Preview: Denny Hamlin to start on Cup pole at Homestead
Last year’s Homestead winner Denny Hamlin will start on the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Joey Logano joins him on the front row.
The Miami Cup starting lineup is set by using a formula based on four statistical categories: owner points position, owner final race position, and the finish and fastest lap from the most recently completed race.
Performance Metrics Qualifying is a formula based on the previous race. The formula is 15% of a fastest lap time position, 25% of the driver’s final race finish position, 25% of the owner’s final race position and 35% of the owner points position. Any ties will be broken by the rule book.
Race Lineup
| Row | Pos | No. | Driver | Car |
| Row 1: | 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Small Business Grant Contest Toyota |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Shell Pennzoil Ford | |
| Row 2: | 3 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Rheem Toyota |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Busch Light Ford | |
| Row 3: | 5 | 1 | Kurt Busch | Monster Energy Chevrolet |
| 6 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Love’s Travel Stops Ford | |
| Row 4: | 7 | 2 | Brad Keselowski | Ford |
| 8 | 37 | Ryan Preece | Slim Jim Chevrolet | |
| Row 5: | 9 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Toyota |
| 10 | 41 | Cole Custer | HaasTooling.com Ford | |
| Row 6: | 11 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet |
| 12 | 17 | Chris Buescher | Fastenal Ford | |
| Row 7: | 13 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Ally Chevrolet |
| 14 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Ford | |
| Row 8: | 15 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Kroger/Tide Power Pods Chevrolet |
| 16 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Smithfield Ford | |
| Row 9: | 17 | 5 | Kyle Larson | NationsGuard Chevrolet |
| 18 | 43 | Erik Jones | Armor All Chevrolet | |
| Row 10: | 19 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | Toyota |
| 20 | 77 | Justin Haley(i) | Diamond Creek Water Chevrolet | |
| Row 11: | 21 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Camping World Chevrolet |
| 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Off Road Chevrolet | |
| Row 12: | 23 | 6 | Ryan Newman | Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs Ford |
| 24 | 18 | Kyle Busch | M&M’s Fudge Brownie Toyota | |
| Row 13: | 25 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Marwin Sports Apparel Chevrolet |
| 26 | 51 | Cody Ware(i) | NURTEC ODT Chevrolet | |
| Row 14: | 27 | 38 | Anthony Alfredo # | Ford |
| 28 | 53 | Garrett Smithley(i) | Ford | |
| Row 15: | 29 | 15 | James Davison | Chevrolet |
| 30 | 14 | Chase Briscoe # | Ford Performance Racing School Ford | |
| Row 16: | 31 | 24 | William Byron | Axalta Chevrolet |
| 32 | 42 | Ross Chastain | Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet | |
| Row 17: | 33 | 66 | Timmy Hill(i) | Ford |
| 34 | 78 | BJ McLeod(i) | Traxion.gg/Motorsport Games Ford | |
| Row 18: | 35 | 8 | Tyler Reddick | Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet |
| 36 | 52 | Josh Bilicki | Jacob Companies Ford | |
| Row 19: | 37 | 21 | Matt DiBenedetto | Menards/Moen Ford |
| 38 | 00 | Quin Houff | 8 Ball Whiskey Chevrolet |
Joe Gibbs Racing riding high after Daytona Road Course / Bell can make history this week
It must have been a celebratory week at the Joe Gibbs Racing complex after a successful weekend of racing at the Daytona Road Course that saw not only Joe Gibbs’ grandson Ty Gibbs, son of Coy Gibbs, get his first NASCAR national series victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – becoming just the sixth driver to win in his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut, joining Dale Earnhardt (1982, Daytona), Joe Ruttman (1982, Dover), Ricky Rudd (1983, Dover), Terry Labonte (1985, Charlotte) and Kurt Busch (2006, Texas) – but also NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell collected his first-career victory in the Cup Series event on Sunday. And to boot, Bell’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin claimed the NASCAR Cup Series points lead by 12 points over Team Penske’s Joey Logano in second place.
