NASCAR at Homestead live updates: William Byron takes checkered flag

The NASCAR Cup Series hits its first intermediate track of the year at Homestead-Miami Speedway today. The Dixie Vodka 400 is at 3:30 p.m. on FOX.

Race stages end on laps 80, 160 and 267.

Check back here for live updates throughout the race and follow NASCAR reporter Alex Andrejev on Twitter at @AndrejevAlex.

FINAL

William Byron took the checkered flag at Homestead-Miami shortly after 7 p.m., followed by Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson.

Final Stage

6:38 p.m., Lap 227: The running order for leaders with 40 laps to go is William Byron, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr. and Cole Custer.

6:16 p.m., Lap 200: A caution is called after Ryan Blaney and Aric Almirola make contact. Both cars have damage, with Blaney losing a tire, and debris is left on the track to bring out the yellow. Kyle Larson, Martin Truex, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, William Byron come out first from the pit stop, but Hamlin gets a speeding penalty on pit road to send him to the back on the restart. He was 0.09 seconds over the tolerance speed. “I was definitely getting all I could get but I didnt feel I was any faster than any time today,” Hamlin says on his radio.

6:08 p.m., Lap 189: Cole Custer has moved up to seventh, followed by Brad Keselowski, Michael McDowell and Tyler Reddick. The sun is setting now and it appears the top groove is becoming preferable. Kevin Harvick is also up to sixth after a slow start to the day, finishing out of the top-10 in the second stage.

5:58 p.m., Lap 170: Martin Truex Jr. is one of a few cars to pit for tires, as does Ryan Blaney, and it pays off with Truex running from 17th to fifth in a single lap after the restart. William Byron, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. are leading.

Stage 2

5:48 p.m., Lap 160: William Byron wins Stage 2. Denny Hamlin picks up five spots on pit road to restart in the front row inside Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. It’s a one lap shootout for the end of the stage, but Hamlin slides high in front of Truex in the final lap, saying he got on the brakes off Turn 4 and lost it. That blocks Truex and opens up the low line for Byron to slide into first place at the end of the stage. The finishing order is: William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, Chris Buescher, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Austin Dillon for points.

5:36 p.m., Lap 153: The caution comes out for fluid on the track. Corey LaJoie’s smoking car appears to have a race-ending issue. He heads to the garage and stand-in crew chief Steve Letarte says over the radio, ”For the week we’ve had, we accomplished a lot.” LaJoie was running 15th after dropping to the back for the start of the race. His typical crew chief Ryan Sparks was out due to COVID-19 protocols.

5:30 p.m., Lap 140: After pit stops cycle through, Martin Truex Jr. picks up his lead over Chris Buescher. The order with fewer than 20 laps in the stage after them is William Byron, Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Ryan Newman and Aric Almirola.

5:19 p.m., Lap 121: Martin Truex Jr. takes the lead from Chris Buescher but doesn’t complete it before pitting. He gets a call to pit “too late,” he says. Buescher pits from the lead the next time around.

5:15 p.m., Lap 117: A Toyota enters the top-three talk with Martin Truex Jr. in second place chasing down Buescher, who’s ahead by less than half a second. Wiiliam Byron, Kyle Larson, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott follow in that order. Green flag pit stops will start shortly.

5:05 p.m., Lap 95: Chris Buescher’s car is clearly strong on the long-run and he’s back in first after a few laps into the stage. But the Chevrolets are commanding the top-10 now after Fords led early. Kyle Larson goes to second. William Byron is into third, Chase Elliott drops to fifth behind Martin Truex Jr. Alex Bowman says he’s losing his drive and is in eighth.

5 p.m., Lap 90: Chase Elliott gained four spots on pit road during the stage break. He takes the lead on Lap 90 and is the first non-Ford driver to lead the race in his No. 9 Chevy.

Stage 1

4:45 p.m., Lap 80: Chris Buescher trailed Brad Keselowski for a few laps before he retook the lead for his first stage win of the season. Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch and Austin Dillon finish the stage in the top-10.

4:30 p.m., Lap 64: The caution comes out as James Davison heads to the garage with a smoking car. His car has a mechanical engine that will send him out of the race. Chris Buescher continues to lead William Byron and Brad Keselowski. Fords have led all laps so far. By Buescher leading the last 15 laps, he’s tied the most laps he’s led in a single race of 189 Cup races. (Buescher led 15 laps at Talladega last fall.)