Posted on by Zack Albert

Tyler Reddick matched his career-best Cup Series finish Sunday at one of his known sweet spots on the NASCAR circuit, Homestead-Miami Speedway. Instead of overwhelming elation, his reaction — much like his car’s characteristics and capabilities — was a night-and-day difference.

Reddick pushed his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to second place in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400, forging past early contenders Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson in the closing laps but finishing just shy of race winner William Byron. His fourth top-five finish of his career was also his second runner-up finish, equaling his result last July as part of a 1-2 finish with teammate Austin Dillon at Texas Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Race results | Cup Series standings

Reddick’s penchant for rim-riding and capitalizing on Miami’s multiple grooves was on full display in the late going. The outing was reminiscent of his charges to season-ending victories in back-to-back Xfinity Series campaigns, lifting him to championships in 2018-19. But a 35th-place starting spot in Sunday’s race and a car that didn’t come to life until after sundown kept Reddick from putting his full Miami expertise to use until later.

“I don’t know why we were so off in the beginning of the day here,” said Reddick, now in his second Cup Series season. “Last year or in the summer, we took off really, really good in the daytime, so I saw we would be better in the day and everyone is going to catch up at night, and it was the opposite.

“Yeah, when you see how much faster you were than the guys in front of you and you know you’re running out of time, it gets frustrating. Really if you go back and look at one or two things that would have changed the outcome.”

Among those things: The starting spot deep in the 38-car field, plus a sluggish final restart that left him playing catch-up down the stretch. His runner-up finish helped him make gains after opening the year with 27th- and 38th-place results, but Reddick remains 23rd in the Cup Series standings in a season where new faces — not including his — are snatching up provisional playoff berths at a rapid pace.

“Yeah, I get it, can’t go back and change it, but we had a really bad start to the year,” Reddick said. “Second is great, but it’s not going to put us in a great — we’re still way back in the mess, in the mix of it.”

Though Reddick has yet to lead a lap this year, he was able to find a measure of consolation on friendly turf after two trying weeks at Daytona International Speedway — first on the superspeedway, then on the road course. Reddick showed glimpses of his potential in a promising rookie season last year but noted his difficulties in closing out strong performances. Sustaining the spirit of Sunday’s surge is the next challenge.

“Well, there’s a lot of positives,” Reddick said. “I feel like the story of our — of my rookie season and the story of our team last year was start off really good, midway through the race, just go all the — it just blows up in our face and we just don’t get a good finish out of it. Today was the opposite, which was nice. It’s something that we’ve been needing to get, figure out how we can have nights like this and what we can do to continue to stay hungry and keep fighting.”

MORE: Relive the final laps of Reddick’s run at Miami

Posted on by Reid Spencer

In a No. 24 Chevrolet that steadily improved its performance as the sun went down, William Byron streaked to a decisive victory in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

With Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr. battling for second place behind him, Byron cruised to a 2.777-second victory over Reddick, who charged through the field late in the final 60-lap green-flag run to the finish.

Truex ran third, with Larson coming home fourth. The victory was Byron’s first of the season, first at Homestead and the second of his career. The win was the 264th in the NASCAR Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports, leaving the organization four victories behind Petty Enterprises for most all-time.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

“It was just a really smooth day,” said Byron, who won Stage 2 after finishing fourth in the opening 80-lap stage. “We worked hard in the winter on this track. I can’t believe it.”

Though Reddick made his charge by running inches from the outside wall, Byron preferred to maintain a respectful distance from the fence whenever possible.

“You had to go to the wall at certain times,” said Byron, who led 102 laps, a career-best for a single race. “(Turns) 3 and 4, it was really fast up there. I definitely didn’t do it as good as the Xfinity cars do it, but I used it when I had to. This car was just awesome. It was really a lot of hard work. I think we went to the sim (simulator) four or five times this offseason, and it pays off, man. It’s awesome.”

