HOMESTEAD, Fla. - After years of having a handful of drivers - the same guys, really - dominate NASCAR's top level nearly every week, the Cup Series is experiencing a little parity to start the season.
It's a welcome sight for some. Others hope it's a fleeting moment.
William Byron was the third surprise winner through three races this season with his victory Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 23-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver joined Michael McDowell and Christopher Bell in making unlikely trips to victory lane to start the revamped 2021 schedule.
Byron controlled most of the final two stages at Homestead to win for the second time in 111 Cup Series starts. His first victory came last August at Daytona International Speedway, and it landed him one of the final spots in the 16-driver playoffs.
No one saw that one coming. Few had this one on the radar, either.
Byron entered the weekend as a 28-1 shot to win a race many expected would provide a return to normal for the series. Instead, Daytona 500 champion McDowell and Daytona road course winner Bell have company in the relatively odd group of 2021 winners and drivers who have locked up postseason spots.
"A lot of people obviously made some good decisions on how to get better," said 2017 series champion Martin Truex Jr., who drives for powerful Joe Gibbs Racing and finished third Sunday in the No. 19 Toyota. "The box we have to work is so small ... the rules are the rules, and they haven't changed in a while. The smaller teams get to catch up."
Truex was quick to point out he still believes the top teams and rivers - the heavyweights like himself, so to speak - will find their way back to the top sooner rather than later.
AP photo by Wilfredo Lee / William Byron does doughnuts in the No. 24 Chevrolet as he celebrates after winning Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race in Homestead, Fla. The 23-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver won for the second time in his career on the top circuit.The first three races have provided plenty of eyebrow-raising moments, though. Richard Childress Racing's Tyler Reddick was second Sunday, though nearly three seconds behind fellow Chevrolet driver Byron. McDowell had his third straight top-10 finish. Chris Buescher, who has made the playoffs just once and has just one career victory in the Cup Series, ran up front for the first part of the race.
"It definitely has closed the gap," McDowell said.
McDowell and Bell were first-time winners to open the season. This rare run already has tightened the playoff race less than a month into NASCAR's long schedule. A victory earns an automatic berth, and it's unusual to have multiple unique winners in a season.
Few could have predicted this trio would have put a squeeze on some of NASCAR's top teams. Two-time series champion Kyle Busch currently sits below the top 16 in the standings, as do Aric Almirola, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman - all playoff qualifiers a year ago.
Byron hardly qualifies as a big a shocker as the previous two because he drives the famed No. 24, previously wheeled by Jeff Gordon and Chase Elliott, though he hadn't exactly been a regular in victory lane.
Then again, those inside the Hendrick organization had a feeling Byron could be in for something big this season after he reunited with former crew chief Rudy Fugle.
"That guy has been huge for my career," Byron said. "He's the reason I'm here, and I'm just glad we could get him. We really think the same way."
They had their best year together while competing in the third-tier Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports in 2016, even winning at Homestead. When Byron's former crew chief, Chad Knaus, moved up at Hendrick Motorsports, team owner Rick Hendrick hired Fugle and paired him with Byron. It was a rare move for Hendrick, who typically grooms his crew chiefs from within the organization.
Fugle spent eight years at KBM and led the trucks program to two driver championships and five owner titles. His trucks won 28 races, including seven with Byron behind the wheel.
"He knows how to push my buttons and get me motivated," Byron said. "Obviously, you have to back it up with results. Results come when you have people like that to work with."
Buescher dominated the race early, winning the opening stage (the second stage win of his career). The Roush Fenway Racing driver led five times for a total of 57 laps, but he started to fade as sunset neared. Buescher dropped from sixth to 23 after a restart early in the final stage, but he called the race "a step in the right direction for us."
Byron took over from there and left some of the biggest names playing catchup for the first time in years.
"It's tough," Truex said, "because there's not a whole lot you can do right now."