Few tracks defy their descriptors more than Homestead-Miami Speedway. Yes, it’s a mile-and-a-half oval like many other tracks on the NASCAR schedule, but it doesn’t race like any other track.
With variable banking, worn asphalt, and a rectangular configuration reminiscent of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, drivers are able to use multiple grooves and have to carefully manage tire falloff. All that contributes to comers-and-goers throughout the race and plenty of passing on the track.
Expect nothing less in Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (airing at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.)
Odds via BetMGM
+325 – Kyle Larson
+600 – Christopher Bell
+650 – Tyler Reddick
+700 – William Byron
+1000 – Denny Hamlin
+1000 – Ryan Blaney
+1400 – Martin Truex
+1500 – Chase Elliott
+2000 – Ty Gibbs
+2000 – Brad Keselowski
And, just to add on, it’s a Playoff race in the Round of 8, meaning the remaining postseason drivers are fighting for a chance to lock themselves into the Championship 4 and fight for a championship at Phoenix.
The only driver who doesn’t have to fight for that is Joey Logano, since he’s already guaranteed himself a spot at Phoenix by virtue of his win in the opening race of the round at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Playoff Standings
1. (CLINCH) Joey Logano
2. (+42) Christopher Bell
3. (+35) Kyle Larson
4. (+27) William Byron
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5. (-27) Denny Hamlin
6. (-30) Tyler Reddick
7. (-47) Ryan Blaney
8. (-53) Chase Elliott
The points gap has widened heading into Homestead because of struggles for some of the Playoff contenders at Vegas, namely a flip for Tyler Reddick that collected Elliott and Blaney and a host of strategy and pit road issues for Denny Hamlin.
Just because they enjoy a large buffer to the cutline, Bell, Larson, and Byron are certainly not safe. Kyle Larson proved that himself last year at Homestead. After running up front and winning Stage 1, Larson was way too ambitious trying to gain on Ryan Blaney entering pit road during green flag pit stops and hit the barrels that protect the pit wall. Larson was able to rely on winning the first round at Vegas himself that that year, so the points hit did not affect him. But a similar incident would have bigger implications for Larson this year, or any other driver above the cutline.
And Homestead is a true driver’s track, explained Chase Briscoe, where talent and skill can overcome some of the performance of the car.
“It’s just a track where, as a driver, you feel like you can make a huge difference, especially if you can run the wall better than somebody. And the car is changing so much throughout a run from lap one to lap 30, with about three seconds of fall off,” Briscoe explained.
“As a driver, your car is never driving well, so you feel like you can make up for it. You can slip and slide the car around and just do a lot of different things behind the wheel. When you go to a place like Kansas or somewhere that’s a really high-speed, not-a-lot-of-fall-off track, it just puts it more in the driver’s hands. And I feel like Homestead is a track where you slip and slide around, and just being uncomfortable normally makes a little bit more of a difference. So, for sure, that’s why a lot of the drivers love it.”
That puts the burden on the Playoff drivers to perform. Of the Playoff drivers, Joey Logano, William Byron, Christopher Bell, and Kyle Larson each have won win at the track, and Denny Hamlin has won three times at Homestead-Miami, so those drivers already know how to master the track. (That leaves only the three Playoff drivers in the lowest points position entering Homestead who have never actually won at the track.)
It also explains why some drivers always seem to outperform their equipment at Homestead. Take AJ Allmendinger: in his last two starts at the track in 2021 and 2022, he finished third and fifth, making Homestead his best oval in the Cup Series. Allmendinger will be back behind the wheel of the No. 16 for Kaulig this year.
A lot of Homestead-Miami is about taking the risk as the line migrates up to the outside wall, explained Playoff driver Ryan Blaney. Ripping the wall can be the fastest line, but it also means inches from disaster if the car gets loose or tight and hits the wall.
“To me, that’s one of the more risk-reward racetracks that we go to,” Blaney put it. “The closer you get to the fence, the faster you can go if you can run properly, but it’s one of those things where you inch closer and closer to it and you might hit it.
“I feel like the tire fall off there is a huge factor, too. You’re running inches away from the wall with no wiggle room and your tires get worse every lap, so how do you judge that as a driver going into the corner fully committed, but you can’t just do the same thing every lap. You’re always continuing to understand tire wear and things like that, so I feel like that is a huge driver racetrack. I think everyone really enjoys that part of it and I’m excited to get back to that.”
For Briscoe, though he’s no longer in the Playoffs after being eliminated ahead of this round, there is still a lot of pressure to perform. It will be his Stewart-Haas Racing team’s last-ever race at the track where owner Tony Stewart won a championship in 2011 driving the same No. 14 that Briscoe now pilots, and it’s the third-to-last ever race for the team before it folds ahead of next season.
