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HOMESTEAD, Fla .– After years of seeing a handful of drivers – the same guys, really – dominate NASCAR’s top level almost every week, the Cup Series is experiencing a bit of parity to start the season.
It’s a welcome sight for some. Others hope it is a fleeting moment.
William Byron was the third surprise winner in three races this season with his victory Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Byron joined Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell as unlikely winners to start this season.
Byron controlled most of the final two stages at Homestead to win for the second time in 111 Cup starts. His first game arrived at Daytona last August and landed him one of the last places in the playoffs.
No one saw that one coming. Few people had this one on the radar either.
Byron entered the weekend with a 28-1 shot to win a race that many expected would provide him with a return to normal for the series of races. Instead, McDowell and Bell have company in the relatively odd group of 2021 winners and drivers who have blocked playoff spots.
“A lot of people obviously made good decisions on how to improve,” said 2017 series champion Martin Truex Jr., who was third. “The box we have to work on is so small … the rules are the rules, and they haven’t changed in a while. Small teams can catch up.”
Truex was quick to point out that he still believes the best teams – heavyweights like him, so to speak – will find their way to the top sooner rather than later.
But the first three races provided many eyebrow raised moments. Tyler Reddick was second on Sunday, almost three seconds behind Byron. McDowell had his third consecutive top 10 place finish. Chris Buescher took the lead for the first part of the race.
“It definitely closed the gap,” McDowell said.
McDowell and Bell were winners for the first time to open the season. This rare race has already tightened the playoff race less than a month after the start of NASCAR’s long season. A win earns an automatic place, and it is unusual to have multiple unique winners in a season.
Few could have predicted that this trio would put pressure on some of NASCAR’s top teams. Two-time series champion Kyle Busch currently sits below the top 16 in the standings, as do Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola – all of which qualified for the playoffs a year ago.
Byron is hardly seen as a big shock like the previous two, as he drives the famous No.24 for Hendrick Motorsports. But he hadn’t been a regular on Victory Lane either.
Then again, members of the Hendrick organization had a feeling he might be in for something big this season since reuniting with former team manager Rudy Fugle.
On their third start together in the #NASCAR Cup Series, @WilliamByron and @AxaltaRacing Team leader Rudy Fugle scored his first victory @HomesteadMiami!
The duo have won together seven times in the @NASCAR_Trucks Series. pic.twitter.com/xzHb19brta
– Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) March 1, 2021
“This guy has been huge for my career,” Byron said. “He’s the reason I’m here, and I’m just glad we got to have him. … We really think the same way.”
They had their best year together running the truck series for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2016, even winning at Homestead.
When former Byron crew chief Chad Knaus moved to Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick hired Fugle and paired him with Byron. It was a rare move for Hendrick, who usually prepares his team leaders within the organization.
Fugle spent eight years with KBM and led the truck program to two driver’s championships and five owner’s titles. His trucks won 28 races, including seven with Byron at the wheel.
“He knows how to push my buttons and motivate me,” Byron said. “Obviously you have to back it up with results. Results come when you have people like that to work with.”
Buescher dominated the race early, winning the first stage (the second stage victory of his career). The Roush Fenway Racing driver led five times for a total of 57 laps, but he started to fade “as the sun approaches”. Buescher dropped from sixth to 23rd after a restart at the start of the last stage.
“This is a step in the right direction for us,” said Buescher.
Byron took over from there and let some of the biggest names play catch-up for the first time in years.
“It’s tough because there’s not much you can do right now,” Truex said.
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