This weekend, the Joe Gibbs Racing camp will be looking to keep the winning ways going. Denny Hamlin is the defending NASCAR Cup Series Homestead-Miami Speedway winner, taking the checkered flag last season from the pole after leading a race-high 137 laps. It was his third victory at the South Florida track (2009, 2013, 2020), tying Greg Biffle (2004, 2005, 2006) and Tony Stewart (1999, 2000, 2011) for the series-most. It also gave Joe Gibbs Racing the series lead in wins by an organization at the 1.5-mile facility with eight victories – Tony Stewart (1999, 2000), Bobby Labonte (2003), Denny Hamlin (2009, 2013, 2020) and Kyle Busch (2015, 2019).
Hamlin’s teammates Kyle Busch (2015, 2019) and Martin Truex Jr. (2017) are also winners at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series and are looking for their first win of the 2021 season. Busch finished sixth in last season’s Homestead-Miami Speedway race and Martin Truex Jr. finished 12th.
Christopher Bell, who captured his first-career Cup Series win last weekend at the Daytona Road Course, is looking to become just the fourth driver in series history to follow-up his first career win with another victory, a feat not accomplished in the series since 1964. If Bell were to win this weekend, he would join Billy Wade (1964), NASCAR Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett (1959) and Dick Linder (1950) as the only four drivers in series history to accomplish the feat and Bell would be the first to do it in the Modern Era (1972-Present). Wade holds the series record for the most consecutive wins following a driver’s first series career win with four consecutive victories. He grabbed his first Cup victory on July 10, 1964 at Old Bridge Stadium. Ned Jarrett won his first race at Myrtle Beach on August 1, 1959 and Dick Linder won his first race at Dayton on August 20, 1950.
| Series | Date | Track | Drivers | Finish | Season | Race No. |
| Cup | Friday, July 10, 1964 | Old Bridge Stadium | Billy Wade | 1 | 1964 | 37 |
| Cup | Sunday, July 12, 1964 | Bridgehampton | Billy Wade | 1 | 1964 | 38 |
| Cup | Wednesday, July 15, 1964 | Islip | Billy Wade | 1 | 1964 | 39 |
| Cup | Sunday, July 19, 1964 | Watkins Glen | Billy Wade | 1 | 1964 | 40 |
| Series | Date | Track | Drivers | Finish | Season | Race No. |
| Cup | Saturday, August 1, 1959 | Myrtle Beach | Ned Jarrett | 1 | 1959 | 29 |
| Cup | Sunday, August 2, 1959 | Southern States | Ned Jarrett | 1 | 1959 | 30 |
| Series | Date | Track | Drivers | Finish | Season | Race No. |
| Cup | Sunday, August 20, 1950 | Dayton | Dick Linder | 1 | 1950 | 11 |
| Cup | Sunday, August 27, 1950 | Hamburg | Dick Linder | 1 | 1950 | 12 |
Bell made his series track debut at Homestead-Miami Speedway last season; he started 38th and raced his way up to an eighth-place finish.
Two new names already listed on this season’s Playoff picture, who’s next?
While there still may be 24 more races left in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season to decide who will qualify for the Playoffs, two new names that will be making the postseason debuts this year – Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell – have already locked themselves in. Looking ahead to this weekend’s race, the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) there are 15 different drivers entered that have won at least one NASCAR national series race at the famous 1.5-mile South Florida track and all 15 are hoping to etch their name on the postseason list.
Two drivers looking for their first win this season, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, are the only two drivers entered this weekend that have won in all three NASCAR national series at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Busch has scored two wins (2015, 2019) in the NASCAR Cup Series, two in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2009, 2010) and three in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2010, 2013, 2020). Harvick has collected one victory in each series (Cup 2014, Xfinity 2004, Truck 2009). In last season’s Homestead Cup race, Busch finished posted his ninth career top-10 finishes (sixth) at the track and Harvick finished 26th, his first finish outside the top-10 at the 1.5-mile track since 2007 (19th).
Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin is the early favorite for this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Chesterfield, Virginia native is tied with Greg Biffle and NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart for the series-most wins with three each. Plus, he is the defending winner of this race. He took last season’s checkered flag from the pole after leading a race-high 137 laps. In total, Hamlin has made 16 series starts at Homestead-Miami posting three wins, five top fives and 11 top 10s.
