Sunday, February 28th, 2021
Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, FL
In a No. 24 Chevrolet that steadily improved its performance as the sun went down, William Byron streaked to a decisive victory in Sunday's Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
With Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. battling for second place behind him, Byron cruised to a 2.777-second victory over Reddick, who charged through the field late in the final 60-lap green-flag run to the finish.
Truex ran third, with Larson coming home fourth. The victory was Byron's first of the season, first at Homestead and the second of his career. The win was the 264th in the NASCAR Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports, leaving the organization four victories behind Petty Enterprises for most all-time.
"It was just a really smooth day," said Byron, who won Stage 2 after finishing fourth in the opening 80-lap stage. "We worked hard in the winter on this track. I can't believe it."
Though Reddick made his charge by running inches from the outside wall, Byron preferred to maintain a respectful distance from the fence whenever possible.
"You had to go to the wall at certain times," said Byron, who led 102 laps, a career-best for a single race. "(Turns) 3 and 4, it was really fast up there. I definitely didn't do it as good as the Xfinity cars do it, but I used it when I had to. This car was just awesome. It was really a lot of hard work. I think we went to the sim (simulator) four or five times this offseason, and it pays off, man. It's awesome."
Byron delivered the first Cup victory to crew chief Rudy Fugle, with whom he teamed to great success in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In fact, the last time Byron and Fugle worked together, they won the 2016 season finale at Homestead.
Reddick didn't score a point in either of the first two stages, but his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was lightning fast at the end of the race. When Reddick moved into fourth place past Kevin Harvick on Lap 254 of 267, he was nine seconds behind Byron. By the end of the race, despite having to clear both Truex and Larson for second, he had trimmed more than six seconds off Byron's lead.
"Once I really saw how fast we were in clean air, when I saw how fast we were catching everybody, it's beyond frustrating," said Reddick, who matched his career-best finish. "Three different decisions on restarts would have put me miles ahead, and I would have been within reach.
"Second's great, but I saw how much faster I was than those guys at the end, so naturally, it's frustrating."
Chris Buescher was dominant early, leading a career-high 57 laps in a single race and picking up the second stage win of his career in the opening segment. But as the sunlight faded, so did Buescher's No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. He finished 19th.
Truex thought his car capable of maintaining Byron's pace in the final run and was disappointed when it didn't.
"On that last run, for whatever reason, I was just babying it," Truex said. "The 24 (Byron) got the lead from me on that (last) restart (on Lap 208), and then the 5 (Larson) got by us, and I'm just biding my time waiting for them to start coming back to me, and they just never did.
"They obviously were really fast at the end, and we weren't quite as good that last run. These things are so hard to win. These cars are so touchy and just needed one more adjustment to have a chance."
Harvick came home fifth, followed by Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, as both drivers have scored top-10 finishes in each of the first three races of the season. Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch completed the top 10. Denny Hamlin ran 11th, failing to keep his top-10 streak alive because of a late-race pit road speeding penalty.
Hamlin nevertheless retained the series lead by 20 points over Harvick.
ENTRY | # | DRIVER | HOMETOWN | DOB | AGE | MAKE | SPONSOR | TEAM | CREW CHIEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Tampa, FL | Mar 14, 1984 | 40 | Ford | Smithfield | Stewart-Haas Racing | Mike Bugarewicz |
2 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Auburn Hills, MI | Feb 12, 1984 | 40 | Ford | Dent Wizard | Team Penske | Jeremy Bullins |
3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Chesterfield, VA | Nov 18, 1980 | 43 | Toyota | Small Business Grant Contest | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chris Gabehart |
4 | 22 | Joey Logano | Middleton, CT | May 24, 1990 | 34 | Ford | Shell Pennzoil | Team Penske | Paul Wolfe |
5 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Bakersfield, CA | Dec 8, 1975 | 48 | Ford | Busch Light | Stewart-Haas Racing | Rodney Childers |
