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Related video: Allgaier wins Xfinity race in Homestead
MIAMI, Fla. (WFLA) — NASCAR wrapped up a hot weekend in Homestead that started with a brush fire consuming more than 25,000 acres before it was contained on Sunday.
For NASCAR Cup Series drivers, the hot action was on the track.
Kyle Larson dominated the race weekend, winning the Truck Series race on Friday. He also led the most laps in the Xfinity race on Saturday before losing after a late-race caution.
Larson took his first Cup Series win of the season on Sunday, but he had a difficult start to his day.
Ryan Blaney had the car to beat for much of the race, opening a substantial lead on the field, until he had engine failure on lap 207. He experienced a nearly identical problem in Phoenix earlier in the season. The engine failure ended Blaney’s day but opened the door for others.
Bubba Wallace took advantage of the situation to take the race lead. Wallace had the fastest laps during practice on Saturday and looked like he might be poised for a win, but Larson fought through a series of issues to track him down and take the lead on lap 261.
Larson says the victory capped a great weekend.
“It’s just been a fun weekend. Obviously, I wish I could have gotten that win last night, but it’s part of racing. Just a strong weekend, and today’s race was just super tough and challenging,” said Larson.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver nearly experienced disaster early in the race on pit row as Josh Berry hit Larson’s car and then bounced into Joey Logano. The collision was hard enough to put a hole in the side of Larson’s car, and he wasn’t sure at the time how it would perform back on the track.
“I mean, you never know. I’m glad he got me there and not in the wheel because that probably would have hurt our day a lot. But, yeah, our car’s got a lot of battle scars on it,” said Larson.
Still, for Larson and his Hendrick team, the win was a satisfying one.
“A challenging win. Probably one of the coolest ones in my Cup career to this point, and just happy to get it,” said Larson.