By Adam Carabine & Logan Morris
Logan Morris: Adam, we’re fresh off a showdown in South Beach, Kyle Larson may have taken a unique route to it, but he got his 30th career win.
Adam Carabine: Hey Logan, happy to be back with you here. You’re not wrong when it comes to how Larson got there! We’re used to seeing him dominate races, and this was anything but that. But hey, a win’s a win, and he moves up on the all-time lists with his 30th at Homestead-Miami. What did you think of the race?
LM: I thought it was a great race overall, lots of great stories coming out of Homestead. A one-two finish for Hendrick Motorsports will be the ultimate story. But, it was a strong day for a lot of cars that we may not think of as a major player at Homestead. Larson gets his first win of the season, but what else stuck out to you?
AC: It’s true, we saw some drivers that we don’t normally consider ‘Homestead contenders’ up there in the hunt. And then the drivers you might have expected to see rule the day didn’t really show up. Tyler Reddick, for example, was competitive all day long in the Top 10, but never really had enough to challenge the leaders. I thought Josh Berry followed up his first win last week with a solid performance too, despite his final finishing position of 17th. He qualified on the front row and was a player early on.
I’ve already seen some reactions being mixed to this race, though. While it wasn’t as race-y as we’ve seen at Homestead in years past, I still thought it was great. However, the overwhelming calls for NASCAR to return to Homestead for the Championship Race seem a little dulled after this weekend. What do you say?
LM: I think so many fans have their expectations set a little too high. Not every race, no matter the track, will be as “exciting” as you may hope. I did think there was a bit of a lull at certain points on Sunday, but that’s racing. Some weeks are going to be incredibly intense. I would venture to say even most weeks in this era. However, these are the best drivers in the world at what they do. The same goes for the crews. I think Homestead is still my preferred Championship weekend destination. But no matter what, Phoenix probably falls victim to the fact that the loudest fans tend to be the toughest to please.
AC: Yeah, I also would prefer to see the Championship return to Homestead, but another factor is attendance. Some of the crowd shots on Sunday showed more than a few empty seats. I understand that maybe a Championship Race sells more tickets than a random one in the spring, but if the fans want Homestead back, they need to show up. Phoenix sells out the Championship Race every year, and the product on the track doesn’t seem to make a difference in that. Follow the money, and you’ll figure out where the grand finale will be.
I understand what you said about the occasional lull in the race, but even when Blaney was leading all of those laps, there were a bunch of strategy things going on to keep things interesting. This could be controversial, but I might say that if you’re watching this race and finding yourself bored, maybe it’s time to educate yourself a little more on the inner workings of the sport.
LM: I actually agree with you. There are several races within the one race for each car in the field. The storylines are there for every car, you just have to look and know what to look for.
AC: I don’t mean to sound harsh. But there’s always something going on, you just have to know where to look! Anything else you’d like to touch on before we move to our awards?
LM: I think we’ve pretty much covered it. For what it’s worth, I haven’t seen an engine blow up like Blaney’s did in quite some time. What a mess!
AC: Hey, spoiler alert! Check out our awards for more below:
Best Performer
LM: For my best performer, I have to go with Bubba Wallace. He didn’t get the checkered flag, but he drove a great race on Sunday. It was a big day for the 23 team and they showed some speed on a track that historically hasn’t been great for Bubba. If they can keep the momentum rolling, he’ll break that winless streak soon.
AC: I was going to say Bubba Wallace as well, but for the sake of being different, I’ll shout out Austin Dillon. I’m not sure whether it was because of the broadcast not paying attention to him much early on, but he seemingly came out of nowhere. He finished P13 but he was super competitive in the final stage.
Biggest Move of the Race
LM: My biggest move of the race has to go with the crew of the 5 car. Larson sustained damage amid chaos on pit road, but you would have never known it. As a team, they did what championship-caliber teams do and battled back in a big way, by helping Larson get the win.
AC: Sometimes the biggest move of the race isn’t always the best one. This week I’m going to choose Alex Bowman’s love tap on the wall at Homestead, which ultimately cost him the race win. He probably wasn’t as fast as Larson who had been stalking him for quite a while, but he was doing a decent job blocking. Whether it was nerves, or a sudden blip in concentration, Bowman tagged the wall ever so slightly, and it was the only thing Larson needed. Bowman finished P2.
Biggest Disappointment
LM: My biggest disappointment this week goes to Kyle Busch. After a few weeks of really building momentum, they were a non-factor all day. One step forward and two steps back seem to be the theme of Busch’s winless streak.
AC: You mentioned mine earlier - Ryan Blaney blows up for the second time in three races. Having an engine blow up is never a fun way to leave a race (though some might argue there’s no fun way), but having it happen after such a dominant performance like Blaney had on Sunday? That’s got to hurt. He led the most laps of anyone (124), and was the fastest car on track 54 times - also the most of any driver on Sunday. Team Penske might want to figure out what’s going on there.
What to Watch for Next Weekend
LM: Next Weekend we’re heading for hot dogs at the Paperclip. I think you have to keep your eye on two names, Josh Berry and Denny Hamlin. Berry is a bit of a short-track ringer and is off to a bang-up start. Denny Hamlin has had plenty of success at Martinsville. He’s fresh off a major sponsorship announcement. This could be the week he finally passes Lee Petty on the all-time wins list. Beyond that, I’m curious to see how the short-track package looks at our first real short-track of 2025.
AC: All solid points, indeed. I was going to bring up Josh Berry and his great season he’s been having. Watch out for him, for sure. Denny is the winningest current driver at Martinsville, though it may take him a while to pass Lee’s son, the little-known ‘Richard,’ for most wins at the track. He finished his career with 15 wins at Martinsville. You might’ve heard of him.
I’m also excited to see what sort of short-track package we’re working with here. Martinsville has tended to be a bit of a snoozer with the Next-Gen car, but I know NASCAR has been putting a lot of work into that. I’ve got my eye on Ryan Blaney next weekend, but that’s assuming his car can stay in one piece.
Until then - have a great week and we’ll catch up to break down the race next time!
LM: Do you have mustard? I need it for my hot dog!
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