USA Today via Reuters
Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron (24) leads the field during the Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Daytona Beach, FL, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron (24) leads the field during the Bluegreen Vacations Duel 2 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami concluded with a win for William Byron. In light of this, the Hendrick Motorsports driver managed to vault up the championship standings.
However, Denny Hamlin is still sitting pretty on top of the standings. Behind him is a familiar rival, in the form of Kevin Harvick.
Last year, the two often battled for supremacy and racked up most wins between themselves. In 2021, Harvick managed to leapfrog Joey Logano, who is now relegated to 3rd place in the standings.
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Cup points: Hamlin +74, McDowell-1w, Bell-1w, Byron-1w, Harvick +54, Logano +43, Elliott +40, KuBusch +39, Larson +32, Truex +31, Keselowski +30, ADillon +25, Preece +25, Custer +3, Buescher +2, Wallace +2, Bowman -2, KyBusch -5, Stenhouse -5, Newman -11 pic.twitter.com/lI6JRJmL3p
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 1, 2021
Daytona 500 winner Michael McDowell is 4th, ahead of defending champion Chase Elliott on the tail end of the Top-5. Kurt Busch sits behind them in 6th place and the last driver in triple digits. Behind him on the leaderboard are Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr, and Brad Keselowski.
How does the rest of the NASCAR Cup Series pack stack up?
Austin Dillon sits right on the edge of the Top-10 with Ryan Preece behind him in 12th place. Although it is still early days, William Byron, Cole Custer, Chris Buescher, and Bubba Wallace are in playoff positions.
As mentioned before, the Homestead-Miami triumph gave Byron a massive boost in the championship. In addition to that, it could also serve as a confidence booster.
USA Today via Reuters
Feb 21, 2021; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell (20) leads the field during the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Alex Bowman and Kyle Busch are just missing out on the Top-16. However, there are plenty of races left to try to climb up the rankings.
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Both drivers have a lot to prove in the ongoing season, with Bowman eager to live up to Jimmie Johnson’s legacy. Meanwhile, Kyle Busch is trying to make up for a weak title defense in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.
One thing is for sure, everybody will be quite fired up for next weekend’s Las Vegas race. As always, the grid will be decided by a special algorithm based on the championship standings.
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So there is a high chance that Hamlin could be back on pole at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. However, it also seems like Harvick could join him on the front row, as opposed to Joey Logano at Homestead-Miami.
