Written by Gabriel Tsui, Bailey Defoor, & Sean McKean
For our sole visit to this track this season, the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series’ venture to Miami, Florida to race at Homestead.
Homestead-Miami Speedway opened in 1996 and first hosted all three national series in 1999. The track at that time was 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometres) long, but had a shape resembling the Indianapolis Raceway.
In 2003, the track was reconfigured to the layout we know today: still 1.5 miles but with banking of 18-20 degrees in the turns and four degrees on the straights.
This track hosted the finale from 2002 to 2019 – seeing iconic moments like Stewart beating Edwards to the title on countback in 2011 and Jimmie Johnson clinching his seventh title in 2016. Since then, it has remained steady as a late-season race with the sole exception of 2021 – when it hosted the third race of the season.
The defending winners of each race:
Trucks: No. 42 - Carson Hocevar (Niece Motorsports)
Xfinity: No. 1 - Sam Mayer (JR Motorsports)
Cup: No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)
Below are start times for each races plus lap count:
Trucks: Saturday, 26 October, 12:00 local (18:00 UK) – 134 laps
Xfinity: Saturday, 26 October, 16:00 local (22:00 UK) – 200 laps
Cup: Sunday, 27 October, 14:30 local (20:30 UK) – 267 laps
Cup Series: Straight Talk Wireless 400 Preview
Written by Gabriel Tsui
Following an unreal effort by Joey Logano that saw the star Team Penske driver take a win in Las Vegas, we head to Homestead Miami for the second race for the round of eight. With the top four drivers separating themselves massively from the bottom four, will the likes of Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Elliott be able to turn the tides and make a statement win here in Homestead?
The drivers will be driving around the mile-and-a-half long race track for 267 laps, with 80 laps each in stages one and two, closing out the race with 107 laps, totalling a distance of 400.5 miles (644.542 kilometres) run around the track.
The weather report indicates that it will be cloudy during the weekend, with temperatures around 28 degrees Celsius (83 degrees Fahrenheit). The race will commence on Sunday, October 27th, at 14:30 ET (11:30 PT, 20:30 CET).
Race Prediction
Christopher Bell is the face of a franchise called consistency. From the beginning of the playoffs, he has only finished below the top-ten once, finished in the top-five four times, and the leader in top-ten finishes. Apart from the aforementioned consistency that he brought throughout the season, his past successes here in Miami is also another reason he is one of the favourites.
From his first full time season in Trucks, he has only finished below the top-15 once, during his sophomore season in the Cup. He also won the race last year, a win that secured him a second consecutive trip to the championship four. All that being said, give me Denny Hamlin!
After missing the championship four for two consecutive seasons, after nearly being eliminated in the round of 16, this is his chance to punch his ticket for another chance at the championship. He has won in Homestead three separate times in the past, and has a great performance history at the track.
He is 27 points behind the cut line, and making it back on points seems close to impossible with consistent performing drivers above the cutline. A win is his only way back, and what better place to do it than in his home state? This chance is very real, but it’s time for Hamlin to go out and seize the day.
Three storylines to look out for:
Desperate times require desperate measures
Taking a look at the playoff standings, we see Hamlin and Reddick behind by over 30 points, while Blaney and Elliott are behind by 47 and 53 points, almost impossible grounds to make up with points. These drivers have to get their elbows out and avoid driving conservatively, take control of their own destiny and find a way to get the win; go big, or go home.
Cautions will be scarce; nail the money stops
Cautions are incredibly scarce in Homestead, as there were only five cautions in the 2023 race and the 2022 race. This means that it will be yet another race of lengthy green flag runs, with quite a few green flag stops. That goes without saying, the pit crews need to nail the money stops.
Last week, we saw how poor pit crew performances led to a disappointing finish for Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson, especially for Hamlin who is in the thick of it. If the pit crews can avoid mistakes and nail the green flag stops, that is 90 percent of what they need to have a great race.
Tyre management is key
Homestead is one of the warmest areas in the United States of America, with temperatures consistently on the higher end of the spectrum, tyre management will be key to success. Avoiding extra pit stops with good tyre management will give teams a sizeable advantage in the long run.
Xfinity Series: Credit One NASCAR Amex Credit Card 300 Preview
Written by Bailey Defoor
After AJ Allmendinger secured his place for the championship in Phoenix, Xfinity heads to Miami for race two in the Round of 8 this week. The competition is ramping up as drivers fight for their place in the championship.
Race Predictions
I’m choosing Cole Custer this week. He was on pole last year at Homestead and suffered a tyre puncture that dropped him out of contention. He was promising last weekend in Las Vegas, and I have a feeling he is out for redemption this weekend.
Two storylines to look out for:
Sawalich signs for next season
Joe Gibbs Racing announced on 21 October that 18-year-old William Sawalich will pilot the number 18 full-time next season alongside recently announced Taylor Gray. Sawalich is the 2023 and 2024 ARCA Menards Series East champion ahead of the also Xfinity-bound Connor Zilisch. Both will be driving this weekend.
Uphill battle for Chandler Smith
Chandler Smith sits just above the cutoff with an eight-point buffer. He’s looking for a solid points scoring this weekend, but it will not come easy to him. In his three starts at Homestead, the highest Smith has finished is seventh, and this position would end his streak of top five finishes that began in September. Will he prevail this weekend?
Truck Series: Baptist Health 200 Preview
Written by Sean McKean
After some time away from action, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will return to action this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. With this being the penultimate race in the Round of 8, pressure will be on seven drivers to lock their way into the next round.
Why seven? Well, last time out in Talladega, Grant Enfinger outlasted the rest to take his first victory of the season in a time that mattered most. With this track plus a chaotic Martinsville approaching, Enfinger will have some time to relax before the title decider in Phoenix.
Race Predictions
Last year, this race was surprisingly clean – coming down to fuel mileage at the end. Carson Hocevar took the win and locked himself into the Championship 4.
However, a driver not only with momentum on his side but also a previous win here is Ty Majeski from 2022. For that reason, he is our pick to win on Saturday.
Two storylines to look out for:
Lookin’ good, Corey and Christian
Despite the chaos that Talladega brought to the playoff picture, the two main protagonists this season – Corey Heim and Christian Eckes – still sit 30 and 29 points above the cut line respectively. In particular, Heim is great at 1.5-mile tracks, having won both races in Kansas this year.
No matter what, look out for these two to be in the hunt for the title come Phoenix.
Caruth with confidence
Even though he sits five points below the cut line, Spire’s Rajah Caruth has been a surprise this season. He took victory in the first 1.5-mile track of the season in Las Vegas and looks to repeat that success in Homestead.
“Really, for me, I feel like, why not us?” Caruth stated to NASCAR media. And to that, we say there is a chance.
Comments