6 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Las Vegas, NV | Aug 4, 1978 | 46 | Chevrolet | Monster Energy | Chip Ganassi Racing | Matt McCall |
7 | 18 | Kyle Busch | Las Vegas, NV | May 2, 1985 | 39 | Toyota | M&M's Fudge Brownie | Joe Gibbs Racing | Ben Beshore |
8 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr | Mayetta, NJ | Jun 29, 1980 | 44 | Toyota | Bass Pro Shops | Joe Gibbs Racing | James Small |
9 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Phoenix, AZ | Dec 21, 1984 | 39 | Ford | Love's Travel Stops | Front Row Motorsports | Drew Blickensderfer |
10 | 6 | Ryan Newman | South Bend, IN | Dec 8, 1977 | 46 | Ford | Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs | RFK Racing | Scott Graves |
11 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Lewisville, NC | Apr 27, 1990 | 34 | Chevrolet | Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Off Road | Richard Childress Racing | Justin Alexander |
12 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr | Olive Branch, MS | Oct 2, 1987 | 37 | Chevrolet | Koger / Tide Power Pods | JTG Daugherty Racing | Brian Pattie |
13 | 66 | Timmy Hill | Port Tobacco, MD | Feb 25, 1993 | 31 | Ford | Unsponsored | MBM Motorsports | Clinton Cram |
14 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Sacremento, CA | Jul 31, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | NationsGuard | Hendrick Motorsports | Cliff Daniels |
15 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Tuscon, AZ | Apr 25, 1993 | 31 | Chevrolet | Ally | Hendrick Motorsports | Greg Ives |
16 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | High Point, NC | Dec 31, 1993 | 30 | Ford | DEX Imaging | Team Penske | Todd Gordon |
17 | 7 | Corey Lajoie | Kannapolis, NC | Sep 25, 1991 | 33 | Chevrolet | Marwin Sports Apparel | Spire Motorsports | Ryan Sparks |
18 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Dawsonville, GA | Nov 28, 1995 | 28 | Chevrolet | NAPA Auto Parts | Hendrick Motorsports | Alan Gustafson |
19 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Grass Valley, CA | Jul 27, 1991 | 33 | Ford | Menards / Moen | Wood Brothers Racing | Greg Erwin |
20 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Prosper, TX | Oct 29, 1992 | 31 | Ford | Fastenal | RFK Racing | Luke Lambert |
21 | 43 | Erik Jones | Byron, MI | May 30, 1996 | 28 | Chevrolet | Armor All | Richard Petty Motorsports | Jerry Baxter |
22 | 78 | BJ McLeod | Wauchula, FL | Nov 17, 1983 | 40 | Ford | Traxion.gg / Motorsports Games | Live Fast Motorsports | Frank Kerr |
23 | 37 | Ryan Preece | Berlin, CT | Oct 25, 1990 | 33 | Chevrolet | Slim Jim | JTG Daugherty Racing | Trent Owens |
24 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Monterrey, Mexico | Jan 7, 1992 | 32 | Chevrolet | Camping World | Trackhouse Racing | Travis Mack |
25 | 51 | Cody Ware | Greensboro, NC | Nov 7, 1995 | 28 | Chevrolet | Nurtec ODT | Rick Ware Racing | Mike Hillman Sr |
26 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Alva, FL | Dec 4, 1992 | 31 | Chevrolet | Chevrolet Accessories | Chip Ganassi Racing | Phil Surgen |
27 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Mobile, AL | Oct 8, 1993 | 31 | Toyota | Door Dash | 23XI Racing | Mike Wheeler |
28 | 24 | William Byron | Charlotte, NC | Nov 29, 1997 | 26 | Chevrolet | Axalta | Hendrick Motorsports | Rudy Fugle |
29 | 41 | Cole Custer | Ladera Ranch, CA | Jan 23, 1998 | 26 | Ford | HaasTooling.com | Stewart-Haas Racing | Mike Shiplett |
30 | 53 | Garrett Smithley | Ligonier, PA | Apr 27, 1992 | 32 | Ford | KSDT CPA / Rich Mar Florist | Rick Ware Racing | Billy Plourde |
31 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Menomonee Falls, WI | Jun 3, 1995 | 29 | Ford | Jacob Companies | Rick Ware Racing | Peter Sospenzo |
32 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Corning, CA | Jan 11, 1996 | 28 | Chevrolet | Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen | Richard Childress Racing | Randall Burnett |
33 | 00 | Quin Houff | Weyers Cave, VA | Sep 15, 1997 | 27 | Chevrolet | 8 Ball Whiskey | StarCom Racing | George Church |
34 | 77 | Justin Haley | Winamac, IN | Apr 28, 1999 | 25 | Chevrolet | Diamond Creek Water | Spire Motorsports | Kevin Bellicourt |
35 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Norman, OK | Dec 16, 1994 | 29 | Toyota | Rheem | Joe Gibbs Racing | Adam Stevens |
36 | 15 | James Davison | Melbourne, Australia | Aug 28, 1986 | 38 | Chevrolet | Rick Ware Racing | Rick Ware Racing | Pat Tryson |
37 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Mitchell, IN | Dec 15, 1994 | 29 | Ford | Ford Performance Racing School | Stewart-Haas Racing | Johnny Klausmeier |
38 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo | Ridgefield, CT | Mar 1, 1999 | 25 | Ford | Dude Wipes | Front Row Motorsports | Seth Barbour |