After an extended two-week stay at Daytona, NASCAR is packing their bags and heading to Homestead. Somewhere Brad Keselowski is letting out a sigh of relief that he can leave Daytona in his rearview. The 1.5-mile track will be hosting the Dixie Vodka 400. The 267 lap race will be split into stage lengths of 80-80-107. Coverage of the race will begin at 3 p.m. ET on FOX. Here’s a preview of the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead!
Front Row
A solid start to the weekend for the 1️⃣1️⃣! @dennyhamlin earns the #BuschPole for Sunday’s race at @HomesteadMiami! pic.twitter.com/uAhHoj1sn9
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 24, 2021
Denny Hamlin will be leading the pack to green with Joey Logano beside him starting second. The remaining drivers will lineup behind with Christopher Bell (20) and Kevin Harvick (4) in row two, Kurt Busch (1) and Michael McDowell (34) in row three, Brad Keselowski (2) and Ryan Preece (37) in row four, and Martin Truex Jr. (19) running beside Cole Custer (41) to round out the top ten.
Steve Letarte to Crew Chief for Corey LaJoie (7)
BREAKING NEWS: @SteveLetarte to crew chief LaJoie, No. 7 Spire Motorsports team at Miami; COVID-19 protocols sideline Sparks.
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 24, 2021
Details: https://t.co/GpZbDDbJdh pic.twitter.com/Fu6jMLcAWC
Letarte will return to the top of the pit box to be the crew chief for Corey LaJoie (7) and the Spire Motorsports team. Ryan Sparks, LaJoie’s regular crew chief, had to temporarily step down from the position due to not meeting Covid-19 protocol. Letarte is a consultant for the team, a job he picked up before the season began, so naturally, he was willing to fill in for Sparks. On top of Ryan Sparks, two other crew members will not make the trip to Homestead for the same issue.
Drivers to Watch
Tag ’em. ? pic.twitter.com/iuUAEEIIH4
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 25, 2021
With the first two races ending with first-time winners, people don’t really have a good idea on who to keep an eye on for this race. A lot of people are looking at drivers like Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Daniel Suarez to be possible contenders for the win simply based on the past results we’ve had this season. Although Wallace and Suarez had good runs for their new teams, I don’t know if they’ve had enough time to solidify a first-place finish at this point. But then again, who knows.
If you asked me at the start of the season who I’d pick to win the 500, I probably would’ve said someone like Austin Dillon or Denny Hamlin. But with how this season has gone so far it really has jumbled up the power rankings. With all that being said, I do have a handful of drivers I think will do well this weekend.
My top drivers to watch for this weekend are Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson. Both drivers have had good runs in the past and I don’t think this weekend will be any different. Kevin and Kyle both are consistent at 1.5-miles and I know that Larson in particular will be looking for a good finish with his new team.
