By David Morgan, Associate Editor
After spending the past two seasons bouncing around to different dates on the schedule, Homestead-Miami Speedway is back in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with Sunday’s running of the Dixie Vodka 400.
From 2002 to 2019, Homestead served as the season finale and once again this season, it will serve a pivotal role in the championship as the midway point of the Round of 8. Should any of the seven drivers not yet locked into the Championship 4 win on Sunday, they will claim their chance to race for a title at Phoenix.
The 1.5-mile oval came into existence in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in the early 90’s, with the Cup Series making its first appearance at the track in 1999. Since undergoing a reconfiguration in 2003, Homestead has provided some great racing on its progressive banking on one of the true ovals on the circuit and that has only gotten better as the asphalt has aged.
Intermediate tracks have been the Next Gen car’s bread and butter this season, so Sunday should be another entertaining race with major championship implications on the line.
By the Numbers
What: Dixie Vodka 400, NASCAR Cup Series Race No. 34 of 36
Where: Homestead-Miami Speedway – Homestead, Florida (Opened: 1995 – First NASCAR Cup event: 1999 – Reconfigured: 2003)
TV/Radio: NBC, 2:30 pm ET / MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90
Track Size: 1.5-mile oval
Banking: 18 to 20 degrees in turns, four degrees on straights
Race Length: 267 laps, 400.5 miles
Stage Lengths: First stage – 80 laps, Second stage – 85 laps, Final stage – 102 laps
Pit Road Speed: 45 mph
Pace Car Speed: 55 mph
2021 Race Winner: William Byron – No. 24 Chevrolet (Started 31st, 102 laps led)
Track Qualifying Record: Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Ford (29.795 seconds, 181.238 mph – November 14, 2014)
Top-10 Driver Ratings at Homestead:
- Kyle Larson – No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 108.1
- Martin Truex, Jr – No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 106.7
- Kyle Busch – No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 106.6
- Kevin Harvick – No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford – 100.7
- Tyler Reddick – No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet – 99.5
- Denny Hamlin – No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota – 99.0
- Chase Elliott – No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 94.1
- William Byron – No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – 92.1
- Joey Logano – No. 22 Team Penske Ford – 90.9
- Brad Keselowski – No. 6 Roush…
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