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  • Harrison Burton storms to an upset win at Homestead

    Harrison Burton storms to an upset win at Homestead

    In a thrilling two-lap shootout, Harrison Burton overtook Noah Gragson and Austin Cindric with a three-wide pass to win the Hooters 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was his second NASCAR Xfinity Series win of his career and the second this season. With his second win coming in his 18th series start, Burton became the third Xfinity competitor to notch multiple victories this season as Joe Gibbs Racing claimed its fourth series win of the 2020 season. In addition, Burton became the 20th different driver to win an Xfinity event at Homestead in Miami, a list that includes his father, Jeff.

    The starting lineup was based on a random draw. Burton drew the pole position for the second time in the last three Xfinity races and was joined on the front row by Gragson.

    During the pace laps, a piece of ballast fell off of Chase Briscoe’s No. 98 Ford Mustang and NASCAR called Briscoe to pit road, where his crew went to work to complete the repairs needed for the fallen part along with changing a right-rear tire. Briscoe was unable to return to the track in time to take the green flag with the field. By the time he returned to the track, he was in 36th, six laps behind the leaders. To make matters worse, he was also assessed a pass-through penalty for having too many crew members over the pit wall.

    When the green flag dropped, Gragson, who started on the inside lane, jumped to the lead followed by Ross Chastain as Burton was shuffled back to third. For the opening 10 laps, Gragson maintained a half-second advantage over Chastain, but on Lap 14, Chastain was able to cut the deficit to nearly a tenth of a second. Though he was able to draw himself to the rear bumper of Gragson through the corners, he was unable to navigate his way around for the lead entering the straightaways.

    The competition caution flew on Lap 20 as Gragson maintained the lead by nearly two seconds over Chastain. At the time of caution, Austin Cindric and Justin Haley, who started ninth and 10th, were in third and fourth while Burton was back to fifth. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in seventh after starting 12th, Jeremy Clements was in 10th after starting 23rd and Anthony Alfredo was in 13th after starting 21st. Under caution, the majority of the front runners remained on track while Ryan Sieg led a bevy of competitors to pit road for early adjustments. Following the pit stops, Timmy Hill was assessed a pit road penalty for an uncontrolled tire violation.

    When the race returned to green on Lap 25, Chastain received a bump from Cindric on the bottom lane to take the lead past the start/finish line while Cindric and Gragson battled for the runner-up position. Four laps later, Sieg, who restarted 20th on fresh tires, rocketed his way to the lead and was able to cruise away from Chastain, Cindric and Gragson. Two laps after taking the lead, Sieg was ahead by more than two seconds over Chastain. During this time, Quebec’s Alex Labbe, who pitted with Sieg under the competition caution, worked his way up to fifth and was battling Cindric for more spots while Earnhardt Jr. was in sixth. As the run to the first stage’s conclusion progressed, Kyle Weatherman and Colin Garrett, both of whom also pitted with Sieg under the competition caution, were in eighth and 10th.

    The second caution of the race flew on Lap 38 when smoke billowed out of the No. 52 Chevrolet of Kody Vanderwal entering Turn 1. The caution led to the conclusion of the first stage on Lap 40, where Sieg won the stage. Chastain, Gragson, Cindric and Labbe finished in the top five followed by Weatherman, Earnhardt Jr., Haley, Jones and Joe Graf Jr.

    Under the stage break, nearly the entire field pitted and Gragson exited pit road first followed by Chastain, Cindric, Earnhardt Jr. and Haley while Sieg dropped to sixth. Following the stops, Hill was penalized for another uncontrolled tire violation. During the caution, Briscoe took the wave around and gained some of his fallen laps back, leaving him three laps behind the leaders.  

    At the start of the second stage on Lap 45, Gragson and Chastain battled against one another through Turn 2 before Chastain slid in front of Gragson to take the lead in Turn 3. A lap later, Cindric took the lead entering Turn 1 while Chastain was locked in a heated battle with Gragson for the runner-up spot. Behind the top three, Earnhardt Jr. and Sieg battled for fourth.

    The third caution flew on Lap 57 when Vinnie Miller turned right across the front nose of Brett Moffitt, sending both cars to slap the outside wall in Turn 3. At the time of caution, Cindric was ahead by less than two seconds over Earnhardt Jr., who had passed teammate Gragson and Chastain for position. Under caution, nearly the entire field remained on track, but Justin Allgaier, who was running 10th, was one of four competitors who elected to pit.

    On a Lap 62 restart, Chastain muscled his way from the inside lane to reassume the lead, but Cindric pulled a crossover move to remain dead even with Chastain. Behind, Gragson battled Earnhardt Jr. for third. Three laps later, a three-car battle for the lead brewed as Chastain, Cindric and Earnhardt Jr. were separated by less than three-tenths of a second. Two laps later, the three-car battle for the lead became a four-car battle as Gragson caught the front runners and moved into second before settling behind Chastain. On Lap 72, Gragson returned to the lead as he was able to stabilize his advantage above half a second while Earnhardt Jr. was locked in a heated battled with Chastain and Cindric for second. Behind the top four, Jones and Haley started to close within the leaders. 

    For the final three laps of the second stage, Chastain, Earnhardt Jr. and Cindric used every lane and every groove of the track from the corners and the straightaways to battle one another for second. Their intense battle was all Gragson needed as the driver of the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet drove away to win the second stage on Lap 80. Cindric held off Chastain and Earnhardt Jr. to finish second while Jones and Haley finished fifth and sixth. Burton, Alfredo, Sieg and Allgaier finished in the top 10. 

    Under the stage break, the field pitted and Earnhardt Jr. exited first followed by Chastain and Cindric while Gragson, who had issues exiting his pit stall, fell back to fourth. Following the stops, Riley Herbst was sent to the rear of the field due to his crew members jumping over the pit wall too early along with Sieg, who was speeding on pit road. During this time, Briscoe was able to gain another lap from the leaders, which left him one lap behind for the final stage. 

