William Byron Takes Homestead-Miami NASCAR Cup Race

HOMESTEAD, FL – RIS – William Byron came to the party late but came powerfully.  Byron won the second stage of the Dixie Vodka 400 NASCAR Cup race and checked out in the final laps of the contest on Sunday. The 23-year-old driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet checked out from the rest of the field as the laps ran down. Byron’s win gives the circuit three different wins in three races.

After winning the second stage in a one-lap shootout, Byron led 99 of the final stage’s 107 laps on his way to earning his second career Cup win.

Byron won by 2.777 seconds over Tyler Reddick, who also ran strong after the sun went down to finish runner-up. Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick completed the top five.

What’s more interesting is his success since he reunited with former crew chief Rudy Fugle.

“That guy has been huge for my career,” Byron said. “He’s the reason I’m here and I’m just glad we could get him.”

They had their best year together while running the Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2016, even winning at Homestead.  When Byron’s former crew chief, Chad Knaus, moved up at Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick hired Fugle and paired him with Byron. It was a rare move for Hendrick, who typically grooms his crew chiefs from within the organization.

Fugle spent eight years at KBM and led the trucks program to two driver championships and five owner titles. His trucks won 28 races, seven with Byron behind the wheel.

The race saw few accidents.  In the day’s lone on-track incident, Aric Almirola‘s ill-fated attempt to move in front of Ryan Blaney ended with both cars tagging the Turn 4 wall on Lap 200. Blaney finished one lap down in 29th, while Almirola finished three laps down in 30th.

Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell recorded his third straight top 10 to open the season, finishing sixth … Kurt Busch recovered from a green-flag pit stop for a loose left-front wheel with 40 laps to go to finish eighth. Kevin Harvick fought hard to finish fifth.  McDowell and Harvick are the only drivers to score top 10 finishes in the season’s first three races.

Chris Buescher dominated the race early, winning the opening stage (the second stage win of his career). The Roush Fenway Racing driver led five times for a total of 57 laps, but he started to fade when as sunset neared. Buescher dropped from sixth to 23 after a restart early in the final stage. Byron’s domination became apparent after that.

Unofficial Results: 23rd Annual Dixie Vodka 400, February 28, 2021, Homestead-Miami Speedway

Fin, St, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status

1) 31, William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 267, 4, 1, 4, 102, 6, 57, Running

2) 35, Tyler Reddick, No. 8 Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 35, Running

3) 9, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Toyota, 267, 3, 4, 3, 37, , 49, Running

4) 17, Kyle Larson, No. 5 NationsGuard Chevrolet, 267, 6, 5, 1, 5, , 44, Running

5) 4, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 267, , 7, , , , 36, Running

6) 6, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 267, , , , , , 31, Running

7) 23, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs Ford, 267, , , , , , 30, Running

8) 5, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet, 267, 9, 3, , , , 39, Running

9) 13, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 267, 5, 9, , , , 36, Running

10) 24, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Fudge Brownie Toyota, 267, , , , , , 27, Running

11) 1, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Small Business Grant Constest Toyota, 267, , 2, , , , 35, Running

12) 22, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet, 267, 10, , , , , 26, Running

13) 15, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger/Tide Power Pods Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 24, Running

14) 11, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 267, 8, , 1, 4, , 26, Running

15) 21, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Camping World Chevrolet, 267, , , 1, 1, , 22, Running

16) 7, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 Dent Wizard Ford, 267, 2, 10, 3, 47, , 31, Running

17) 32, Ross Chastain, No. 42 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 20, Running

18) 30, Chase Briscoe #, No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford, 267, , , , , , 19, Running

19) 12, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 267, 1, 6, 5, 57, 1, 33, Running

20) 3, Christopher Bell, No. 20 Rheem Toyota, 267, , , , , , 17, Running

21) 8, * Ryan Preece, No. 37 Slim Jim Chevrolet, 267, , , , , , 16, Running

22) 19, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 DoorDash Toyota, 267, , , 1, 2, , 15, Running

23) 10, Cole Custer, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 267, , , , , , 14, Running

24) 27, Anthony Alfredo #, No. 38 Dude Wipes Ford, 267, , , , , , 13, Running

25) 2, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 267, 7, , 1, 12, , 16, Running

26) 20, Justin Haley(i), No. 77 Diamond Creek Water Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 0, Running

27) 18, Erik Jones, No. 43 Armor All Chevrolet, 266, , , , , , 10, Running

28) 37, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Menards/Moen Ford, 266, , , , , , 9, Running

29) 14, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 DEX Imaging Ford, 266, , 8, , , , 11, Running

30) 16, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 264, , , , , , 7, Running

31) 28, Garrett Smithley(i), No. 53 KSDT CPA Chevrolet, 263, , , , , , 0, Running

32) 26, Cody Ware(i), No. 51 NURTEC ODT Chevrolet, 261, , , , , , 0, Running

33) 36, Josh Bilicki, No. 52 Jacob Companies Ford, 259, , , , , , 4, Running