RELATED: Watch Willy B’s wild burnout at Miami

Byron delivered the first Cup victory to crew chief Rudy Fugle, with whom he teamed to great success in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In fact, the last time Byron and Fugle worked together, they won the 2016 season finale at Homestead.

Reddick didn’t score a point in either of the first two stages, but his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet was lightning-fast at the end of the race. When Reddick moved into fourth place past Kevin Harvick on Lap 254 of 267, he was nine seconds behind Byron. By the end of the race, despite having to clear both Truex and Larson for second, he had trimmed more than six seconds off Byron’s lead.

“Once I really saw how fast we were in clean air, when I saw how fast we were catching everybody, it’s beyond frustrating,” said Reddick, who matched his career-best finish. “Three different decisions on restarts would have put me miles ahead, and I would have been within reach.

“Second’s great, but I saw how much faster I was than those guys at the end, so naturally, it’s frustrating.”

RELATED: Reddick rides high line on late charge

Chris Buescher was dominant early, leading a career-high 57 laps in a single race and picking up the second stage win of his career in the opening segment. But as the sunlight faded, so did Buescher’s No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. He finished 19th.

Truex thought his car capable of maintaining Byron’s pace in the final run and was disappointed when it didn’t.

“On that last run, for whatever reason, I was just babying it,” Truex said. “The 24 (Byron) got the lead from me on that (last) restart (on Lap 208), and then the 5 (Larson) got by us, and I’m just biding my time waiting for them to start coming back to me, and they just never did.

“They obviously were really fast at the end, and we weren’t quite as good that last run. These things are so hard to win. These cars are so touchy and just needed one more adjustment to have a chance.”

Harvick came home fifth, followed by Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell, as both drivers have scored top-10 finishes in each of the first three races of the season. Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch completed the top 10. Denny Hamlin ran 11th, failing to keep his top-10 streak alive because of a late-race pit road speeding penalty.

Hamlin nevertheless retained the series lead by 20 points over Harvick.

Up next, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Sunday for the Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Note: Post-race inspection was completed in the Cup Series garage without major issue. Six cars were each found with one unsecured lug nut in a post-race check: the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Reddick, the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Chase Elliott, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch, the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Truex, the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Cole Custer, and the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet of Ross Chastain.

Posted on by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, March 1
Midnight, NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami (re-air), FS1
4:30 a.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami (re-air), FS1
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (re-air), FS2
9 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (re-air), FS2

Tuesday, March 2
Midnight, The Golden Hour: Making of Days of Thunder (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

On MRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, March 3
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1

Thursday, March 4
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Contender Boats 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (re-air), FS2
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (re-air), FS2
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
8 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN
11 p.m., ARCA Menards Series East: Pensacola 200 at 5 Flags Speedway (tape delay), NBCSN

Friday, March 5
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Las Vegas, FS1
8 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: NCWTS at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, FS1
9 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series: Bucked Up 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, FS1

On MRN:
8:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Bucked Up 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Saturday, March 6
1:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series: Bucked Up 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
9:30 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series: Bucked Up 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Bucked Up 200 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (re-air), FS2
2 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Las Vegas (re-air), FS2
4 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Xfinity Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, FS1 (Canada: TSN 4)

On PRN:
4 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Sunday, March 7
1 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Las Vegas (re-air), FS1
10 a.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
2 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, FS1
3 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Cup Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, FOX
3:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, FOX (Canada: TSN 2)
10 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Pennzoil 400 presented by Jiffy Lube at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1

On PRN:
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Posted on by Staff Report

Four NASCAR Cup Series drivers will start from the rear of the field for Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), including series points leader Denny Hamlin.

RELATED: Starting lineup

Hamlin, who was set to start his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota from the pole position, will start out back because of unapproved adjustments before the 267-lap, 400.5-mile race at the 1.5-mile South Florida track. Alex Bowman, driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and Corey LaJoie, driver of the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, will also drop to the rear for unapproved adjustments. Bowman was slated to start 13th, while LaJoie was in the 25th starting position.

