William Byron earns second career win at Homestead-Miami Speedway

The NASCAR Cup Series closed out the weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday afternoon, sponsored by Dixie Vodka. Denny Hamlin was on the pole for this race, along with Joey Logano. However, during inspections, Denny Hamlin’s car had unapproved adjustments and would start at the rear. Hamlin joined Corey LaJoie, Alex Bowman, and James Davison in the back. Joey Logano moved into Hamlin’s position while Christopher Bell moved up to second.

Hamlin did receive some good news about his tire carrier Josh Shipplett, who Daniel Hemric hit in Saturday’s Xfinity race. He was cleared to resume his duties. Making its return was the orange cone, also known as the “choose cone rule,” that allows drivers to pick which lane they wanted.

Joey Logano immediately got ahead of the field to keep the lead. He led the first twelve laps before Brad Keselowski, who started seventh, moved up the field to take the lead on lap 13. On the same lap, Logano would lose the second spot to Kyle Larson. Keselowski remained in the lead when the competition caution came out on lap 27.

Some of the cars went to pit road that included Daniel Suarez, who was having his car repaired after making contact with Bubba Wallace. The race resumed on lap 31. During this restart, an unlikely driver made his way up the field, and that driver was Chris Buescher. On lap 53, he challenged and succeeded in getting the lead away from Keselowski. It was the first time that Buescher led a race since Talladega of last year.

Keselowski would lose the second position to William Byron four laps later. Not long after Keselowski lost the second spot, James Davison’s car went up in smoke, leaving fluid on the track to bring out the second caution. Most of the cars from the back of the field went to pit road while Buescher and Keselowski stayed out. William Byron pitted with some of the cars to give up the second spot.

The race resumed on lap 73 with eight laps to go in stage one. Both Buescher and Keselowski fought for first place to the bitter end as Buescher won stage one, which was his second stage win of his career.

Everyone went to pit road during the caution as Buescher beat Keselowski to remain out front, followed by Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott. The race resumed on lap 88 to start stage two. A lap later, Chase Elliott got by Buescher for the lead. Buescher stayed with Elliott and would reclaim the lead on lap 93.

Fourteen laps into the restart, teams began to make their schedule pit stops, with Ryan Newman being the first one down pit road. For the next several laps, more drivers were making their scheduled pit stops. Once the cycle was over, Martin Truex Jr. was the leader. On lap 130, Chase Elliott’s car slid up the racetrack right in front of Larson and Keselowski as Brad gently tapped him from behind. Twenty-four laps later, Corey LaJoie’s engine went up in smoke to bring out the fourth caution.

Everyone went to pit road during the caution, with Truex beating Hamlin off pit road. As the skies began to turn dark and the temperatures got cooler, the track changed. Many cars that were doing well in the race would struggle the rest of the way, while the others who were not good in the beginning were now in contention. The race resumed on lap 160 with one lap to go in stage two. At turn four, Denny Hamlin went up to block Truex, his teammate, at turn four, allowing William Byron to pass both of them and win stage two. Truex was not happy with Hamlin as he told his crew chief, saying, “What the F**k Denny! What kind of move was that?”

Most of the cars went to pit road. Truex was the highest position car in fourth to pit. William Byron and Denny Hamlin were on the front row for the restart on lap 168 for the final stage. Many drivers were scrambling to get to the front. Truex, who restarted sixteenth, was up to fourth in two laps due to getting new tires. Within fourteen laps, Truex passed Hamlin for third and set his sights on Kyle Larson for second. He would get second from Larson on lap 188. Twelve laps later, Aric Almirola slid up to side-draft Ryan Blaney, who was faster than him, and made contact. Parts of Blaney’s car spilled out onto the racetrack, causing the sixth caution to come out.

Everyone went to pit road during the caution, with Kyle Larson winning the race off pit road over Denny Hamlin. However, Hamlin was caught speeding and had to restart in the back, moving Truex to second. The race resumed on lap 208. Two laps into the restart, William Byron, who restarted sixth, came up to retake the lead.

On lap 212, Kurt Busch pulled a Cole Trickle and created an opening in the middle lane to pass both Harvick and Keselowski for fifth. However, sixteen laps later, Busch would head to pit road with a vibration. For the rest of the race, no one could catch William Byron. He led 97 laps on his way to his second career win by 4.810 seconds over Tyler Reddick. Byron’s last win came at Daytona of last season.

The rest of the top ten finishers were Martin Truex Jr. third, Kyle Larson fourth, Kevin Harvick fifth, Michael McDowell sixth, Ryan Newman seventh, Kurt Busch eighth, Alex Bowman ninth, and Kyle Busch tenth. There were six cautions for twenty laps and twenty lead changes.

The Cup Series now heads west to Las Vegas next Sunday, March 7th, at 3:30 pm on FOX.

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