Five to Watch: Story lines for Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Sunshine State star: Denny Hamlin has finished fifth or better in the last six points-paying races held in the state of Florida, including his win last year at Miami where he led a race-high 137 laps from the pole. He has combined to lead 344 laps in the span that dates back to his 2020 Daytona 500 win. Hamlin is currently tied with Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart for the all-time win lead at Miami.

"We feel good in our efforts through the first two races of the season," Hamlin said. "Obviously, we wish we could have come out with a victory at either of the Daytona races, but we still had good performances. We’re confident in how we’ll run this weekend and hopefully have a repeat of last year."

First of nine: Homestead-Miami Speedway marks the first of nine 1.5-mile tracks on the schedule in 2021. Last year, there were nine different winners in the 11 races with Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano the only multiple winners. In those events, Kevin Harvick, who leads all drivers with a 7.4 average finish at Miami, posted the most top fives (6) and Brad Keselowski had the most top 10s (10). Ryan Blaney, who led 70 laps last year in this event, recorded the best average finish (6.8) in the 11 races. Also, Martin Truex Jr. (9.0) and Kyle Busch (9.5) each ranked in the top five in average finish.

"We definitely feel confident with the gains we made on the 1.5-mile tracks last season and the work everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing has put in this offseason," said Truex, who along with Alex Bowman are the only drivers to finish in the top 10 in each of the last four races at 1.5-mile tracks. "Homestead has typically been a good place for our team, so I’m excited to get down there and see what we can do this weekend."

Next to the wall: Homestead-Miami Speedway's progressive banking, aged surface and oval layout provides drivers with multiple options for racing lines on the track. One of them is right near the wall where drivers can pick up speed, but it also could have consequences with possible contact. Kyle Larson, who is making his first start at Miami since 2019, is one of those drivers who likes to run that line. Miami is Larson's fourth-best track based on laps led.

"One of the fastest ways around there, definitely one of the fastest at the end of a run, is getting right up next to the wall and running inches off of it," said Larson, who has nine runner-up finishes at 1.5-mile tracks. "I’ve had a lot of success there running that line. I don’t have a win but have led a lot of laps there."

First-time start to season: Sixteen drivers in the field would like nothing more than to add their name to the history book by not only scoring their first career Cup win, but also extending the streak of first-time winners to open up the season to three. Among those drivers are Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick, who have both won in the Xfinity Series at Homestead-Miami. Reddick finished fourth last year in his first Cup start at the track. After tough outings at Daytona, Briscoe and Reddick will start near the rear of the field. Last year, Reddick, a driver who also likes to run near the wall, started 24th and quickly made his way to the front, finishing third and second, respectively, in the stages.

"I do feel like this is a place where out of any race track on the schedule I feel like this is the one place I really know what to look for in the car," said Briscoe, who captured his first Camping World Truck Series win at Miami in 2017. "I feel like no matter what I have I can make up for a little bit, and I feel like Homestead is one of those places where it seems like the guys that run good there typically always run good there. You look at Reddick, he was always really good there and then in the Cup Series it was no different."

Bell eyes history: Christopher Bell is looking to make history Sunday by becoming just the fourth driver, and first in the modern era, to follow-up his first career win with another victory. Miami was home to one of Bell's seven top 10s during his rookie season in Cup. Bell's crew chief, Adam Stevens, helped lead Kyle Busch to six top 10s, including two wins, in the last six races at Miami.

"Homestead was definitely one that we had circled going into the 2021 calendar year, because it was one of my best races last year," said Bell, who has finished in the top 10 in the last two races at 1.5-mile tracks (Kansas and Texas). "I finished eighth last year in the LFR (Leavine Family Racing) car. I think we have the opportunity to build on that. If we go out there and have another solid day, that’s going to create really good momentum going forward."

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for race No. 3 of the 2021 season, the Dixie Vodka 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). This will mark the first time the South Florida track has hosted a Cup race this early in the season. Last year, the track held its race weekend in June after the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the March date. Miami previously held the final date on the schedule since 2002.

There are six previous Miami winners in the field, led by defending Dixie Vodka 400 winner Denny Hamlin with three. Kyle Busch (2), Kurt Busch (1), Kevin Harvick (1), Joey Logano (1) and Martin Truex Jr. (1) are the other winners. Kurt Busch's win came on the track's former configuration.

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