A fourth car, the No. 15 Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet driven by James Davison, will also start at the rear for failing pre-race inspection twice. Davison was originally supposed to start 29th.

Posted on by Staff Report

Josh Shipplett, tire carrier for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11 Toyota and driver Denny Hamlin, will suit up for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway after a pit-road incident in Saturday’s Xfinity Series event.

RELATED: Starting lineup | Xfinity Series results

Hamlin leads the Cup Series standings and is set to start Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, MRN, SiriusXM) from the Busch Pole. A representative for the team confirmed that Shipplett was cleared to join the No. 11 team’s over-the-wall group for Sunday’s event.

Shipplett, 31, was working for JGR’s No. 18 team in the Xfinity Series when driver Daniel Hemric overshot his pit stall during the first caution period, forcing crew members to take evasive action. The car appeared to clip one of the two right-side tires that Shipplett was carrying, sending him tumbling to the pavement.

FOX Sports’ Jamie Little reported that Shipplett had gone to the infield care center, complaining of soreness in his ribs. Little reported that he was replaced Saturday by a member of the No. 20 JGR team of Harrison Burton, who retired with an engine failure after completing just 70 of the 179 laps.

Hemric rallied to a third-place finish in Saturday’s Contender Boats 250, but struck an apologetic tone — both during the race in his radio communications with the team, and in post-race interviews. His JGR crew seemed to absolve him during the event, saying that a pre-race adjustment may have been at least partially to blame.

“First off, I’m so sorry,” Hemric said post-race. “Those are Denny’s guys for (Sunday) and I could hear Chris Gabehart, their crew chief for tomorrow, saying take care of his guys. I did not do that today. It was my first time coming down pit road in these cars and I fully underestimated how much front brake I had. Completely on me. I’ve got to be better than that.”

Shipplett has also been listed on team rosters as a tire carrier for Halmar Friesen Racing in the Camping World Truck Series this season.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Noah Gragson announced his intent to be assertive in a pre-race interview, saying it was “checkers or wreckers” Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. With inside three laps left in the scheduled race distance and within reach of the former, the 22-year-old driver got the latter end of his either/or proposition.

RELATED: Race results | Weekend schedule

Gragson’s No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet led the field in the closing laps of Saturday’s Contender Boats 250 when the No. 13 Toyota of veteran David Starr bobbled into his path with an apparent issue on his MBM Motorsports entry. Starr’s No. 13 scraped the outside retaining wall, and the faster car of Gragson plowed into his back bumper, ending his day and sending the race into overtime for others to decide.

“You know what they can do is get these guys a (expletive) drivers license,” Gragson radioed his team after coming to a halt.

In Starr’s defense, he had rallied from the last-place starting position to run inside the top 15, clawing to stay on the lead lap when his trouble struck.

Gragson didn’t back down in his televised interview, which also pushed the boundaries of PG-13: “What are you gonna do? You got (expletives) in the way every single week,” he said. “But very thankful for Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops. It’s a shame. We’ve dominated the last three races, including this race, and have had stuff happen like that.”

RELATED: Heartbroken Gragson after Miami wreck: ‘It’s a shame’

Gragson started last season in the best way possible, prevailing in the Xfinity Series’ opener at Daytona International Speedway. This year’s first three races have been the opposite, with finishes of 32nd, 28th and Saturday’s 33th — all of which have him stuck in 27th in the series standings.

Adding to the ache: Gragson had made Miami’s well-worn 1.5-mile layout his playground in recent runs. In his last two Miami starts, he led the most laps each time but was forced to settle for top-five finishes. Saturday, his 34 laps out front ranked third in the field, but his late-race advantage was a commanding one before its derailment.

