This week in Miami-Dade County, there was something bigger than the NASCAR race happening. A wildfire outbreak devastated South Florida, burning more than 26,000 acres of land. 

Before the race, First Responders from all over the state of Florida were honored on the frontstretch. However, the race went on as scheduled, and the outcome was no surprise. 

Kyle Larson captured his first win of the season, and his 30th career win, putting him 30th all time, two behind 1999 Cup Champion Dale Jarrett. Larson was very close to completing a “sweep” of the weekend, as he had won the Truck Series race on Friday night, came very close in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, losing due to a rough restart by Sam Mayer in the closing laps, and obviously won on Sunday in the Cup Series. The only driver to ever do that is two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, who has done it twice. 

In the closing laps, Kyle Larson turned on the metaphorical after-burners and chased after his Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman, who was searching for his first win since Chicago last year. With a few laps to go, Bowman hit the wall exiting Turn 4, allowing Larson to scoot by and win. Bowman said he felt as if he had “choked that one away”. 

The points had a shake-up this week, however, William Byron still leads, but now he leads his teammate, Kyle Larson, with a total of 244 points. Larson trails Byron by -36 points. Christopher Bell dropped three places and is now in fifth place, even with his three wins on the season. 

Next week’s race is the Cook Out 400 at the famed Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, 3/30 on FS1 at 3:00 PM EST. Who will go to victory lane and win themselves a grandfather clock at “The Paperclip”?