    When the final stage started with 80 laps remaining, Chastain jumped to the lead on the inside lane and Earnhardt Jr. was quickly overtaken by Jones and Cindric in Turn 1. By Turn 2, he settled in fourth while engaged in a battle with Burton for position. Gragson, who spun his tires at the restart and was nearly turned, was in sixth.

    With 73 laps remaining, as the laps continued to dwindle, an intense battle for the lead started brewing once again between Chastain and Cindric. Cindric made a move to lead a lap, but was overtaken by Chastain. Four laps later, Earnhardt Jr. threw himself back into the picture and made it a three-car battle between the trio again. 

    With 67 to go, Cindric reassumed the lead and was followed by Earnhardt Jr. while Chastain fell to third. Six laps later, Gragson made his way back to second. With 59 to go, Gragson stormed back into the lead followed by Cindric and Earnhardt Jr. while Chastain slipped to fifth behind Burton and in front of Jones. Nine laps later, Gragson extended his advantage to above three seconds over Cindric and nearly six seconds over Earnhardt Jr.

    While the battle for the lead settled into a stable lead for Gragson, his teammate, Allgaier, who pitted earlier after making contact with the wall, took his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to the garage due to mechanical issues with 48 to go. Two laps later, green-flag pit stops commenced with the leaders making their final planned stop of the day. During the stops, teammates Chastain and Haley served pass-through penalties on pit road due to uncontrolled tire violations, which cost both Kaulig Racing teammates one lap. When the field cycled through the green-flag stops, Sieg was the leader. Because Sieg was initially a lap behind prior to the green-flag pit stops, he needed to pit soon, but he was wanting a caution to cycle back on the lead lap with the field. Gragson was in second followed by Briscoe, who was also on the same strategy play as Sieg. Cindric and Earnhardt Jr. followed in pursuit.

    By the time the race was 31 laps away from the finish, Gragson made his way back to the lead after passing Sieg, who would surrender his track position to pit three laps later. Sieg’s moved allowed Earnhardt Jr. to move into second as he was behind Gragson by more than two seconds. Briscoe was still running in sixth. 

    With 20 to go, Gragson extended his advantage to five seconds over Earnhardt Jr, 10 seconds over Cindric and 11 seconds over Burton. Three laps later, Briscoe surrendered his track position to pit.

    With 10 to go, Gragson, who was rim-riding toward the outside wall despite sustaining minimal damage to the right side of his car after making contact with the wall, was ahead by 11 seconds over Earnhardt Jr. Cindric has fallen to fifth and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Burton and Jones move into third and fourth. Three laps later, Gragson’s lead of nearly 13 seconds all but evaporated along with a 75-lap run under green when Sieg spun in Turn 1.

    Under caution, the leaders pitted and Gragson retained the lead while Burton moved into second over Earnhardt Jr. Jones exited fourth, but was tabbed with a speeding penalty and sent to the rear of the field.

    The green flag returned with two laps remaining and while Gragson received a decent restart to maintain the lead, Burton and Cindric went three-wide with Gragson for the lead in Turn 2. In Turn 3, Cindric slipped beneath Gragson while trying to clear him for the lead, which allowed Burton to race back to the bottom as he, Cindric and Gragson went three wide in Turn 4 for the start of the final lap. Burton then managed to clear Cindric for the lead on the bottom lane through Turns 1 and 2 and hold off Cindric through two final corners to win. 

    With the win, the 19-year-old rookie from Huntersville, North Carolina, remains the only Xfinity competitor to finish in the top 10 through the series’ first nine races of the 2020 season. He has also finished in the top 10 in his last 11 starts in the series.

    “I’m so excited!” Burton exclaimed. “That’s so awesome! I gave away the lead on the first restart in the same position. I didn’t really want to do that again. I knew [Gragson] was gonna drive it real deep and slide up. [I] felt good about that. I’m proud of my guys. We worked on this thing so hard…every run and made it better and better. What a day to get this Dex Imaging Supra in victory lane. What a race. This track is so much fun. [It] Really puts it in the driver’s hands, especially in the end there. I’m just ready to go again tomorrow. I want to get two [wins].”

    Cindric finished second for the second time this season followed by Gragson, who led a race-high 83 of the event’s 167-scheduled laps and fell short of another win this season. 

    “[Today] was tough,” Gragson said. “The PUBG Mobile Camaro was really, really good. Our No. 9 guys at JR Motorsports had really good pit stops all day. Restarts were just the biggest struggle. I was really proud of my restarts last year and just couldn’t get’em going. I thought we were be able to come home with the win today, running the top [lane]. That was so much fun. Just, overall, so thankful to be running here in the Xfinity Series.”

    Alfredo notched a career-best finish in fourth and Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth in his lone Xfinity Series start of this season. Annett, Briscoe, Jones, Chastain and Herbst finished in the top 10 as 14 competitors finished on the lead lap.

    There were 18 lead changes for seven different leaders. The race featured five cautions for 25 laps.

    With his third-place result, Gragson leads the Xfinity Series regular-season standings by 18 points over Briscoe and 36 over Burton.

    Results.

