For the first time in nearly 30 years, back to back races took place on the same weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series.
It was a nutrition race as the teams and drivers battled the Florida heat and sun. But there was two great races in two days that provided quite possibly some of the most entertaining races of the weekend. In the end, Harrison Burton and Chase Briscoe persevered through the two long days at Homestead to capture the victories.
But, there were other drivers in this event who also did well. Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the two-day event at Homestead Miami Speedway.
- Noah Gragson- Gragson continued his recent success this weekend at Homestead by finishing in the top five in both races. In Saturday’s race, he led a race high 83 laps before settling in the third position after scraping the wall. The next day on Sunday, Gragson had to work his way from the back for unapproved adjustments prior to the race to fix that damage. It didn’t take him long though, as the Las Vegas native was able to finish sixth in the first stage. Gragson continued to have a great car throughout the remaining laps by placing the No. 9 to a stage win in the second stage. Sunday’s run might have been a bit disappointing compared to Saturday, but Gragson still ended up in the top five by finishing fifth.
Previous Week Ranking- First - Chase Briscoe- It had sure been a hell of a weekend for Briscoe and the No. 98 Stewart Haas Racing Team. In Saturday’s race, the ballast had come out the back of the car, which caused trouble for the team as Briscoe had to come down pit road for the team to fix it. As Briscoe sat on pit road, the race went green and he had to watch the cars go on by. When he returned to the track, he was six laps down to start the event. Eventually, with the cautions, Briscoe rallied back to being on the lead lap again. No stage finishes in Saturday’s race, but the No. 98 team gets an A for effort, as they rebounded to a seventh place finish. Unfortunately, due to the ballast coming out, this caused NASCAR to suspend Briscoe’s crew chief, car chief, and race engineer for four races as part of the rulebook. With that said, this saw race winning crew chief, Greg Zipadelli return to call the shots in Sunday’s race. And as Zipadelli returned to call the shots, he never missed a beat. Briscoe managed to place fourth in the second stage, while being in contention late for the victory. It wasn’t easy as a late race caution was flown, but the Indiana native came back to win Sunday’s race. A statement definitely made by the No. 98 team.
Previous Week Ranking- Fell Out - Harrison Burton- There was quite the tale of two stories for the 19-year old Burton. He was there when it counted at the end, as a late race restart occurred. Burton was three wide with multiple drivers coming to the white flag. Fortunately for Burton, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver picked up his second victory of the 2020 season in a race where he only led the last two laps. As far as Sunday’s race goes, the No. 20 team piloted to seventh and sixth place positions in both stages. Burton suffered a flat tire late in the run, which put him a lap down. However, two cautions near the end put him back on the lead lap and back in contention. After an overtime restart, Burton came home to an eighth place finishing position and on the lead lap.
Previous Week Ranking- Fourth - Brandon Jones- Like Burton, his teammate, Brandon Jones also had two interesting races in back to back days. For starters, Saturday’s race saw the No. 19 team had a good solid car that was good enough for a top 10 outing, potentially top five if things fell into the team’s favor. Jones actually found himself with an opportunity to win the event on the late race restart, before getting shuffled back and finishing eighth. On Sunday, he was in position to win again with another late race restart and started on the outside front row. Ultimately, Jones fell short of race winner Briscoe by .072 seconds. All in all, it was a big weekend for the No. 19 team, as they were able to get stage points in both events.
Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked - Ryan Sieg– Continuing to outshine the bigger teams and impressive, was the No. 39 Team of Ryan Sieg Racing. Sieg, the Georgia native, saw great success this past weekend at Homestead. He was able to win the first stage in Saturday’s event after making a late race pit stop under caution before the stage ended. WIth fresher tires, that propelled Sieg to the lead and Stage 1 winner. In the second stage, he still was able to finish in the stage, placing ninth. Sunday’s outing was somewhat the same, as far as stages go. Sieg once again picked up the Stage 1 victory and gained his team 10 stage points by doing so. The team was unable to get any stage points in the second stage, but finished a disappointing 19th after finding success early.
Previous Week Ranking- Not Ranked
Fell Out
- Austin Cindric- Cindric had a great Saturday, as he finished runner up to Harrison Burton and led 24 laps. However, the Team Penske driver got caught up in an incident of his own after blowing a tire and hitting the Turn 4 wall bringing out the yellow. Despite the incident, Cindric was able to rebound to a top 10. But, somewhat disappointing after finishing second the day before.
Previous Week Ranking- Second - Daniel Hemric- After his bossman Dale Earnhardt Jr had a good showing in the No. 8 car Saturday finishing fifth, expectations were high for Daniel Hemric and his team, who had to turn the car around to his liking in less than 24 hours. Unfortunately, Hemric was involved in an incident late in the race on lap 172, when he got collected in a crash on the backstretch with Riley Herbst, and teammate Michael Annett. Due to the incident, Hemric was credited with 31st.
Previous Week Ranking- Third - Justin Haley- Haley had okay days in the No. 11 Kaulig machine, but certainly was hoping for something better. He finished outside the top 10 in Saturday’s race by placing 13th after finishing eighth in Stage 1 and sixth in Stage 2. For Sunday’s finale, Haley rebounded to a respectable sixth place, thus earning sixth top 10 of the year. Despite those finishing positions, things could have been a bit better for Haley as he finished third at Atlanta the week prior to Homestead.
Previous Week Ranking- Fifth