The next most recent winner in the NASCAR Cup Series at Homestead-Miami was Team Penske’s Joe Logano, who took home the series title after winning the 2018 season finale. Logano has made 12 starts at the South Florida track posting one win, four top fives and six top 10s. The 30-year-old, Logano, finished 27th in the Homestead-Miami race last season, his first finish outside the top-10 since 2014 (16th).
Like Logano, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. won the 2017 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Furniture Row Racing and also collected a series title in the process. Truex finished 12th in last year’s Homestead-Miami race, breaking a streak of 1-2 finishes dating back to 2017 (2017 first-place; 2018 and 2019 runner-up finishes). In 16 starts at Homestead, Truex posted one win, six top fives and 10 top 10s.
The sixth active driver to win at Homestead-Miami Speedway is Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch, who won back in 2002 driving for Roush Fenway Racing. In total, Busch has made 20 series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway putting up one win, four top fives and seven top 10s. He finished 17th in last season’s event.
Seven additional NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered this weekend have won at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series; including Brad Keselowski (two wins: 2011, 2013), Chase Briscoe (2020), Tyler Reddick (2019, 2018), Cole Custer (2017), Daniel Suarez (2016), Kyle Larson (2015) and Ryan Newman (2005). Briscoe is the only driver of the seven to win at Homestead in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2020) and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2017).
Two additional NASCAR Cup Series drivers entered this weekend have won at Homestead-Miami Speedway solely in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – William Byron (2016) and Bubba Wallace (2014).
| NASCAR Cup Series Driver Playoff Outlook Following Race No. 2 of 36 | |||||||
| Rank | Driver | Points | Starts | Race Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | Pts From Cutoff |
| 1 | Christopher Bell | 82 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | In On Wins |
| 2 | Michael McDowell | 75 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 104 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 69 |
| 4 | Joey Logano | 92 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 |
| 5 | Kevin Harvick | 83 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 6 | Chase Elliott | 79 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 44 |
| 7 | * Ryan Preece | 74 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 |
| 8 | Kurt Busch | 65 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| 9 | Austin Dillon | 64 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| 10 | Brad Keselowski | 64 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 |
| 11 | Cole Custer | 54 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 12 | Kyle Larson | 53 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| 13 | Bubba Wallace | 52 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 14 | Martin Truex Jr. | 47 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 15 | Corey LaJoie | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 16 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 | Kyle Busch | 35 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -3 |
| 18 | Chris Buescher | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| 19 | Ryan Blaney | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -4 |
| 20 | Ross Chastain | 33 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 |
23XI Racing starting strong and so far, the best among the new Cup teams
NBA Legend Michael Jordan made it very clear he wanted to be successful in NASCAR in his pre-season interviews and the new team he started in conjunction with Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin, 23XI Racing, is starting off the season in the right direction.
Jordan and Hamlin tapped Mobile, Alabama’s Bubba Wallace to pilot the No. 23 Toyota this season and the 27-year-old is looking up for the challenge. Wallace kicked the season off finishing 17th after being involved in a multi-car last lap incident in the Daytona 500, but not before grabbing points in the first two stage of the race. He then followed it up with a 26th-place finish at the DAYTONA Road Course and now sits 13th in the NASCAR Cup Series driver standings 17 points ahead of the Playoff cutoff. Which is the second-best start to a Cup season for Wallace following the first two races; he was 12th in points after the first two races last season.
Wallace is no slouch at Homestead-Miami Speedway either. While working his way up the NASCAR ranks, he collected a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory at the 1.5-mile track in 2014. In the NASCAR Cup Series, he has made three starts at Homestead-Miami posting a best finish of 13th last season.
When you compare the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota team to the two other new teams in the NASCAR Cup Series this season – No. 99 TrackHouse Racing Chevrolet driven by Daniel Suarez and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford driven by B.J. McLeod – the 23XI Racing is so far out performing them. 23XI Racing is ranked eighth (41 points) in the NASCAR Cup Series owner point standings followed by Live Fast Motorsports in 23rd (14 points) and TrackHouse Racing in 33rd (four points).
Rookie Rundown: Alfredo pours on the sauce at the Daytona Road Course
With two races in the books, there is no question the NASCAR Cup Series 2021 Sunoco Rookie of the Year class is full of talent, despite only being two drivers – Front Row Motorsports Anthony Alfredo and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe.