    1. Harrison Burton, two laps led

    2. Austin Cindric, 24 laps led

    3. Noah Gragson, 83 laps led, Stage 2 winner

    4. Anthony Alfredo

    5. Dale Earnhardt Jr., four laps led

    6. Michael Annett

    7. Chase Briscoe

    8. Brandon Jones, one lap led

    9. Ross Chastain, 26 laps led

    10. Riley Herbst

    11. J.J. Yeley

    12. Jeremy Clements

    13. Justin Haley

    14. Brandon Brown

    15. Myatt Snider, one lap down

    16. Joe Graf Jr., one lap down

    17. Colby Howard, one lap down

    18. Jesse Little, one lap down

    19. Jeffrey Earnhardt, one lap down

    20. Josh Williams, one lap down

    21. Colin Garrett, one lap down

    22. Stefan Parsons, two laps down

    23. Timmy Hill, two laps down

    24. Bayley Currey, two laps down

    25. Alex Labbe, two laps down

    26. B.J. McLeod, two laps down

    27. Matt Mills, two laps down

    28. Ryan Sieg, two laps down, 27 laps led, Stage 1 winner

    29. Caesar Bacarella, four laps down

    30. Chad Finchum – OUT, Power steering

    31. Tommy Joe Martins, 19 laps down

    32. Justin Allgaier, 21 laps down

    33. Kyle Weatherman – OUT, Transmission

    34. Vinnie Miller – OUT, DVP

    35. Brett Moffitt – OUT, Crash

    36. Stephen Leicht – OUT, Handling

    37. Kody Vanderwal – OUT, Engine

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series will return for its second race of a doubleheader weekend at Homestead the following day, June 14. The race will air at noon ET on FS1.

  • Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report – Homestead: Race 1

    Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report – Homestead: Race 1

    Team Penske NASCAR Xfinity Series Race Report
    Track:                Homestead- Miami Speedway: Race 1
    Race:                 Hooters 250
    Date:                 June 13, 2020
    ____________________________________

    No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang – Austin Cindric
    Start:  9th
    Stage 1: 4th
    Stage 2: 2nd
    Finish: 2nd
    Status:  Running
    Laps Completed: 167/167
    Laps Led: 24
    Point Standings (behind first): 5th (-52)

    Notes:

    Austin Cindric led 24 laps and had a shot at victory Saturday afternoon in the Hooters 250 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, as he finished second. The result marked Cindric’s fifth finish fourth or better in NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts this season. The driver of the No. 22 PPG Ford Mustang move from sixth to fifth in the NXS driver standings, 52 markers behind leader Noah Gragson.

    Cindric started the 167-lap, 250-mile race in the ninth position after the lineup was set per random draw. The 21-year-old showed good speed early as he ran inside the top-five for the entire 40-lap stage. He reported his PPG Ford was lacking a little drive off the corners, but the handling improved during the long run. Cindric was credited with a fourth-place stage finish.

    The Mooresville, N.C. native started Stage 2 from the third position and powered the PPG Ford to the race lead on lap 47. Over the long run, the PPG Mustang developed a tight-handling condition which caused Cindric to briefly fall to the fourth position. Over the last five laps in the stage, Cindric rallied to finish second in Stage 2.

    Cindric restarted the final stage from the fourth position and wasted no time battling for the race lead. With 60 laps remaining, he lost the top spot to the No. 9 car driven by Noah Gragson. Cindric made his scheduled green-flag stop on lap 121 and cycled back into the third position before he slipped to fifth. The last caution flag flew with seven laps remaining which allowed crew chief Brian Wilson to make adjustments for the short run. Cindric restarted fourth with less than five laps remaining.  He powered the PPG Mustang to go three-wide while battling for the race lead as he wound up finishing in the runner up position.

    The NASCAR Xfinity Series is back at Homestead-Miami Speedway tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, June 14, with live coverage starting at 12:00 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

    Quote: “Finish-wise, I think we overachieved a little bit.  I think I could have made some better moves on the short run to try to get a stage win or two there, but, overall, another great performance as far as unloading close with something brand new.  I think we’ve done that three times successfully and I’m proud of my team.  This is the first weekend now that we get to adjust on it, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.  I’ve got to debrief with my guys and come up with a good game plan, but proud of the effort by the PPG Ford Mustang.  I’ve got to give a shoutout to Harrison.  That’s two guys from Cannon School finishing one-two at Homestead, so not too shabby.  Overall, I’ll take it and move on and try to do one more better tomorrow.”

  • NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Homestead

    NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series Preview-Homestead

    Coming off a thrilling finish last Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series heads back to South Florida and Homestead-Miami Speedway carrying some momentum.

    It’s an unusual trip for not only the Truck Series but the other two series, as this will be the first time in quite some time, the series will be racing in the middle of the summer compared to racing in November. For the longest time, the Truck Series finale was slated at Homestead dating back to 2002. You have to go back 19 years ago in the year 2001 when the series did not compete in November. In ’01, the Truck Series competed in March. The earliest the series ever competed at the track was February of 2000. So yes, there have been races at Homestead where it was not scheduled for November, but a very long time ago.

    Coming back to the present, racing in the middle of summer will create some very hot and slick conditions at the 1.5-mile speedway, which, for some drivers, will play into their favor.

    Last week, ThorSport Racing driver, Grant Enfinger, in slick conditions, scored the victory for the second time this year and now comes to Homestead hoping to click off another victory. Though there will be 38 other drivers competing for the victory and one of them hopes to keep Enfinger’s momentum in the rearview by getting a victory for themselves.

    Here is this week’s preview for the Baptist Health 200.

