He won before Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney. Denny Hamlin took the lead for the first time with 30 laps remaining and he then held off for his third win at Homestead-Miami Speeday. Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle are the other two to win three times on the track. So now Hamlin also belongs to the club after struggling with Elliott for most of the race.

- I only knew if I had the patience and drive at the pace I'm comfortable with, we would be hit hard. This was really special, says Denny Hamlin.

The victory was also Denny Hamlin's third for the season and 40th overall. He opened the season with a victory in the Daytona 500 and last month he won at Darlington.

- I'm more motivated than ever before, he says.

Audience at Nascar

For the first time since the corona pandemic, fans were back. But there was a clear limitation as there were only about 1,000 fans - mostly invited military members. However, most fans had left the arena when Denny Hamlin was first in goal.

In the audience there were also no southern flags "Stars and bars" which are now banned on Nascar. The decision came after widespread protests after a police killed Black man George Floyd. It was the African American Nascar driver Darrell Wallace who pressed that it would be banned, which has now also been implemented.