Following a 22nd-place finish that earned him the Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award in last weekend’s event at the Daytona Road Course, Anthony Alfredo closed the points gap between himself and fellow rookie Chase Briscoe to three points. But Alfredo will have his work cut out for him this weekend if he wants to surpass Briscoe in the rookie standings this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Alfredo has just one NASCAR national series start at the 1.5-mile track in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2019; he started 24th but finished 32nd due to an engine failure.
Sunoco Rookie standings leader, Chase Briscoe, on the other hand has found success at Homestead-Miami Speedway winning at the track in both the NASCAR Xfinity Series (2020) and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (2017).
NASCAR Cup Series Etc.
Steve Letarte returns to the pit box for Spire Motorsports – This week Spire Motorsports announced several team members on the No. 7 car will not be participating in this weekend’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway due to COVID-19 protocols; including the crew chief Ryan Sparks. As a result, former NASCAR Cup Series crew chief turned NBC Sports NASCAR TV Analyst will return to the pit box this weekend and lead the No. 7 team with driver Corey LaJoie. Letarte served as crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series for nine full seasons at Hendrick Motorsports. During that time, Letarte led NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (10 wins) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (five wins) to a combined total of 15 victories in the series – none were at Homestead. LaJoie has made four series starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway posting an average finish of 31.2.
Homestead to host limited number of fans – NASCAR and Homestead-Miami Speedway announced back in December that the 1.5-mile venue’s February NASCAR weekend will play host to a reduced number of fans, and will also be pushed back one week later than originally scheduled. The decision to limit fans is due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and is in accordance with enhanced safety protocols and procedures to provide a safe environment for guests, NASCAR competitors, employees and the local community.
Now set for Feb. 27-28, the third weekend of the 2021 NASCAR season will be headlined by Homestead-Miami Speedway’s Dixie Vodka 400 NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday, Feb. 28 and a NASCAR Xfinity Series race set for Saturday, Feb. 27. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, originally scheduled for Friday, Feb. 19, has been realigned to the DAYTONA Road Course for the same date.
“The South Florida community and Homestead-Miami Speedway are always excited to welcome fans here from across the country,” said track President Al Garcia. “We pride ourselves on personal hospitality and incredible racing at our beautiful, colorful, one-of-a-kind facility. We will work with our fans to find the best opportunity to enjoy NASCAR racing at its finest, here at Homestead-Miami Speedway.”
The Crew’s Sarah Stiles to Perform Virtual National Anthem – As NASCAR fans around the globe continue to dive into Netflix’s new racing-themed comedy series, THE CREW, fans of the show will have an opportunity to see one of its lead actresses showcase her singing talent ahead of this Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Stiles, a multi-talented actress, musician, and two-time Tony Award nominee, can currently be seen starring as ‘Beth’ in THE CREW alongside Kevin James.
On television, Sarah also recurs as ‘Bonnie Barella’ on Showtime’s hit series BILLIONS and starred in EPIX’s critically acclaimed series GET SHORTY. Additional television and film credits include the Steven Soderbergh’s UNSANE, I’M DYING UP HERE, BLACKLIST, DIETLAND, as well as the animated STEVEN UNIVERSE for Cartoon Network and SUNNY DAY for Nickelodeon. Sarah lends her voice on the recording of Pasek and Paul’s JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH.
On stage, Sarah Stiles starred in the Broadway production of TOOTSIE as ‘Sandy Lester’. She earned Tony, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical for this role. She has also starred in various Broadway productions including her Tony nominated performance as Jessica in HAND TO GOD, ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREEVER, Kate/ Lucy AVENUE Q and THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNUM COUNTY SPELLING BEE.
In 2016, she penned her solo show SQUIRREL HEART which she performed to sold out audiences at Joe’s Pub at the Public in NYC. Her debut EP YOU CAN UKELELE WITH ME was released by Broadway Records in August 2020.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
First timer Ty Gibbs clobbered the Daytona Road Course
Ty Gibbs, grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, made history last weekend at the Daytona Road Course. Gibbs, who was making his first career start in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, won the race in the No. 54 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing and added his name to the list of drivers that won in their first Xfinity start.
