenedetto
13th – Chris Buescher
14th – Ty Dillon
15th – Kurt Busch
16th – Kyle Busch
17th – Kevin Harvick
18th – Martin Truex Jr.
19th – Austin Dillon
20th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21st – Aric Almirola
As you might've noticed, 23XI Racing driver and rising NASCAR star Darrell Wallace Jr. will not participate in the Clash, with Ty Dillon filling his seat in the No. 23 Toyota Camry. Wallace did not meet any of the qualifying criteria.
The Clash is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. ET.
