It’s not the championship, but Homestead ‘still feels like a finale’ for NASCAR’s top drivers
For nearly two decades, Homestead-Miami Speedway was NASCAR’s grand finale. The road finished in South Florida, a champion crowned here at the end of the season.
That changed after the 2019 season, when NASCAR moved its championship race to Phoenix and knocked Homestead down to a lesser role — first a two-year stint as an early season race before being moved back into the playoff picture last season as the second of three Round of 8 races to determine the field for the championship.
But that doesn’t mean the track has lost its aura among the circuit’s top drivers.
“I’m always excited to come here just because I’ve enjoyed it over the years,” said Martin Truex Jr. who is wrapping up his 20th season in the Cup Series circuit. “It’s always been a good track. ... It’s just always been a place where I feel like we go there, we can run good, I feel comfortable and I have fun. It’s always nice to come to a track that you’re not dreading.”
And that brings things to Sunday, when Homestead-Miami Speedway hosts the 4EVER 400 to cap its weekend of racing.
The 267-lap race starts at 2:30 p.m. and will be televised on NBC. It’s the second-to-last race on the schedule before the championship race and will play a role in determining which four drivers will still be in contention for the title on Nov. 5 at Phoenix Raceway.
“It still feels like a finale to us because it has been for so long,” said Denny Hamlin, a three-time winner at Homestead and an annual championship contender. “Even though it’s the third race from the end, it still has that end-of-the-year-type of feel for us. The atmosphere has always been good. We’ve always had great turnout from fans there. So it certainly gets us amped up for what’s about to come.”
Where things stand for championship hopefuls
Only one driver still competing in the Round of 8 has punched his ticket into the Championship 4: Kyle Larson, who won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend.
William Byron, Truex and Hamlin enter the weekend holding the final three spots based on points, with Christopher Bell two points behind Hamlin for fourth place, followed by Tyler Reddick (16 points out), Ryan Blaney (17 points out) and Chris Buescher (23 points out).
Drivers automatically qualify for the Championship 4 with a win at any of the three races in the Round of 8 — Las Vegas last week, Homestead on Sunday and Martinsville next week — with the remaining spots being filled by those with the most points.
Drivers receive points for being in the top 10 at the end of each of the first two stages of a race — for Homestead, Stage 1 ends at Lap 80 and Stage 2 ends at Lap 165 — and then up to 40 points for where they finish the race. First place gets 40 points. Second place gets 35 points and then each place after that gets one fewer point (third place 34 points, fourth place 33 points and so on) all the down to 35th place. Drivers finishing 36th to 40th get one point.
For the likes of Reddick, Blaney and Buescher, the objective is simple at this point.
“Probably gonna have to win one of these,” Blaney said, “but you never know. ... You just go race.”
Added Buescher: “It’s going to be about winning in this round. It typically is. Have to work hard for that, go out and run good all day. If we can run well in stages and be up front, that puts us in position to win the race, but if now, at least you’ve acquired points in the meantime. That’s the main part of it.”
And that goes for everyone. While Larson already has his spot in the Championship 4 locked in, he said he doesn’t plan to just coast until Phoenix in a couple weeks.
“You really can’t look too far ahead of yourself,” Larson said. “There’s still two other races before then. I put a lot of pressure on myself going to Homestead. I want to have a great run there. I want to dominate honestly. I want to win both stages by 15 seconds and win the race by 30. That’s my goal.”
What makes it a favorite
The track certainly fits Larson’s style. Success at Homestead generally comes when driving high on the turns, close to the walls. It’s a high-risk, high-reward approach given the chance for damage to the cars.
“I’m just comfortable up there,” Larson said. “It’s just a great track for me and in our race team.”
Buescher meanwhile, said the Homestead track “has a lot of character to it,” adding that the track has “lots of options” for drivers to make moves depending on their style and strategy, which makes it the “perfect place to make things happen.”
Four of the Round of 8 drivers have wins at Homestead in their career. In addition to Larson’s win last season, Byron won in 2021, Hamlin in 2020, 2013 and 2009, and Truex in 2017.
“I think the ability for the driver to make a difference is there is the reason,” Hamlin said. “The driver really can do some things to manipulate the car to work in a certain way by his driving style if the car’s not handling exactly perfectly. Any time drivers can have a bigger factor in your performance, I think that they all like it for that reason.”
Added Truex: “It’s a tough place and a lot can happen, but I think if your car is good and you’re good on long runs and you take care of the rest of the stuff you have to every weekend — I definitely don’t think it’s a wildcard. This is just kind of a more straightforward race.”
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