“Hopefully we can go to Homestead and win in SHR’s final race there because it’s been a really good track for the company,” Briscoe said.
Practice and qualifying will air on MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, and the NBC Sports App on Saturday. Practice will start at 9:05 a.m. ET and qualifying will follow at 9:50 a.m. ET.
Xfinity Series drivers have a chance to join AJ Allmendinger in Phoenix
AJ Allmendinger punched his ticket to Phoenix to be part of the Championship 4 group of drivers that will contend for the championship trophy in the final race of the year, and Xfinity Series drivers have the chance to join him in Saturday afternoon’s Credit One NASCAR AMEX Credit Card 300 (airing at 3:30 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Xfinity Series Playoff Standings
1. (CLINCH) AJ Allmendinger
2. (+32) Justin Allgaier
3. (+16) Cole Custer
4. (+8) Chandler Smith
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5. (-8) Rajah Caruth
6. (-13) Jesse Love
7. (-23) Sam Mayer
8. (-53) Sammy Smith
The points battle is tight. Justin Allgaier might have a sizeable buffer (though certainly not enough to clinch with two races to go in this round entering Homestead), but Cole Custer and Chandler Smith need a good performance to stay above the cutline ahead of the final round at Martinsville.
Cole Custer has won at Homestead, back in 2017. He doesn’t need to with that points buffer this year though, and Custer explained that his team’s focus is on maximizing points all day to maintain the buffer.
“I don’t think we’re in a place where we have to win, but you never know what could happen at these next two races,” Custer said. The No. 00 team has had a ton of speed in the playoffs, including last weekend where we led laps. I think if we keep managing our races, having good races, and doing what we need to do, then we can make it to the next round on points alone.
“There’s no reason why we can’t be in a good position on points to make it to the Championship 4, but a win this weekend at Homestead would just make the nerves a lot easier heading into Martinsville. I was so nervous last year heading into that race because you never know what could happen there. You obviously want to win before then to help ease your mind, but you also want to look at the bigger picture and build a points cushion. We almost won at Homestead last year had it not been for that blown tire, so I know we can do it again,” he explained.
Below the cutline, Rajah Caruth and rookie Jesse Love are very much in range in range with Sam Mayer a little further back. Sammy Smith certainly is looking for a win.
Mayer is the defending race winner at Homestead-Miami Speedway. His win last year locked him into the Championship 4 en route to a third-place finish on the season, which he’ll be hoping to improve upon by two positions this year.
Practice and qualifying will air on the NBC Sports App on Friday. Practice will start at 4:05 p.m. ET and qualifying will follow at 4:40 p.m. ET.
The Truck Series has the tightest battle in NASCAR heading into Homestead
Coming into the final stretch of the Craftsman Truck Series season, all eyes are on a spot at Phoenix to fight for the championship. Just four drivers get that privilege, but eight still remain in the Playoffs.
The easiest way for a driver to ensure his place as one of those four is to win like Grant Enfinger did last in the last race at Talladega. The next chance to do that is Saturday’s Baptist Health 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (airing at 12 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Truck Series Playoff Standings
1. (CLINCH) Grant Enfinger
2. (+30) Corey Heim
3. (+29) Christian Eckes
4. (+5) Ty Majeski
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5. (-5) Rajah Caruth
6. (-13) Taylor Gray
7. (-20) Nicholas Sanchez
8. (-23) Tyler Ankrum
It’s the first race in a Saturday doubleheader with the Xfinity Series, a day that promises exciting racing from the south of Florida all afternoon.
When it comes to wins, Corey Heim has figured out how to do that better than anyone else this season. He’s won six races this year, double his closest competitor – Christian Eckes, who enters Homestead just one point behind him.
Both enter with a reasonably large buffer to the cutline and at least one driver will qualify for Phoenix on points (since there can only be a maximum of three drivers clinching with a win in a three-race round), but those points could evaporate with a mistake, crash, or bad run and a win guarantees one driver a spot ahead of the other.
Further back, though, the excitement is the five-point gap, the closest of any national series heading into Homestead. Ty Majeski enters with the slim advantage over Rajah Caruth for the final transfer point, but that gap is so small that there is no telling who will leave with the advantage.
The other drivers below the cutline – Taylor Gray, Nick Sanchez, and Tyler Ankrum – don’t trail by much either, with just 23 points in it. That’s a manageable points gap with two races remaining in the round.
Expect fireworks from all the drivers racing on points as the Truck Series heads to Homestead.
Truck Series driver will practice and qualify on Friday, although it will not be aired. Practice will start at 2:35 a.m. ET and qualifying will follow at 3:05 a.m. ET.
