The Cup Series…and Kyle Larson…cap off a triple header weekend with the Straight Talk Wireless 400.
Last week at Las Vegas, Christopher Bell pulled into the pit stall of a JGR teammate to get a lug nut tightened before he lost a wheel. He was charged with pitting outside of his own pit stall and faced no further penalty. During the week NASCAR stated they would allow the move – unless it was abused – under the guise of a safety measure; however, non safety issues would not be allowed.
Thirty-seven teams brought cars to Homestead-Miami for 40 starting spots; all of the drivers will make the race. The drivers have been divided into two groups for practice before making a solo round of single car qualifying.
Drivers are running 165 to 167 miles per hour during Group 1 practice.
Tires are dropping off around two seconds per lap after 20 laps on the track.
Bubba Wallace tops the leaderboard at the end of Group 1 practice.
Kyle Larson has led more than 600 laps at Homestead-Miami; more than any other driver.
Kyle Larson tops the leaderboard in Group 2 practice with Bubba Wallace topping the leaderboard for both groups.
The first driver to make a qualifying run is JJ Yeley and posted a time of 34.120 seconds around the mile and a half track.
NASCAR has changed the metric used to determine practice and qualifying order; now just last race finish and owner points are factored in for the order.
Shane van Gisbergen is the first driver to break the 33 second mark with a time of 32.740 seconds.
Alex Bowman is the first driver to break the 32 second mark with a time of 31.982 seconds.
With a time of 31.982 seconds, Alex Bowman sits on the pole with Josh Berry alongside on the front row.
The lineup for the Hard Rock Live 400:
Alex Bowman
Josh Berry
Noah Gragson
Chase Briscoe
William Byron
Ryan Blaney
John Hunter Nemechek
Austin Cindric
Bubba Wallace
AJ Allmendinger
Chris Buescher
Joey Logano
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Larson
Carson Hocevar
Christopher Bell
Zane Smith
Chase Elliott
Riley Herbst
Justin Haley
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Busch
Denny Hamlin
Cole Custer
Ross Chastain
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Michael McDowell
Erik Jones
Todd Gilliland
Austin Dillon
Ryan Preece
Brad Keselowski
Daniel Suarez
Ty Dillon
Shane van Gisbergen
Cody Ware
JJ Yeley
Erik Jones will start the race from the back of the field after the crew made some unapproved adjustments to the car.
Stage one is 80 laps, stage two is 85 laps, and stage three is 102 laps for a total of 267 laps around the mile and a half track. The drivers can run 67 to 70 laps on a single load of fuel; they will have to make a pit stop in every stage.
Alex Bowman brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Josh Berry alongside. Bowman jumps out to the front from the inside lane. Drivers are three wide through the field.
Alex Bowman is already up near the wall. Cole Custer spun out but saved the car and the track stays green.
Lap three, the top five are Alex Bowman, Josh Berry, Ryan Blaney, Noah Gragson, and William Byron.
Lap five, Alex Bowman holds on to the lead with Ryan Blaney in second; Josh Berry, Noah Gragson and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Lap seven, Alex Bowman and Ryan Blaney battle for the lead.
Lap seven, Kyle Larson has found the wall and has already tapped the wall as he rim rides the track.
Lap eight, Ryan Blaney passes Alex Bowman for the lead.
Lap 14, Ryan Blaney leads the race with Josh Berry in second.
Lap 15, Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Josh Berry; Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, and Noah Gragson round out the top five. Kyle Larson has found the wall again as he continues running up against the wall in 18th place.
Lap 18, Ryan Blaney continues to increase his lead and is nearly three second ahead of Alex Bowman.
Lap 21, Josh Berry and Chase Briscoe battle back and forth for third. Ryan Blaney’s lead is now over three seconds.
Years ago the Houston Astros had the “Killer Bees” in the field. NASCAR has its own share of the “Killer Bees” with Alex Bowman, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Josh Berry, Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe, and Kyle Busch.
Lap 30, Ryan Blaney continues to extend his lead and is now nearly five seconds out in front of Alex Bowman; Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, and Noah Gragson.
Lap 32, drivers are beginning to make green flag pit stops. There is a tire fall off of around two seconds per lap.
Leader Ryan Blaney makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Josh Berry.
Lap 34, Josh Berry makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Zane Smith.
Lap 36, the top 14 drivers have yet to make a pit stop.
Lap 38, Zane Smith makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Kyle Larson.
Reporting a tight condition in his car in the field, Kyle Larson reports that he no longer has a tight condition.
The 38 of Zane Smith was charged with speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.
Lap 40, more drivers come down pit road for service; splitting the stage in half.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr is the only driver who has not made a pit stop.
Ryan Blaney retakes the lead; nearly eight second in front of Alex Bowman.
Lap 44, Ricky Stenhouse Jr finally makes his pit stop to complete the first green flag pit stop cycle of the season.