“Definitely a bummer,” Gragson said. “They know who won this race based off speed the last three times we’ve been here, and not meant to show it. But (crew chief) Dave Elenz and the rest of these guys, it’s really unfortunate, but there’s only one thing we know how to do and that’s rebound and keep our heads up and be thankful for the opportunity.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR officials have disqualified the No. 23 Chevrolet of Tyler Reddick for failing post-race inspection after Saturday’s Xfinity Series event at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

RELATED: Official results

Reddick, a Cup Series regular, had driven the No. 23 to an apparent second-place result at the checkered flag in the Contender Boats 250. But his car failed the rear height requirement in post-race technical inspection, dropping Reddick to last in the 40-car field.

All other finishers move up one position, which elevates Brandon Jones to a runner-up placement behind first-time race winner Myatt Snider.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Myatt Snider got his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

Noah Gragson got another heartache at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

With perfect execution from the inside lane on his second chance at an overtime restart, Snider held off charging Tyler Reddick to win Saturday’s Contender Boats 250.

RELATED: Official race results | Weekend schedule

For his third straight race at the 1.5-mile track, Gragson was close enough to taste victory, but it was his ill-fated crash with just over two laps left in regulation that set up overtime and Snider’s victory.

Reddick’s second-place finish didn’t stand, however. His No. 23 Chevrolet was disqualified after post-race inspection, because the ride height measured too low in the rear.

On the first attempt at extra laps, Snider spun his tires, and Reddick grabbed the lead before AJ Allmendinger spun toward the infield grass in Turn 1 to cause the eighth and final caution.

In the second overtime, Reddick returned the favor, and Snider pulled clear in the bottom lane. With a determined charge on the final lap, Reddick gained ground, but he was .085 seconds in arrears when Snider crossed the finish line in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

“Yeah, I guess I learned my lesson on that first restart, ‘cause I spun the wheels,” said Snider, who won in his 36th start in the series. “Then I saw Tyler spin the wheels on the next one, and I knew I might have a chance.

“Just a shout-out to all these RCR guys, (sponsor) Taxslayer, all these people that supported me over the years. It’s been a rough journey, but we’re here with a win, and I can’t complain.”

Reddick, who drives full time for RCR in the NASCAR Cup Series, was moonlighting with RSS Racing, making his first Xfinity start since winning his second straight series title at Miami in 2019.

RELATED: No. 23 of Tyler Reddick disqualified after failing post-race inspection

“I just needed to work better there with Austin Cindric (restarting fourth for the final overtime) on that restart,” Reddick said. “I don’t know if I just didn’t go when he was wanting me to, but it didn’t allow me to get a push — so that’s on me.

“He’s really good at pushing. So I’ve got to do better next time. But, hey, I’ll take second place. I work out with Myatt quite a bit. I’ve seen him progress a lot. I knew this wasn’t far around the corner. I was just hoping that it wouldn’t come here at Homestead when I was racing against him… I wanted to fight. I wanted to make it as hard as I could, but he just got me at the end there.”

Gragson was about two laps away from a redemptive victory when the No. 13 Toyota of David Starr — the last driver on the lead lap — blew a right-front tire and shot up the track into the outside wall and right into Gragson’s path.

RELATED: Watch Noah Gragson run into David Starr to lose lead

Gragson, who led 83 and 81 laps in last year’s two Miami races but failed to win either, couldn’t avoid the collision that destroyed his No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. At the time, Gragson led second-place Reddick by more than eight seconds.

“What are you going to do,” Gragson said after a visit to the infield care center. “We dominated the last three races here, including this one, and have stuff like that (happen). We were saving fuel. I was half-throttle the last 30 laps, and we were still pulling away.”

The first stage of the race was eventful — but not primarily for Stefan Parsons’ spin in Turn 4 on Lap 26 or for Daniel Hemric missing his pit stall under the resulting caution and knocking his tire carrier to the pavement.

What Stage 1 demonstrated with jarring clarity was the enormous value of fresh tires on the abrasive asphalt surface. AJ Allmendinger restarted 25th on fresh tires with 10 laps left in the stage and grabbed the lead from Kaulig Racing teammate Justin Haley eight laps later.