Dale Earnhardt was the first to make history at Daytona International Speedway in February 1982. Joe Ruttman did it at Dover International Speedway in May 1982. Ricky Rudd won in his first career start at Dover International Speedway in May of 1983. Terry Labonte did it in October 1985 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Prior to Gibbs’ win, Kurt Busch did it in April 2006 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Gibbs also became the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Xfinity Series road course event at 18 years, 4 months and 16 days. The record was previously held by the second-place finisher, Austin Cindric, at 20 years old.
JGR’s Daniel Hemric in the No. 18 and Brandon Jones in the No. 19 finished third and fourth and Jeb Burton in the No. 10 for Kaulig Racing rounded out the top five.
The 52-lap race on the 3.610-mile road course had 11 different lead changes and seven cautions for 14 laps. Gibbs crossed the finish line 1.726-seconds before Cindric.
There were 1,408 green flag passes (33.5 per green flag lap).
This weekend the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Contender Boats 250 on Saturday, February 27 at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
The race will be 250.5 miles and 167 laps with Stage 1 ending on Lap 40 and Stage 2 ending on Lap 80.
Cindric will start on the pole for Saturday’s race with Hemric joining him on the front row. Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones will take the second row.
Homestead’s History
Saturday’s Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be the 28th NASCAR Xfinity Series race held at the 1.5-mile track.
Last season, Harrison Burton won the first race at Homestead-Miami, leading only the final two laps before taking home his second career victory.
Chase Briscoe went on to win the second race at the Florida track after leading only 11 laps. Noah Gragson in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet led a race-high 81 laps and ended up finishing fifth.
Brandon Jones finished second, while Ross Chastain finished third and AJ Allmendinger finished fourth.
The race had six cautions for 28 laps and 20 lead changes. The Margin of Victory was .072 seconds.
The inaugural NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead-Miami was on November 5, 1995 where Dale Jarrett took home the win and Joe Nemechek won the pole award.
There have been 20 different pole winners and 20 different race winners at the track in the Xfinity Series.
Burton’s win last season made him the youngest series winner at the track (19 years, 8 months, four days).
Tyler Reddick holds the race record from November 17, 2018 at 140.515 mph.
There have been five races won from the pole and or first starting position.
Joe Nemechek holds the record for the most races run at Homestead in the Xfinity Series (19). Kyle Busch, Jeff Green, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick are all tired for the most pole wins (2). Joe Nemechek also holds the record for the most wins at the track (3). Kyle Busch and Mark Martin are tied for the most top fives (7) and Matt Kenseth has the most top 10s (10). Kyle Busch has led the most laps at Homestead-Miami with 487.
Three drivers in history got their first Xfinity Series career win at the track: Cole Custer (2017), Kasey Kahne (2003) and Regan Smith (2012).
Most recent numbers at Homestead-Miami Speedway:
- There were 20 lead changes and eight different leaders in the most recent race at the track.
- There were six cautions for 28 laps and only nine cars finishing on the lead lap.
- There were 31 total cars running at the finish.
- The winner led only 11 laps.
Eyes on Harrison
Harrison Burton made a statement last season in his rookie year with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series, winning four races, making it to the Playoffs and winning Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.
He’s started out this season just as strong, too. In the first two races of the season, Burton finished third in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway and finished sixth last weekend at the Daytona Road Course. He’s already led a total of 31 laps in both races with his new crew chief, Jason Ratcliff, on the pit box.
Heading into this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Burton has some momentum on his side having won this race last season. It was his second career win after winning at Auto Club Speedway to start the 2020 season.
Burton started from the pole in the June race and led only two laps en route to the victory. He had a strong final restart that put him out front and took control of the final two laps.
Last season’s race had 18 lead changes and five cautions for 25 laps. Burton’s Margin of Victory over second-place finisher Austin Cindric was .179 seconds.