“Driving it like he stole it”, Ryan Blaney is nearly eight seconds out in front of Alex Bowman; William Byron, Noah Gragson, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
Chase Briscoe is reporting that his brake pedal “feels long”.
Lap 56, Ryan Blaney now has a lead of eight seconds on Alex Bowman.
Lap 61, Ryan Blaney has an eight second lead on Alex Bowman; William Byron, Noah Gragson, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.
There are 25 cars on the lead lap; JJ Yeley is the only driver two laps down.
Lap 65, Kyle Larson is just outside the top 10 in eleventh after being in 15th after the pit stop.
Lap 66, passing Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson is now in the top 10.
Lap 68, Ryan Blaney continues to increase his lead and is now over nine seconds out in front of Alex Bowman.
With 12 laps remaining ins stage one, Kyle Larson is now in eighth place.
The first caution flag of the race comes out on lap 70 when Christopher Bell spins out and gets into the wall. Erik Jones is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Ryan Blaney winning the race off of pit road.
Christopher Bell is charged with coming down pit road before it was open and will have to restart the race from the back of the longest line.
Ryan Blaney brings the field down for the green flag restart with just five laps remaining in stage one. Drivers are four and five wide on the restart. Alex Bowman gets out in front for the lead briefly before Ryan Blaney takes the lead. Noah Gragson had a bad restart and dropped to eighth place.
The top five are Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and William Byron.
Ryan Blaney wins stage one for his second stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ryan Blaney
Alex Bowman
Chase Briscoe
Kyle Larson
William Byron
Austin Cindric
AJ Allmendinger
Josh Berry
Noah Gragson
Joey Logano
Christopher Bell is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Alex Bowman wins the race off of pit road. A four wide spread on pit road caused a number of issues for some drivers; Joey Logano ended up in his pit stall backwards and had a slow stop. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Josh Berry were also involved. Josh Berry also got turned around. Kyle Larson has some damage to his car.
JJ Yeley was caught speeding on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
After staying out on the track, Carson Hocevar brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Alex Bowman alongside on lap 89. Alex Bowman takes the lead in turn one with William Byron in second; Ryan Blaney, Noah Gragson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Carson Hocevar drops to sixth after the restart.
Lap 92 Alex Bowman leads the race with Ryan Blaney in second; William Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.
Lap 95, Ryan Blaney passes Alex Bowman for the lead.
There are 35 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 101, Denny Hamlin passes Alex Bowman for second; one second behind leader Ryan Blaney.
Lap 103, the top five are Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Bubba Wallace.
Lap 105, Kyle Larson battles with Noah Gragson for 10th.
Lap 108, Ryan Blaney has a lead of a second and a half on Denny Hamlin; Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five. Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez have entered the top 10.
Lap 111, Ryan Blaney has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds on Denny Hamlin.
Lap 115, Ryan Blaney now has a lead of over two and a half seconds on Denny Hamlin.
AJ Allmendinger and Chase Briscoe are reporting vibration issues.
Lap 116, the cycle of green flag pit stops begins.
Lap 119, leader Ryan Blaney makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Denny Hamlin.
Lap 121, the top 15 drivers have yet to make their pit stops with Denny Hamlin in the lead; Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez, Chris Buescher, and Zane Smith round out the top five.
Lap 125, Denny Hamlin’s lead is now down to just over a second on Kyle Larson.
Lap 126, Denny Hamlin comes down pit road for service and gives the lead over to Kyle Larson.
Daniel Suarez spins out entering pit road but the track stays green.
Lap 127, Kyle Larson makes his green flag pit stop and gives the lead over to Josh Berry.
Lap 128, Josh Berry and Joey Logano make their green flag pit stops and gives the lead back to Ryan Blaney with is two seconds in front of William Byron.
Lap 134, Ryan Blaney has a two and a half second lead on William Byron; Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, and Austin Cindric round out the top five.
Lap 139, Kyle Busch is the last car on the lead lap in 32nd.
Leading 109 laps so far on lap 147, Ryan Blaney has a lead of over three seconds on William Byron; Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Lap 152, William Byron has closed the gap on leader Ryan Blaney and is now less than a second behind; Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamin, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.
Lap 158, Ryan Blaney has just a third of a second lead on William Byron; Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Larson round out the top five. Leaders have encountered slower traffic, trying to stay on the lead lap.
Denny Hamlin passes William Byron for second.
Lap 161, Kyle Larson passes William Byron for third.
Lap 162, Denny Hamlin passes Ryan Blaney for the lead.
William Byron passes Ryan Blaney for second.
There are 28 cars on the lead lap.
Denny Hamlin wins stage two for his first stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Ryan Blaney
William Byron
Bubba Wallace
Alex Bowman
Austin Cindric
Chase Elliott
Carson Hocevar
Tyler Reddick
Joey Logano is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road.
Chase Elliott will have to restart the race from the back of the field after getting out of line on pit road.