    1. Austin Hill – This may be an obvious pick to some of you but hear me out. After falling short by a matter of seconds last Saturday, the Georgia native is hungry for a race win and has the truck/team capable to do it. Last November, the No. 16 Hattori Racing Team scored the victory by sweeping both of the stages, leading the majority of the race (56 laps) and taking the checkered flag. Not only does Hill have a good chance from a statistical standpoint, but HRE will bring back the race-winning truck, hoping to do the same thing they did in November, which is to win. Hill was solid last November and crew chief, Scott Zipadelli, has been with three different drivers going back to 2017. Zipadelli also won the race/championship with former team driver Brett Moffitt back in November of 2018. This team and driver will be tough to beat come Saturday. Hill also is starting on the pole.
    2. Brett Moffitt – Moffitt has had solid success in the past two races at Homestead, including a victory and winning the championship back in 2018. In the 2019 event, Moffitt competed with his new team, GMS Racing. The Iowan native started fourth and nabbed a fifth-place finish back in November. Moffitt also was able to lead three laps and placed the truck fourth in both stages. When Moffitt won the ’18 race, he led 59 laps en route to victory in just his first Truck start at the track. Despite having limited Truck experience, Moffitt does have other series starts, such as competing in the Cup Series several years ago. With that in mind, it’ll be hard to stop the momentum of Moffitt at Homestead. The team is still searching for their first victory of the year. and that just might come Saturday night.
    3. Matt Crafton – Speaking of experience, Matt Crafton has the most starts of all active drivers, with 13 dating back to 2001. Since that debut, Crafton has had a mixed bag of results at the 1.5-mile speedway but has also enjoyed recent success. Homestead has been the site where the California native has collected three Truck Series championships. The first one was in 2013 and he went back to back in 2014. Crafton also took the title home in last year’s event after placing runner up and leading nine laps. It wasn’t until 2015 however, when the ThorSport driver scored his first victory at Homestead. In total, Crafton has scored four top fives and 11 top-10 finishes with 154 laps led which has produced an average finish of 10.4. In the 2019 event, Crafton finished sixth in Stage 1 and second in Stage 2. Should Crafton pull off the win, it would be a special victory, as he celebrated a birthday Thursday.
    4. Christian Eckes – By finally scoring a top-five finish last week at Atlanta in 2020, Eckes is rolling into Homestead hoping to grab another top-five finish. The Kyle Busch Motorsports driver does have one start at the 1.5-mile speedway, which came a few months ago in November. Eckes started second and finished third after leading 26 laps in his first outing. He was unable to score any stage points, but finishing second was a goal achieved for that night. This time around, it wouldn’t be shocking should Eckes pull off the victory this Saturday. The No. 18 team will be using a chassis that Noah Gragson used to score his first victory at Kansas in 2018. Cup Series regulars William Byron and Christopher Bell have also won with this truck. Eckes will roll off in the fourth position on the starting grid.
    5. Sheldon Creed – After having a couple of rough results at Las Vegas and last week at Atlanta, Creed and the No. 2 GMS Racing team will hope to turn things around with a great finish this weekend. The Alpine, California native has made two starts with finishes of fifth and ninth. Not only has Creed been able to finish inside the top-10 in both races, but he has also piloted the No. 2 Chevy to stage finishes in both races as well, with an average finish of 7.0. Creed starts eighth on Saturday and has a decent chance to win.

    Since 1996, Homestead-Miami Speedway has been host to 24 Truck Series races with many different winners. Some of those winners include Dave Rezendes, Kenny Irwin Jr, Mike Wallace, Andy Houston, Ted Musgrave, Ron Hornaday Jr, Bobby Hamilton, Kasey Kahne, Todd Bodine Mark Martin, Johnny Benson Jr, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Johnny Sauter, Cale Gale, Bubba Wallace, Matt Crafton, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Brett Moffitt and Austin Hill.

    Kyle Busch and Todd Bodine have the most victories with two apiece. This weekend, Sauter, Crafton, Moffitt, and Hill have a chance to tie that feat set by Busch and Bodine.

    Toyota has 10 victories, Ford 6 victories, Chevrolet 5 wins and Dodge has just two wins.

    Caution flags have been hit or miss at Homestead for a Truck Series race. The most ever flown was back in 1997 when 11 cautions flew for 52 laps. The fewest amount of cautions ever seen was one caution for four laps in 2002. The most ever lead changes was 17, three times, in ’97, ’99, and ’10. The fewest ever lead changes were five also set in the 2002 race.

    In addition, the race winner has come from the pole four times (2003, 2015, 2016, and 2017). The lowest a race winner has ever started to win was 18th set by Bodine in 2008.

    Since stages were implemented in 2017, Christopher Bell, Ben Rhodes, Grant Enfinger, Brett Moffitt, and Austin Hill have all won stages. Hill has been the only driver who has swept both stages, which occurred in last year’s event.

    Stages will be broken into 30/60/134 to make up the 201-mile race.

    The Baptist Health 200 can be seen on Fox Sports 1 and heard on MRN Radio Saturday, June 13 at 6 p.m. ET.

  • NASCAR prepares for a first series doubleheader feature at Homestead

    NASCAR prepares for a first series doubleheader feature at Homestead

    A new milestone will be etched in the NASCAR history books on June 13-14 when the NASCAR Xfinity Series races twice at Homestead-Miami Speedway in south Florida. It will mark the first time in NASCAR’s modern era (1972-present) where a NASCAR national division series will race twice on consecutive days at the same venue.

    Prior to the 2020 season, the NASCAR Cup Series was set to run the sport’s first division series’ doubleheader weekend at Pocono Raceway near the end of June. When the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, it caused a major shakeup to the racing schedule that was in its early stages and paused all on-track racing activities for nearly two months. By the time the season returned in mid-May, a wave of NASCAR national division races were rescheduled to run not only on weekends but also on weekdays and as many as four races a week. Among the changes NASCAR made to the schedule included additional division series’ doubleheaders at the same track, most of which will make up the canceled events of this season amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

    For this weekend’s Xfinity Series doubleheader at Homestead, the first series race at the 1.5-mile track is scheduled to run on June 13 following the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series event at the track. The second series race scheduled for the following day on June 14 will not only occur prior to the NASCAR Cup Series’ only scheduled race at Miami. It will also serve as a replacement race for the Iowa Speedway race originally scheduled on June 13 which was cancelled when NASCAR elected not to race at Iowa for the first time since 2008. As previously announced, NASCAR races scheduled at Iowa, Sonoma Raceway, Chicagoland Speedway and the spring Richmond Raceway events were canceled for this season.