Burton has the fourth-best driver rating at Homestead-Miami Speedway at 101.5 and the second-best driver rating this season at 113.3
NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver Playoff Outlook Following The Daytona Road Course:
| Rank | Driver | Points | Wins | Stage Wins | Playoff Pts | Pts From Cutoff |
| 1 | Austin Cindric | 105 | 1 | 1 | 6 | In On Wins |
| 2 | Harrison Burton | 81 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 |
| 3 | Daniel Hemric | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 4 | Brandon Brown | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 |
| 5 | Myatt Snider | 69 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
| 6 | Jeb Burton | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
| 7 | Jeremy Clements | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 8 | Justin Haley | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 9 | Brandon Jones | 48 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 10 | Kyle Weatherman | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 11 | Joe Graf Jr. | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Jesse Little | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Ferrucci making NASCAR debut on Saturday: Former Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year, Santino Ferrucci, is scheduled to make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut this weekend for Sam Hunt Racing. He will pilot the No. 26 Toyota Supra and is scheduled to run the next five races for the team.
Nemechek joining Sam Hunt Racing: John Hunter Nemechek is heading back to an Xfinity car in May for the first time since 2019. Nemechek will join Sam Hunt Racing in the No. 26 Toyota in select races this season, starting at Dover International Speedway. Nemechek is running full time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports and joins a Sam Hunt Racing lineup that includes Brandon Gdovic, Kris Wright and Santino Ferrucci.
JGR announces remainder of Ty’s schedule: After his NXS debut at the Daytona Road Course and claiming his first win, JGR announced the reminder of Ty Gibbs’ schedule for 2021 in the Xfinity Series. He’ll be back at Phoenix Raceway, Martinsville Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Dover International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Pocono Raceway, Road America, Watkins Glen International, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Michigan International Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Charlotte ROVAL and Kansas Speedway.
Sunoco Rookie update: With his win last week at the Daytona Road Course, Ty Gibbs is currently leading the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings with 50 points and one award. Ryan Vargas is sitting in second with 20 points and one award coming from the season-opener. Josh Berry is in third, Jordan Anderson fourth and Sam Mayer fifth. Anderson and Mayer both have not made a start in 2021 yet.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Ben Rhodes opens season with sweep
After thrice tallying one win in a season (2017, 2018, 2020), Ben Rhodes has come out of the chute on fire this season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series – sweeping the opening two races of the year on the pair of Daytona International Speedway configurations.
He narrowly edged out Cory Roper in the tri-oval during overtime on the superspeedway’s oval configuration in the season-opener, then took a triple-overtime victory over reigning series champion Sheldon Creed on the road course last Friday night.
And his competitors should be taking this off-week to think about how they can stop Rhodes from taking home three straight trophies when the series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5.
Rhodes’ first NASCAR national series win came on the 1.5-mile desert circuit in 2017, and he followed that up in 2018 with a win on the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway.
Overall at Las Vegas, Rhodes has a win, three top fives and five top 10s in his eight starts at Las Vegas – meaning he’ll surely be a threat to continue his winning ways this season.
Austin Hill looks to rebound at Las Vegas
The start of the 2021 season hasn’t been exceptionally generous to Austin Hill, who finished 22nd on the oval and 33rd on the road course at Daytona International Speedway over the past two weeks. So, he’s definitely one driver looking forward to taking this weekend off to regroup before heading out west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
But he should be very happy that’s the next stop on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule, as he won the most recent race there last September, and also won the same race a year prior.
In fact, four of Hill’s six career wins in the series have come at 1.5-mile tracks (Las Vegas – 2019, 2020; Homestead-Miami – 2019; Kansas – 2020). And in six races at Las Vegas, he has recorded a pair of wins as part of three top-five and four top-10 finishes.
Chandler Smith maintains early Sunoco Rookie of the Year lead
Kyle Busch Motorsport’s Chandler Smith holds an early lead in the Sunoco Rookie of the year standings following a pair of races in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.
Smith was the highest-finishing Sunoco Rookie contender in the Daytona Road Course race and now sits 15 points ahead of Carson Hocevar in second.
Sunoco Rookie of the Year
Rookies Points Awards
Chandler Smith 70 1
Carson Hocevar 55 1
Hailie Deegan 26 0
Kris Wright 25 0
Chase Purdy 25 0
Tim Viens 0 0
Smith finished 12th on the road course, while Hocevar was 14th. Chase Purdy was 22nd and Hailie Deegan placed 28th.