Allmendinger won the stage with Haley second after restarting 20th and moving into the lead on Lap 33 before surrendering the top spot to his teammate. Reigning series champion Cindric, on the other hand, stayed out during the caution, restarted in the lead on old tires and fell to 14th by the end of the 10-lap run.

Stage 2 was the mirror image of Stage 1. When fluid from Parsons’ car necessitated the third caution of the race on Lap 68, drivers who had stayed out under the Lap 26 caution to save a set of tires came to pit road — Cindric among them.

Allmendinger led the field to the restart with six laps left in the second stage. Cindric restarted 22nd and in less than three laps took the lead on the way to a stage win and a playoff point.

Pit stops followed at the end of the stage, on Lap 83, leaving almost all drivers on equal rubber for the final run, with two sets of sticker tires left in the pits. But in terms of track position, the exchange favored those who had pitted late in Stage 2 and charged to the front.

First off pit road during the fourth caution, Cindric led the field to green on Lap 87. But neither Cindric nor Allmendinger was a major player in the overtime. Brandon Jones finished second, followed by Hemric and Jeb Burton. Cindric, Haley, Brett Moffitt, Ryan Sieg, Jeremy Clements and Josh Berry completed the top 10.

Xfinity stalwarts Harrison Burton and Justin Allgaier were the first two drivers out of the race, Burton with and engine failure and Allgaier after contact with the Ford of Riley Herbst on Lap 98.

NOTES: Race winner Myatt Snider’s No. 2 Chevrolet passed post-race inspection at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The No. 23 Chevrolet of Tyler Reddick was disqualified after failing post-race inspection. The car failed the rear height requirement, dropping Reddick to last in the 40-car field after initially finishing second. The No. 8 Chevrolet of Josh Berry, No. 16 Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger, No. 19 Toyota of Brandon Jones and No. 51 Chevrolet of Jeremy Clements each had one lug nut unsecured.

Posted on by Staff Report

The following article is brought to you by BetMGM.

After two straight races at Daytona, it’s time to get back to the stock-car basics.

Nothing will remedy it more than heading back to the bread-and-butter of NASCAR racing — a 1.5-mile track. The NASCAR betting odds are interesting.

RELATED: NASCAR Bet Center | See the betting odds for Sunday’s race from BetMGM

Homestead-Miami Speedway is a good bit more predictable than Daytona. Now, Greg Biffle isn’t ready to pounce on another Homestead victory. He’s been retired for several years. In fact, it’s not exactly clear who is the most dominant current driver at this south Florida track.

But one thing is for sure: Starting upfront is a massive advantage at any standard 1.5-mile-long track. In fact, the past four race winners at Miami have started in the top five. When it comes to the junior circuits, every Xfinity race winner since 2007 has come from the top 10 as well as every Camping World Truck Series winner since 2013.

It literally pays to start upfront. It is also clear that some of the age-old veterans perform well here. Welcome to 1.5-mile track racing in Dade County.

THE FAVORITE

Denny Hamlin +500

Hamlin won last year’s latest Homestead race and has three all-time victories at the once-a-year track. It only stands to reason that he’d be favored to do it again. Hamlin not only had eight top 10s in the past decade on this track, but he also leads all current drivers with three poles. On some tracks, nabbing a pole isn’t that important. This is one of those tracks where it’s imperative for success. Hamlin has a knack for making that happen.

Thanks to this year’s qualifying format, Hamlin is already on the pole for Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead. Joey Logano (+1000 odds and the 2018 race winner) will start second.

OTHERS: Not too far behind are Kevin Harvick (+600) and Kyle Busch (+1000). Busch won this race in 2019 while Harvick has the top average finish at the track over 10 races. Both are proven winners.

THE DARK HORSE THREAT

Austin Dillon +4000

There are so many ways to look at this. Could Austin Dillon come out of nowhere and win this after 7th- and 8th-place finishes the past two seasons? He’s not exactly a 1.5-mile track ringer, but at the same time, many of the old-time legends at these tracks have moved on to the world of retirement. There is a lot to consider with this.