    Through eight Xfinity races this season, six competitors have won a race, among which includes Chase Briscoe, who leads the series standings by four points over Noah Gragson and by 32 over rookie Harrison Burton. With an Xfinity Series doubleheader at Homestead set for this weekend, NASCAR is in for a number of treats:

    • The June 13 race at Homestead will mark the only scheduled start of the season for Dale Earnhardt Jr., one of NASCAR’s Most Popular Drivers, a two-time Daytona 500 champion and a championship-winning driver and owner in the series. Since becoming a semi-retired competitor in 2018, Earnhardt Jr. has finished in the top five in his last two series starts (fourth at Richmond in 2018 and fifth at Darlington in 2019). He has also raced at Homestead in the series five times with a best result of second in 1999, which should give him a fair advantage in his one-race deal against a multitude of the sport’s future stars.
    • The June 14 race will serve as the second of four Dash 4 Cash events this season. Gragson, winner of the first Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway and AJ Allmendinger, the upset race winner at Atlanta, will contend for this weekend’s bonus along with Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric.
    • This season marks the first time where Homestead will host an Xfinity race early in the season after spending the last 25 years as the series finale.
    • With two series races at the same track in the same weekend, it creates more opportunities for Xfinity Series regulars to compete for race wins or gain valuable points towards the playoffs. For names like Briscoe, Gragson, Burton, Austin Cindric, Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones and Ross Chastain, this weekend presents two opportunities for them to extend their strong start to this season. For names like Haley, Riley Herbst, Ryan Sieg, Anthony Alfredo and Myatt Snider, this weekend presents two opportunities for them to win for the first time in their Xfinity Series careers. In 25 series races at Homestead, four competitors notched their first career win in Miami (Kevin Lepage, Kasey Kahne, Regan Smith and Cole Custer).

    The Xfinity doubleheader at Homestead will serve as the first of more doubleheaders scheduled to occur this season, among which includes the Cup Series’ doubleheader at Pocono Raceway on June 27-28, an Xfinity doubleheader at Kentucky Speedway on July 9-10 and the Truck Series’ doubleheader at Kansas Speedway on July 24-25. A possibility of more doubleheaders could occur as NASCAR has yet to release the remainder of the 2020 schedule from August to November.

    The first Xfinity Series race at Homestead will air on June 13 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the second will air on June 14 at noon ET on FS1.

  • Denny Hamlin on pole for Cup Series race at Homestead

    Denny Hamlin on pole for Cup Series race at Homestead

    Denny Hamlin will start from the pole for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It is the first pole this season for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver and the 34th of his Cup career.

    Team Penske driver Joey Logano will join him on the front row with his teammate Brad Keselowski starting in third. Kyle Busch will start fourth in the No. 18 JGR Toyota and Hendrick Motorsport’s Chase Elliott will round out the top-five.

    The lineup was determined by a random draw as explained below.

    Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points.

    Positions 13-24: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points.

    Positions 25-36: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points.

    Positions 37-39 will be filled out by open, non-chartered teams in order of owner points.

    The Dixie Vodka 400 will be televised Sunday on FOX at 3:30 p.m. ET with radio coverage provided by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The stages are 80/160/267 laps for 400.5 miles.

    The Dixie Vodka 400 will close out a full weekend of racing that also includes an Xfinity Series doubleheader and a Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series race.

    Complete Starting Lineup:

    1) Denny Hamlin

    2 Joey Logano

    3 Brad Keselowski

    4) Kyle Busch

    5) Chase Elliott

    6) Martin Truex Jr.

    7) Kevin Harvick

    8) Alex Bowman

    9) Jimmie Johnson

    10) Kurt Busch

    11) Ryan Blaney

    12) Clint Bowyer

    13) Chris Buescher

    14) Ryan Newman

    15) Erik Jones

    16) Austin Dillon

    17) Bubba Wallace

    18) John Hunter Nemechek

    19) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    20) Matt Kenseth

    21) Aric Almirola

    22) William Byron

    23) Matt DiBenedetto

    24) TylerReddick

    25) JJ Yeley

    26) Corey LaJoie

    27) Josh Bilicki

    28) Brennan Poole

    29) Joey Gase

    30) Michael McDowell

    31) Quin Houff

    32) Ty Dillon

    33) Ryan Preece

    34) BJ McLeod

    35) Cole Custer

    36) Christopher Bell

    37) Daniel Suarez

    38) Timmy Hill

    39) Reed Sorenson

  • Weekend Schedule for Homestead-Miami Speedway

    Weekend Schedule for Homestead-Miami Speedway

    This weekend NASCAR travels to Homestead-Miami Speedway for a full weekend of completion that includes a double-header for the Xfinity Series, a Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series race and the Dixie Vodka 400 Cup Series event Sunday afternoon.

    Denny Hamlin will start on the pole for the Dixie Vodka 400 and Harrison Burton scored the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity Series Hooters 250, both based on a random draw. The Xfinity pole for Sunday’s Contender Boats 250 will be based on the race results of the Hooters 250 with an inverted top-15. The pole winner for the Truck Series was chosen by a random draw as well, based on the owners’ point standings, with Austin Hill claiming the top spot.

    All times are Eastern.

    Saturday June 13

    3:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Hooters 250 (Stages 40/80/167 Laps = 250.5 miles) FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    7:30 p.m.: Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series Baptist Health 200 (Stages 30/60/134 Laps = 201 Miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    Sunday June 14

    Noon: Xfinity Series Contender Boats 250 (Stages 40/80/167 Laps = 250.5 miles) FS1/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

    3:30 p.m.: NASCAR Cup Series Dixie Vodka 400 (Stages 80/160/267 Laps = 400.5 Miles) FOX/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

  • Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race at Homestead-Miami

    Four Takeaways from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Race at Homestead-Miami

    Homestead-Miami Speedway saw its series finale Friday night for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. It is hard to believe the final race has come and gone just like that. In some ways, it feels like yesterday when the series opened up their season in Daytona with Austin Hill as the winner.

