Homestead-Miami Speedway, ‘a perfect race track’, is back in its rightful postseason spot

Back in 2003, Homestead-Miami Speedway was the new home of the most important race of the NASCAR schedule, and executives at the track decided the quality of the course had to be the best in racing.

In a matter of months, Homestead-Miami transformed from a nearly flat 1 1/2 mile course into a track with up to 20 degrees of banking in the corners. It instantly became one of the most competitive tracks in the sport, a favorite of drivers and a fitting place for the NASCAR Cup Series to crown its champion every year.

“It’s just a perfect race track,” said Chase Briscoe, who drives the No. 14 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas racing and is one of eight drivers left in contention for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series title.

It remained the championship site from 2002 through 2019, at which point NASCAR moved its final race weekend to Phoenix Raceway, pushing the Homestead race way up in the calendar. In 2020, it was the first major sporting event in South Florida to host spectators after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with about 1,000 military members given tickets for the June races. Last year, the race happened in February, still at only 20 percent capacity.

After a two-year hiatus, Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) is back near the end of the NASCAR schedule. It’s not the championship like it was for nearly two decades, but the third to last race on the calendar — and the second of three races in the Round of 8 — still make it one of the Cup Series’ marquee events.

“The analogy I use,” HMS president Al Garca said, “it’s kind of akin to hosting an NFC or an AFC championship game. ... Oftentimes, they’re more exciting than the actual Super Bowl, so I’m fired up.”

Joey Logano clinched his spot in the Championship 4 on Sunday in Las Vegas, leaving three spots open and seven drivers vying for them during the final two weekends of October. If one of those other seven drivers wins the 2022 Dixie Vodka 400 on Sunday, he will clinch a spot in the Championship 4, too, and of the rest of the field will be finalized Oct. 30, with points accrued this weekend playing a role in determining the championship field.

NASCAR will crown its champion next month at the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race in Avondale, Arizona.

“It’s not the final championship race like we had for 18 years, but it is deep in the playoffs and is way more significant than a race early in the season, which plays well,” Garcia said. “To move the needle in Miami-Dade County, you’ve got to really offer up something special and this race ... is just that. It’s a championship race.”

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The full weekend stretches across three days, including practice and qualifying, and features races from each of NASCAR’s top three series. On Saturday, the 2022 Camping World Truck Series will run its penultimate race of the season with 2022 Baptist Health 200 at 1 p.m., and the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series will run its third to last race of the year with the 2022 Contender Boats 300 at 4:30 p.m. On Sunday, the Dixie Vodka 400 begins at 2:30 p.m., with gates opening at 9:30 a.m.

As important as the race is, Garcia knows not to just draw on NASCAR’s most hardcore fans, although he estimates 35,000-40,000 people will come to Miami-Dade County for the race.. This will be the first time in more than 1,000 days HMS can be filled to capacity, which also means a return of all the race-weekend activities surrounding the event.

Country music singer Kip Moore will play a prerace concert at the start-finish line, Colombian DJ Alex Sensation will perform on a makeshift beach on the track’s infield, and Miami reggaeton singer Adassa will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” while Miami Heat power forward Udonis Haslem will serve as an honorary race official.

The venue also features a 20,000-square-foot beach on the infield, with a seven-acre lake and water activities; and a 300-seat, double-decker bar built out of shipping containers, decorated by local street artists. Parking outside the speedway is also free, and spectators are allowed to leave and reenter, making it a particularly tailgating-friendly event.

Wherever fans watch from, drivers and organizers alike expect they’ll see a thrilling race.

When HMS redesigned its track in 2003, it used Goodyear computer technology to run simulated races on differently angled tracks, and kept tweaking the angling until a car running a full race along the inside and one running along the outside would cross the finish line at the same time. The design means there’s no one path to victory in Homestead, and makes for more comeback and nose-to-nose finishes.

Ever since NASCAR moved Miami out of the playoffs altogether in 2020, Garcia has stumped to bring it back, and he had drivers and team presidents on his side.

Everyone likes to come down to Florida in the fall and everyone likes to race at HMS.

After two years, the Dixie Vodka is back in its rightful place as one of the biggest races of the year.

“If it’s not going to be the championship race,” Briscoe said, “it for sure needs to be in the playoffs.”