HOMESTEAD, Florida – After years of seeing a handful of drivers – the same guys, in fact – dominating the top level of NASCAR almost every week, the Cup Series is experiencing a little parity at the start of the season.
It is a welcome sight for some. Others hope it will be a fleeting moment.
William Byron was the third surprise winner in three races this season, with his victory on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Byron joined Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell as unlikely winners to start this season.
Byron controlled most of the final two stages at Homestead to win a second time in 111 World Cup matches. His first was in Daytona last August and gave him one of the last places in the playoffs.
Nobody saw that coming. Few had this on the radar too.
Byron entered the weekend with a 28-1 chance to win a race that many hoped would provide a return to normal for the race series. Instead, McDowell and Bell have company in the relatively strange group of 2021 winners and drivers who have gotten postseason posts.
“Obviously, a lot of people made good decisions about how to improve,” said 2017 series champion Martin Truex Jr., who finished third. “The box we have to work on is so small … the rules are the rules, and they haven’t changed in a while. The smaller teams can reach them.”
Truex was quick to point out that he still believes the top teams – heavyweights like him, so to speak – will find their way back to the top sooner or later.
But the first three races provided many moments of raising eyebrows. Tyler Reddick was the second Sunday, almost three seconds behind Byron. McDowell had his third consecutive top 10 result. Chris Buescher ran ahead for the first part of the race.
“It has definitely closed the gap,” said McDowell.
McDowell and Bell were the first winners at the opening of the season. This rare race has already narrowed the playoff contest in less than a month of NASCAR’s long season. A win guarantees an automatic seat, and it is unusual to have several unique winners in one season.
Few could have predicted that this trio would have put pressure on some of NASCAR’s top teams. Two-time series champion Kyle Busch is currently under the top 16 in the standings, as are Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola – all eliminated in the playoffs a year ago.
Byron hardly qualifies as much of a shock as the previous two, because he drives the famous No. 24 for Hendrick Motorsports. But he also hadn’t exactly been a regular on the winning track.
Then again, those within the Hendrick organization had a feeling that he could have something big this season, since he met with former team boss Rudy Fugle.
In just their third start together in the #NASCAR Cup Series, @WilliamByron and @AxaltaRacing crew chief Rudy Fugle won his first victory @HomesteadMiami!
The pair won seven times together in the @NASCAR_Trucks Series. pic.twitter.com/xzHb19brta
– Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) March 1, 2021
“This guy was great for my career,” said Byron. “He’s the reason I’m here, and I’m glad we were able to catch him … We really think the same way.”
They had their best year together while racing the Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2016, even though they won at Homestead.
When Byron’s former team boss Chad Knaus joined Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick hired Fugle and put him on a par with Byron. It was a rare move for Hendrick, who normally prepares his team leaders within the organization.
Fugle spent eight years at KBM and led the truck program for two drivers’ championships and five owner titles. His trucks have won 28 races, seven with Byron at the wheel.
“He knows how to push my buttons and motivate me,” said Byron. “Obviously, you have to prove the results. The results come when you have people like that to work with.”
Buescher dominated the race early, winning the opening stage (the victory of the second stage of his career). The Roush Fenway Racing driver led five times for a total of 57 laps, but started to weaken “as the sunset approached”. Buescher dropped from sixth to 23rd after restarting at the start of the finals.
“It is a step in the right direction for us,” said Buescher.
Byron took over from there and left some of the biggest names recovering for the first time in years.
“It is difficult because there is not much you can do now,” said Truex.