    Now fast-forwarding 22 races later, we have a three-time champion in the series and that’s Matt Crafton who finished second in Friday night’s race to become the second three-time champ in a tie with Jack Sprague. It’s pretty remarkable since Crafton is only one away from tying Ron Hornaday’s record with championships.

    Before we got there, we had to wait an additional 90 minutes due to weather in the area and track drying. There were some doubts about whether or not the race would even be run on Friday night, but somehow, someway, the championship race ran as advertised, just a couple of hours later.

    With that in mind, here are Four Takeaways from the Ford Ecoboost 200.

    1. Hill Wins in Southern Florida – Somewhat overshadowed in the championship celebration was Austin Hill sweeping the Florida races this season by winning the first race in Florida and the last race in Florida, something that is very unique and can be added to a driver’s resume. It’s what could have been though for the Georgia native had he won at Phoenix the week before and locked himself into the Championship 4 instead of Stewart Friesen or someone else. Had that happened, we could have been talking about a different champion by now. Though hindsight is 20/20 and we can only think about the future. That future is Hill will have another chance to chase for the title next season, as he returns to Hattori Racing in a bid to win his first ever NASCAR title.
    2. Driver Lineups for 2020 – In what was already a busy weekend for NASCAR and Homestead holding Championship 4 races, Thursday was media day for those drivers which also included driver announcements for the 2020 season. Kyle Busch Motorsports announced two new full-time drivers with Raphael Lessard and Christian Eckes joining the team to compete in the No. 4 and No. 18 Tundra. It is likely the No. 51 returns with a crop of all star drivers competing throughout the season. Chandler Smith is returning to compete on a part-time schedule before he turns 18 next summer. GMS Racing also added to the list of announcements as former DGR-Crosley driver and playoff contender Tyler Ankrum joins the team full-time along with Brett Moffitt and Sheldon Creed. Also recently announced this past week was part-time Xfinity Series driver Zane Smith going full-time next season as well. It’s going to be an interesting season to watch KBM vs GMS vs ThorSport Racing in the title chase with a crop of new talent.
    3. Todd Gilliland Has Interesting Night – While Gilliland had his last race with KBM for now, it was certainly a unique outcome for the KBM driver. When teams were cleaning the trucks and getting them ready to load up and go back to Charlotte, one of the KBM crew members found a dead fox from the grille after running over it on the track. Quite the way to end an entertaining season for Gilliland who doesn’t know his 2020 plans yet. Here’s hoping the talented star will find something for next year and have a better year than he did this year. Condolences to the fox that was gone too soon.
    4. Parker Kligerman Returns with Top-10 Finish – Parker Kligerman doesn’t compete in many Truck Series races, but when he does, you can normally expect him to have a decent finish. The 2019 season hasn’t been the best for Henderson Motorsports with finishes of 20th at Atlanta and 13th at Bristol, but they entered the season finale and wound up with a 10th place finish. It was their first top-10 finish since Charlotte of last year. Henderson Motorsports is the ultimate underdog team in the Truck Series and can perform when the opportunity is presented to them.
  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Homestead

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Kyle Busch: Busch held off Martin Truex Jr. down the stretch at Homestead to win the Monster Energy Cup title, his second championship.

    “I’m the Monster Energy Cup champion,” Busch said. “That bears repeating because I just repeated as champion. At what better place than the site of the Ford EchoBoost 400 to say it again?”

    2. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished second at Homestead, but left asking ‘What might have been?’ after a pit road error in which his crew switched his left-front and right-front tires.

    “That’s an inexcusable mistake,” Truex said. “It basically cost me the championship. I’m of good mind to take a ‘switch’ to the crew members responsible.”

    3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin’s day at Homestead was marred by an overheating issue that necessitated an unscheduled pit stop. Hamlin never could get back into contention and finished 10th.

    “We tried a bold aerodynamic move,” Hamlin said, “by placing tape on the front of the No. 11 FedEx Camry. We went for ‘broke,’ and you could say, unfortunately, that it worked all too well.”

    4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fourth at Homestead as Kyle Busch took the championship.

    “We were great on short runs,” Harvick said, “but struggled on the long runs. So, in the long run, we came up short.”

    5. Joey Logano: Logano finished fifth at Homestead, posting his 12th top-five of the season.

    “It sucked not being able to defend my championship,” Logano said. “In other words, it sucked to be me.”

    6. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 11th in the Ford EcoBoost 400.

    “Congratulations to Kyle Busch,” Blaney said. “He’s lucky to be champion. If Martin Truex Jr.’s crew knows left from right, Kyle’s probably not champion. In the end, what’s left is Kyle is the rightful champion.”

    7. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished sixth in the Ford EcoBoost 400.

    “We’re all looking forward to the off-season,” Bowyer said. “Take this as a public service announcement if you like, but I’m looking forward to drinking and not driving.”

    8. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished ninth at Homestead, the best result among Hendrick Motorsports drivers.

    “I feel bad for Martin Truex Jr.,” Bowman said. “He should be champion. But let’s not be too hard on his crew team. They are all a bunch of good guys who do things the right way. They know right from wrong, just not right from left.”

    9. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 18th at Homestead.

    “Kyle Busch is still an ‘ass,’” Keselowski said, “because he really ‘ass-erted’ himself at Homestead. Now, he has ‘ass’-econd Cup championship.”

    10. Chase Elliott: Elliott took 15th in the Ford EcoBoost 400.

    “Even though we didn’t finish strong,” Elliott said, “I’m confident in our prospects next year. I’m hungry, the car and engine program are solid, and my crew knows a left front tire from a right front tire.”

  • NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- Homestead-Miami

    NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Power Rankings- Homestead-Miami

    Homestead-Miami Speedway saw its last Truck Series championship race for at least a couple of years this past Friday night. The race was delayed by a couple of hours due to rain but it was well worth the wait. The checkered flag flew shortly after 11 p.m. ET and in the end, there was a race winner, a new series champion and an owners champion. Four drivers in the Championship 4 had all the media focused on them, but what about the other drivers that were also fighting for points? 

    Here are this week’s Power Rankings following the Ford Ecoboost 200. 

    1. Austin Hill – Hill opened the season in Florida with a win and closed the season in Florida with a win. The Hattori Racing driver no doubt had the best Truck out of anybody throughout the night, even against the Championship 4 drivers. Hill swept both the stages, led 56 of the 134 laps and earned his fourth win of the 2019 season. He took the lead with 22 to go and never looked back. Despite not making it to the Championship 4, the Georgia native will have another chance in 2020 as he returns for a second season at Hattori Racing Enterprises.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    2. Christian Eckes – Newly announced Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Christian Eckes had a solid run after signing a full-time contract for 2020. Previously, he had already made 11 starts over the past two years with a best finish of third in Las Vegas before Homestead. Coming into Homestead, he knew the pressure was on as he and the No. 51 team were racing for an Owner’s Championship. Qualifying was washed out, therefore, Eckes inherited a second-place starting spot due to owner’s points. The New York native finished fifth in Stage 1 before finishing third overall. The third-place finish was just enough to give KBM their seventh Owner’s Championship.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    3. Matt Crafton – Crafton got it done Friday night even though he didn’t win the race this past weekend. He most certainly didn’t have the fastest Truck early on, but later came to life on the long run. In the final stage, Crafton was the best out of the Championship 4 drivers and was at one point, leading the race. While it looked like the California native was going snap his two-year winless streak, he eventually got passed by Hill with 22 to go and ultimately had to think about the bigger picture. Crafton did so, finished second and locked up his third Truck Series championship.

      Previous Week Ranking – Not Ranked
    4. Ross Chastain – In the early run of the race Friday night, Chastain was the fastest among the Championship 4 racers. He almost took the Stage 1 win before getting passed by Hill. Even though the Niece driver was passed, Chastain remained up front and consistent through at least the second stage, where he finished third. However, it was the long run that eventually hurt his chances at his first NASCAR Series title. The Truck began to go away and there was nothing he could do about it. In the end, Chastain wound up with a disappointing fourth-place finish, second in the Truck Series standings. Certainly, not the night the Florida native wanted after having a strong year.

      Previous Week Ranking – Fourth
    5. Brett Moffitt – Like Chastain, Moffitt had the chance to defend his title and become the first-ever second consecutive Truck Series champion. But the Iowa native fell short, finishing fifth after a fourth-place starting spot. The GMS team fought conditions all night in the Truck. Moffitt couldn’t quite keep up with a green track and couldn’t defend his title. It was a disappointing night for the GMS driver but he will have another chance in 2020 to add another title to his name.

      Previous Week Ranking – First

      Fell Out

      1. Stewart Friesen – Friesen didn’t get the job done either despite being one of the favorites coming into the race. The Canadian inherited the pole when qualifying was canceled due to weather which somewhat helped Friesen’s chances of getting a championship. He finished third and fifth in both stages, respectively. After the second stage, the Halmar driver knew it was time to go and race for that championship. His Truck, though, didn’t know it was time to race. Like many others, Friesen struggled with the handling on the longer runs and couldn’t do much about it. Ultimately, he finished 11th, leading zero laps. He has no 2020 plans set for next season but if Friesen does return, you can expect the team to be even stronger than ever and fight for the title once more.

      Previous Week Ranking – Second

      2. Chandler Smith – Did not compete in Friday night’s race.

      Previous Week Ranking – Third

      3. Grant Enfinger – It was quite a night for Enfinger and the No. 98 ThorSport team as they finished seventh. The team finished ninth and sixth in both stages. Though, it’s probably what could have been for Enfinger and the team if they had been able to continue on in the Playoffs and race for a title.

    Previous Week Ranking – Fifth

  • Kyle Busch takes home second championship after winning season finale at Homestead

    Kyle Busch takes home second championship after winning season finale at Homestead

    In the past few years of the Championship 4 event, the drivers competing for the championship have needed to win the race. The Ford Ecoboost 400 certainly came down to that once again Sunday night in Southern Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    Kyle Busch brought home his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship and the fifth title for Joe Gibbs Racing after taking the lead from Kevin Harvick with 45 to go. Busch held on to the lead and without a late-race caution, wound up winning his fifth race of the 2019 season.

    “We have a great race team, a great owner and the best sponsors in sports,” Busch said. “I just can’t say enough and thank everyone enough for this opportunity. I may be the one that’s able to hoist the trophy or to have a championship, but it wouldn’t be possible without Adam Stevens (crew chief) and Joe Gibbs, J.D. Gibbs, Coy Gibbs and the whole family. M&M’s of course and Interstate Batteries and Norm Miller. And, Toyota – this TRD engine was awesome tonight. It’s been awesome all year. We had one issue, but man it’s so much fun to work with these guys and this group. Everybody that puts it all together for me. There’s always your doubters. There’s always your haters, but you know what, this one is for Rowdy nation because you guys are the best. Thank you so much.“

    With practices being canceled due to weather on Friday, NASCAR elected to cancel qualifying and replace it with a practice session on Saturday afternoon. With that in mind, the starting grid was set by Owner Points, which saw Championship 4 driver Denny Hamlin inherit the pole. Kevin Harvick was second, Martin Truex Jr. started third and Kyle Busch fourth. Stages of 80/80/107 laps made up the 267-lap race at Homestead-Miami.

