NASCAR Cup race at Homestead: How to watch, track info, starting order
Denny Hamlin will start on the pole with Joey Logano in the front row for this Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. on FOX.
With practice and qualifying sessions limited due to the pandemic, the race starting order was determined by the same performance-metrics formula NASCAR adopted last season and updated in the latter part of the year. That formula, which emphasizes latest race performance, was also used last weekend to determine the starting order for NASCAR’s Daytona road course race, which was won by Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell.
The victory marked Bell’s first win in the Cup Series and came on the heels of Michael McDowell’s first-time Cup win at the Daytona 500. The last time the first two races in a NASCAR season were won by two first-time winners was 1950. The only other year that happened in the sport was 1949.
The first-time win streak could end at two with Hamlin starting on the pole at a track where he’s won three times (five top-five finishes) in 16 races. Hamlin is leading the series in points (104) after a fifth- and third-place finish at the the Daytona 500 and Daytona road course, respectively
Joey Logano (92), Kevin Harvick (83), Bell (82) and Chase Elliott (79) round out the top-five points leader chart with Michael McDowell (75) in sixth. After Bell’s win last weekend, No. 20 crew chief Adam Stevens said the early wins for two first-time Cup winning drivers could have some early playoff implications for teams on the fringe.
As race winners, Bell and McDowell are guaranteed two of the 16 playoffs spots. Stevens said he expected Elliott, Hamlin, Logano, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch to win a race before the playoffs.
“Some of that next batch of cars is really needing to be thinking about if they’re swinging for the fence or if they’re racing for points,” Stevens said. “Maybe one more winner that somebody didn’t expect pretty early in the season could really change the complexion.”
While BetMGM is giving Hamlin the best odds to win this weekend (5-1 odds), Homestead has also been a strong track for Tyler Reddick (25-1) and Kyle Larson (17-2). Larson was out of the playoff picture last year during his suspension from NASCAR and Reddick hasn’t won yet in the Cup Series, so either would be a new look in Victory Lane.
NASCAR this weekend: How to watch the race at Homestead
Race: Dixie Vodka 400
When: Sunday, Feb. 28 at 3:30 p.m.
How to watch/listen: FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 267 laps, 400.5 miles on the 1.5-mile oval
Stages: Laps 80, 160, 267
Last year’s winner: Denny Hamlin
Notable this week: On Friday, DoorDash announced a multiyear partnership with NASCAR to make it the official “on-demand delivery platform of NASCAR.” NASCAR also announced this week that Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will be the grand marshal for Sunday’s race. Fox NFL analyst Jonathan Vilma will wave the green flag.
NASCAR Cup at Homestead starting order
Order | Driver | Car No. |
1 | Denny Hamlin | 11 |
2 | Joey Logano | 22 |
3 | Christopher Bell | 20 |
4 | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
5 | Kurt Busch | 1 |
6 | Michael McDowell | 34 |
7 | Brad Keselowski | 2 |
8 | Ryan Preece | 37 |
9 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 |
10 | Cole Custer | 41 |
11 | Chase Elliott | 9 |
12 | Chris Buescher | 17 |
13 | Alex Bowman | 48 |
14 | Ryan Blaney | 12 |
15 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 |
16 | Aric Almirola | 10 |
17 | Kyle Larson | 5 |
18 | Erik Jones | 43 |
19 | Bubba Wallace | 23 |
20 | Justin Haley | 77 |
21 | Daniel Suárez | 99 |
22 | Austin Dillon | 3 |
23 | Ryan Newman | 6 |
24 | Kyle Busch | 18 |
25 | Corey LaJoie | 7 |
26 | Cody Ware | 51 |
27 | Anthony Alfredo | 38 |
28 | Garrett Smithley | 53 |
29 | James Davison | 15 |
30 | Chase Briscoe | 14 |
31 | William Byron | 24 |
32 | Ross Chastain | 42 |
33 | Timmy Hill | 66 |
34 | BJ McLeod | 78 |
35 | Tyler Reddick | 8 |
36 | Josh Bilicki | 52 |
37 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 |
38 | Quin Houff | 0 |