NASCAR at Homestead results, highlights from Sunday's Cup Series race

Tadd Haislop

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NASCAR at Homestead results, highlights from Sunday's Cup Series race image

For the first time in almost two decades, the annual NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway was not the season finale. And while Sunday's race at Homestead did not run on its originally scheduled date, NASCAR was able to squeeze it back into the first half of its 2020 schedule.

Rain and lightning in the Miami area led to some weather delays Sunday, but it also alleviated temperatures on what otherwise would have been a brutally hot day and night for drivers for the second straight week.

Denny Hamlin, who had his crew chief Chris Gabehart back after a four-race suspension, cruised to victory Sunday at Homestead after stealing the lead from Chase Elliott in the closing laps.

MORE: Watch all NASCAR races live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

The results of Sunday's race at Homestead will have their typical impact on the NASCAR Cup Series points standings, but they also will set the order of pit stall selection for next week's race at Talladega without qualifying. So Hamlin will have the first selection.

We're tracked live race updates and highlights as Sunday's Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway played out. Here's how it went down.

NASCAR at Homestead: Race winner, results

Hamlin had no trouble cruising to victory Sunday night, especially after Elliott brushed the wall with a few laps to go. It was Hamlin's 40th career victory in the Cup Series.

A couple notable finishes in the top 10 were Richard Childress racing teammates Tyler Reddick (fourth) and Austin Dillon (seventh), who both outperformed expectations and came away with strong runs. Rookie Christopher Bell also landed a top 10 with his eighth-place finish. Reddick and Bell both earned their best career Cup Series finishes.

Below are the complete results from Sunday's race at Homestead.

Pos. Driver
1 Denny Hamlin
2 Chase Elliott
3 Ryan Blaney
4 Tyler Reddick
5 Aric Almirola
6 Kyle Busch
7 Austin Dillon
8 Christopher Bell
9 William Byron
10 Brad Keselowski
11 Clint Bowyer
12 Martin Truex Jr.
13 Bubba Wallace
14 Matt DiBenedetto
15 Michael McDowell
16 Jimmie Johnson
17 Kurt Busch
18 Alex Bowman
19 John Hunter Nemechek
20 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21 Erik Jones
22 Cole Custer
23 Chris Buescher
24 Ryan Preece
25 Matt Kenseth
26 Kevin Harvick
27 Joey Logano
28 Ty Dillon
29 Corey LaJoie
30 Ryan Newman
31 Daniel Suarez
32 Brennan Poole
33 Quin Houff
34 Timmy Hill
35 BJ McLeod
36 Joey Gase
37 Josh Bilicki
38 JJ Yeley

NASCAR at Homestead: Race highlights

10:47 p.m. ET: Denny Hamlin wins the Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead with a strong long run to end the race. Chase Elliott had closed the gap before brushing the wall and slipping away. It's Hamlin's third win of the season.

10:29 p.m. ET: Denny Hamlin runs down and passes Chase Elliott for the lead with 29 laps to go.

10:26 p.m. ET: Ryan Newman is penalized for speeding on pit road during a green flag stop.

9:53 p.m. ET: Back to green with 92 laps to go.

9:49 p.m. ET: Caution. Joey Logano gets loose, brushes the wall and clips Ryan Newman. During the caution, Austin Dillon's team is penalized for an uncontrolled tire during its pit stop.

9:43 p.m. ET: Restart to begin Stage 3.

9:33 p.m. ET: Denny Hamlin wins stage 2.

9:19 p.m. ET: The race reaches the halfway point at Lap 135, which means it can be considered official if a lengthy weather delay arrives. Denny Hamlin has a two-second lead over Ryan Blaney.

8:51 p.m. ET: Green flag to begin Stage 2.

8:41 p.m. ET: Stage 1 ends. Denny Hamlin beats Ryan Blaney to take the 10 points as stage winner.

8:15 p.m. ET: Green flag on Lap 37.

8:14 p.m. ET: Kevin Harvick has to pit twice under caution because of right-rear damage sustained during his first stop. Joey Logano also sustains some front-end damage but does not need to pit again.

8:08 p.m. ET: Engines are restarted.

8:02 p.m. ET: NASCAR calls drivers back to their cars. Let's try this again.

7:28 p.m. ET: Caution. For lightning. Again. The race goes under another red flag and can't be restarted for at least 30 minutes.

7:24 p.m. ET: Restart on Lap 25.

7:18 p.m. ET: Caution. Ryan Newman spins in Turn 4 with a flat right rear tire. It becomes the competition caution on Lap 21.

7:11 p.m. ET: Green flag. The race finally gets restarted on Lap 9 after a lengthy weather delay.

7:04 p.m. ET: Engines are restarted. After 2 hours and 8 minutes, the red flag is lifted.

6:54 p.m. ET: Drivers are told to return to their cars yet again.

6:20 p.m. ET: Another lightning strike in the area. Which means the race can't restart for at least another 30 minutes.

6:08 p.m. ET: Drivers are called back to their cars as NASCAR tries to restart the race.

5:15 p.m. ET: Another bolt of lightning near the track, which means at least another 30 minutes of delay before the race can restart.

4:54 p.m. ET: Welp. Just a few laps into the race, more lightning strikes in the area, and another delay. This time the red flag comes out.

4:51 p.m. ET: Almost an hour after it was supposed to start, the Dixie Vodka 400 gets the green flag.

4:41 p.m. ET: Engines are re-fired for the start of the race.

4:18 p.m. ET: NASCAR tells teams it hopes to get engines restarted at 4:35 p.m. ET.

3:57 p.m. ET: Due to a lightning strike in the area, NASCAR tells teams and fans to take shelter. The start of the race is delayed a minimum of 30 minutes.

3:56 p.m. ET: NASCAR formally announces a delay to the start of the race due to rainfall in Turns 3 and 4 of the 1.5-mile track. Track drying efforts immediately begin.

3:44 p.m. ET: Just as the command to fire engines is made by Pro Football Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson, reports of rain around the track pause the start of the race. Cars are told to stay on pit road.

3:37 p.m. ET: NASCAR announces B.J. McLeod must start the race at the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments.

3:08 p.m. ET: Another weather update. Storms are sprinkled throughout South Florida, but nothing yet over the track.

2:32 p.m. ET: Chase Briscoe wins the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Homestead, which started at noon ET as part of a doubleheader with the Cup Series race.

12:50 p.m. ET: Quin Houff's 00 car fails pre-race inspection twice. He will be forced to start the race from the back of the field.

11:21 a.m. ET: Brian Neudorff, a meteorologist who provides weather info for NASCAR races, predicts there is a 65 percent chance the Homestead race will run on schedule.

Tadd Haislop

Tadd Haislop is the Associate NFL Editor at SportingNews.com.