Ryan Blaney made contact with Chase Elliott on pit road.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three from the inside lane with Denny Hamlin alongside with 94 laps remaining in the race. Drivers are getting three and four wide on the track with Kyle Larson in the lead and Bubba Wallace in second; Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron round out the top five.
With 92 to go, Bubba Wallace battles with Kyle Larson for the lead. New leader – Bubba Wallace.
Lap 178, Bubba Wallace has a lead of over half a second on Kyle Larson; Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, and William Byron round out the top five.
Lap 180, Bubba Wallace has increased his lead to a second on Kyle Larson.
There are 30 cars on the lead lap.
Tyler Reddick’s crew didn’t get all of his tear-off removed during his pit stop.
Lap 183, Bubba Wallace has a one second lead on Kyle Larson; Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Carson Hocevar brings his car down pit road with reports of losing power.
Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney battle for third.
Lap 187, Kyle Larson is closing the gap on leader Bubba Wallace and is not just half a second back.
Carson Hocevar takes his car to the garage with mechanical issues. When he returns to the track he will have to serve a penalty for having too many crew members over the wall.
Lap 192, Bubba Wallace holds on to the lead but is less than half a second in front of Kyle Larson; Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, and Alex Bowman round out the top five.
Tyler Reddick is reporting some handling issues with his car.
Lap 195, Kyle Larson has caught leader Bubba Wallace but so far Wallace holds him off.
Lap 199, Kyle Larson begins to battle with Bubba Wallace for the lead.
With 68 laps to go the top five are Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, and Alex Bowman.
Lap 207, the caution flag comes out for Ryan Blaney’s blown engine. The smoke from the fire under the car resembled a post race burnout celebration. He led a total 124 laps in the race. This is the second blown engine and third DNF for Blaney this season. Blaney said that he had no warning the engine was going.
Kyle Busch is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Buba Wallace winning the race off of pit road; followed by Kyle Larson.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr was charged with an uncontrolled tire on pit road; Austin Cindric and William Byron were caught speeding on pit road. All three drivers will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Bubba Wallace brings the field down for the green flag restart with 52 laps remaining in the race with Kyle Larson alongside. Drivers spread out three and four wide…including the lead. Bubba Wallace gets out in front for the lead.
Rayn Blaney and Carso Hocevar are out of the race.
Fifty to go, the top five are Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Tyler Reddick.
Chase Briscoe passes Tyler Reddick for fifth.
With 47 laps to go, Bubba Wallace has a one second lead on Alex Bowman; Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Forty-two laps to go, the drivers are spread out all around the track with Bubba Wallace leading the way.
Forty to go, Bubba Wallace has a one second lead on Alex Bowman; Kyle Larson, Chase Briscoe, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Clint Bowyer reports that Kyle Larson has hit the wall 17 times so far in the race.
Chase Briscoe passes Kyle Larson for third.
With 34 laps to go, Bubba Wallace has a half second lead on Alex Bowman; Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Bubba Wallace and Alex Bowman battle for the lead with Bowman getting out in front with 33 laps to go.
Thirty to go, Alex Bowman has a half second lead on Bubba Wallace; Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin battle for fourth.
Just 25 laps to go with Alex Bowman over half a second in front of Bubba Wallace; Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Late in the afternoon, the shadows have begun to creep over the track and affect the racing surface.
With 22 laps to go, Alex Bowman has increased his lead to a second on Bubba Wallace; Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Twenty to go, there are 28 cars on the lead lap. Alex Bowman continues to lead the race with Bubba Wallace in second.
With 17 laps remaining in the race, Alex Bowman has a near one second lead on Bubba Wallace; Chase Briscoe, Kyle Larson, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Kyle Larson pass Chase Briscoe for third with 14 laps to go. Alex Bowman is over a second out in front over Bubba Wallace.
Kyle Larson passes Bubba Wallace for second.
Ten to go, Alex Bowman has a near one second lead on Kyle Larson.
Eight laps remain n the race; Alex Bowman has a lead of just over half a second on Kyle Larson.
Kyle Larson passes Alex Bowman for the lead with six laps remaining in the race.
Four laps remain in the race with Kyle Larson a half second in front of Alex Bowman; Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.
Kyle Larson takes the white flag.
With a lead of a second, Kyle Larson wins the race for his first win of the season.
The unofficial results of the Straight Talk Wireless 400:
Kyle Larson
Alex Bowman
Bubba Wallace
Chase Briscoe
Denny Hamlin
Chris Buescher
AJ Allmendinger
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Preece
Justin Haley
Zane Smith
William Byron
Austin Dillon
Joey Logano
Erik Jones
Noah Gragson
Josh Berry
Chase Elliott
Austin Cindric
Michael McDowell
Kyle Busch
Daniel Suarez
John Hunter Nemechek
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Gibbs
Brad Keselowski
Ty Dillon
Cole Custer
Christopher Bell
Todd Gilliland
Ross Chastain
Shane van Gisbergen
Riley Herbst
Cody Ware
JJ Yeley
Ryan Blaney
Carson Hocevar