OTHERS: It’s funny to call Chase Elliott (+550) a long-shot threat on any track, as he has been a favorite for a long time. But with three top 10s in five career Cup starts, he is an interesting guy to keep an eye on. He also was last year’s race runner-up. Kyle Larson (+850) is another guy to keep an eye on.

THE INTRIGUING LONG SHOT

Tyler Reddick +2500

Why are Reddick’s odds better than Dillon’s above? Good question. He has one NASCAR Cup race under his belt at Homestead, and he finished in fourth place last year. That coupled with his Xfinity wins in 2019 and 2018 should turn some heads. But at the same time? He wasn’t racing against the world’s elites when he pulled those victories off in NASCAR’s junior circuit. Just keep an eye on the young star.

OTHERS: Chase Briscoe (+8000) won one of last year’s Xfinity races at the track and he’s signed up to make a go at this. Don’t forget that Cole Custer (+8000) won the 2017 Xfinity race here, as has Daniel Suarez (+30,000, winner in 2016), who has four starts in the Cup series on this track.

Posted on by Zack Albert

Roughly 40 people total can list “NASCAR Cup Series driver” as their current occupation, which suggests it’s not the easiest gig to reach. Imagine turning the degree of difficulty dials up by more than a notch — removing the power steering, a flapped-up hood and a fluid-soaked windshield obscuring your view on one of the series’ newest and least familiar road courses. At dusk.

Chase Briscoe knows that all too well, saying he knew he’d face a certain learning curve when he embarked on his rookie Cup Series season. But last Sunday’s 32nd-place drive — last on the lead lap — at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course was an exercise in wrench-dodging.

“Once the hood flew up, I knew our day was pretty much over,” Briscoe said in a Friday media teleconference over Zoom. “I ran one lap trying to see kind of where I could stack up and then it got to where it was almost impossible to see and then just the steering was getting so stiff that it was hard for me to do anything, but it was tough. I was just trying to look out the left side and the right side.”

Briscoe’s initiation into the Cup Series has been a rocky one so far as he sits 27th in the standings after two races. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate, in his first season in Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 14 Ford, will attempt to rebound in Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

RELATED: Homestead weekend schedule | Cup Series standings

The 1.5-mile Florida track presents a change of pace from the superspeedway then road course combo that opened the season. But Miami also offers some encouragement for the 26-year-old Briscoe, who scored an overtime victory there last year as part of his stellar Xfinity Series campaign.

“It’s just a really, really well-built race track,” he said. “I wish we went there more than one time.”

Briscoe had endured visibility problems earlier in his career. He recalled a 2018 Xfinity Series event at Bristol Motor Speedway, where a dashboard panel had flown up and blocked his sightlines. Last weekend, his damage was compounded by steering loss, but also the spray of power-steering fluid that coated his windshield. The fact the car finished on the lead lap was a stroke of resilience.

That finish, however, combined with a crash-related result of 19th in the season-opening Daytona 500, has him staring down a 30th-place start in Sunday’s lineup at Miami. Briscoe said crew chief Johnny Klausmeier has made efforts to keep his spirits up, aiming to make methodical, bit-by-bit gains from that starting perch during the 400-miler.

With just two events complete in a 36-race season, there’s time to reach those longer-range goals. But if the opening two weekends taught Briscoe anything about his welcome to the Cup Series, it’s the competition level has increased.

“I think that’s been the biggest thing is just how many guys are just really, really good,” Briscoe said. “How many cars are really good and everybody that’s there is there for a reason and that’s been pretty eye-opening to me is just how tough it is to gain track position. The Xfinity stuff you could start in the back and you were gonna be able to be up front fairly quickly. The Cup Series there’s still guys that can do that, but it’s a lot tougher, so that’s been the biggest thing I would say has been most eye-opening to me.”