    Stage 1: Lap 1- Lap 80

    The Ford Ecoboost 400 got off to a clean start with no issues. In fact, the whole stage went without a caution, however, there were some hairy moments. Championship 4 driver Kyle Busch reported that he potentially ran over something on Lap 28, but he carried on the rest of the stage without a problem. The first round of green-flag pit stops took place on Lap 36 with Busch and Harvick being the first to pit of the Championship 4. Hamlin and Truex followed one lap later. After the stops, Truex cycled back out to the lead on Lap 40.

    By cycling out to the lead, Truex led for the final 40 laps in the first stage and took the stage win. Kyle Busch was third, Harvick fourth and Hamlin fifth among the championship contenders, though none of them were able to receive points. Truex’s car was so fast that he lapped cars all the way to 14th place before the completion of Stage 1.

    Stage 2: Lap 80- Lap 160

    When Stage 2 got underway, there was an intense battle between the top runners. Kyle Larson, Harvick and Busch were all challenging for the lead at once. However, it was Truex who once again got the best of them and led for 33 laps before the next round of pit stops, and this is where a mistake occurred for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing team.

    During the second round of green-flag pit stops, the team accidentally got the tires mixed around by putting the left tire on the right front and the right tire on the left front. This made Truex come back down pit road to fix the issue and lose a lap. In this case, Busch cycled out as the leader and it was his time to shine until a caution came in Truex’s favor on Lap 138. The No. 19 driver was in the free pass position and got his lap back courtesy of the yellow from a spin by John Hunter Nemechek.

    After the restart on Lap 142, the lead changed hands multiple times between Harvick and Busch, before Busch got the upper hand and earned his 12th stage win of the year. Harvick came in second, Truex fourth and Hamlin finished once again in the fifth position.

    Stage 3: Lap 166- Lap 267

    The final stage had a 101 lap run to the finish and featured some exciting moments. For instance, Denny Hamlin’s car came to life and was starting to make some noise for the first time of the night. In fact, the Championship 4 drivers were 1-2-3-4 with 91 to go. As the race wore long, so did the equipment and the tires, which meant the final round of green-flag pit stops.

    Hamlin was the first to pit with 58 to go hoping to get out in front of the rest of the Championship 4 drivers. However, troubles arose for the Virginia native, as too much tape was put on which caused the car to overheat with an extraordinary amount of water coming out of the car. This made Hamlin come to the pits again and ultimately ended up costing him a chance at the championship.

    A few other drivers had problems as well late in the race. Larson, after being so strong early, had his hood up on pit road. Eventually, the No. 42 pushed the car back behind the wall and ended his season with a disappointing 40th place finish. William Byron also had no oil pressure with 49 to go and his night was done early as well.

    With that all in mind, Harvick stayed out to assume the lead and hoped for a caution to help his case. He pitted with 44 to go as he could not stay out much longer without the rest of the field eating him up on fresher tires. He came back out 17th, one lap down.

    This meant Kyle Busch was the lucky one to assume the lead after pit stops. He took the lead with just 45 laps remaining and held on to win the second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Championship of his career and the fifth title for Joe Gibbs Racing. Joe Gibbs Racing also became the winningest team by having 19 wins in a season, surpassing Hendrick Motorsports with 18.

    Busch led five times for 120 laps en route to his fifth win of the season. The Las Vegas native talked about his dominant run to cap off a perfect season.

    “Everybody always says you never give up and we’re no different and we just do what we can do each and every week and sometimes we may not be the best and sometimes we may not have the right track position. Today we had a really good car and I could race around and move around. That’s what’s so special about Homestead-Miami Speedway is the ability to put on a show. Kind of like we did there racing those guys. It was exciting from my seat. It was a lot of fun to cap off such an amazing year.”

    There were three cautions for 15 laps and 14 lead changes among five different drivers.

    Official Results

    1. Kyle Busch, led 120 laps, won Stage 2, 2019 Cup Series Champion
    2. Martin Truex Jr., led 103 laps, won Stage 1
    3. Erik Jones
    4. Kevin Harvick, led 41 laps
    5. Joey Logano
    6. Clint Bowyer
    7. Ryan Newman
    8. Austin Dillon
    9. Alex Bowman
    10. Denny Hamlin, led two laps
    11. Ryan Blaney, one lap down
    12. Daniel Hemric, 2019 Cup Series Rookie of The Year, one lap down
    13. Jimmie Johnson, one lap down
    14. Daniel Suarez, one lap down
    15. Chase Elliott, one lap down
    16. Chris Buescher, one lap down
    17. Paul Menard, one lap down
    18. Brad Keselowski, two laps down
    19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr, two laps down
    20. Matt DiBenedetto, two laps down
    21. Kurt Busch, two laps down
    22. Aric Almirola, three laps down
    23. John Hunter Nemechek, three laps down
    24. Ty Dillon, three laps down
    25. Ryan Preece, four laps down
    26. Michael McDowell, four laps down
    27. David Ragan, four laps down
    28. Landon Cassill, five laps down
    29. Drew Herring, five laps down
    30. J.J. Yeley, five laps down
    31. Corey LaJoie, six laps down
    32. B.J. McLeod, 11 laps down
    33. Timmy Hill, 19 laps down
    34. Bubba Wallace, 24 laps down
    35. Ross Chastain, 25 laps down
    36. Josh Bilicki, OUT, Brakes
    37. Reed Sorenson, OUT, Brakes
    38. Joe Nemechek, OUT, Steering
    39. William Byron, OUT, Engine
    40. Kyle Larson, OUT, Engine

    Up Next: It is now the off-season for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The next on-track action for the Cup Series drivers will be in 2020 with The Clash and Daytona 500 Qualifying on Sunday, Feb. 9. However, the playoff drivers will take a trip to Nashville, Tennessee for the Banquet Awards Ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 5, live on NBCSN.