Memorable moments at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Although Homestead-Miami Speedway might have "only" hosted 26 NASCAR Cup Series, the 1.5-mile speedway has been in plenty of spotlight, especially when it has come to helping decide or crown eventual Cup Series champions. 

Look back at these memorable moments at one of the most thrilling tracks on the NASCAR circuit. 

1999 

Nov. 14 not only marked the track's Cup Series debut but also acted as the penultimate race of the season, with the season-finale occurring at Atlanta Motor Speedway a week later. As the driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Pontiac, then-rookie Tony Stewart claimed the inaugural win at the track, besting runner-up Bobby Labonte by 5.289 seconds. Stewart followed up the performance by finding Victory Lane at the track during the 2000 campaign. 

2001 

Bringing Dodge back into the NASCAR fold was a challenging feat. Still, the obstacles were overcome, and for Evernham Motorsports, the fruit of much labor was put on display at Homestead, where a Bill Elliott-piloted No. 9 Dodge found Victory Lane for the team's first-ever Cup Series victory. 

2004 

NASCAR's implementation of "The Chase" began this season, and the final showdown came at Homestead, where the Ford 400 acted as the finale. And what a finale it turned out to be. Despite losing a right-front wheel during the early portion of the contest -- dodging the outside wall and staying on the lead lap -- Kurt Busch rebounded to finish fifth and claimed the championship crown, eight points clear of one Jimmie Johnson and 16 points ahead of Jeff Gordon. Greg Biffle, Busch's teammate, won the race outright. 

2006 

Greg Biffle once again won at Homestead -- his third consecutive win there -- but it was Jimmie Johnson who stole the show, seizing his first-ever Cup Series title following a ninth-place finish. 

2010 

Jimmie Johnson again? Well, of course. After all, it was Homestead that hosted the Cup Series for its annual season finale, and it was Nov. 21 of this year when Johnson won a Cup record fifth consecutive title. Johnson finished second in the race itself, surpassed by Carl Edwards. 

2011

26 lead changes during the 2011 running at Homestead -- a race record at the track in the Cup Series that still stands through the 2023 season -- eventually saw Tony Stewart snap Jimmie Johnson's title streak. And in this instance, Stewart won the race outright, too. Sweet victory, it looks like. 

2014 

The implementation of a more round-by-round postseason format began this season. As such, Kevin Harvick's victory during the 2014 finale not only added another win to the legendary driver's tally but additionally netted Harvick his first Cup Series title. 

2015 

Injuries suffered during the NASCAR Xfinity Series opener at Daytona International Speedway forced Kyle Busch to miss the first 11 races of the Cup Series season. However, after being granted a medical waiver, Busch went on to win four races during the regular season and found himself with the opportunity to hoist the Cup Series crown at Homestead. He went on to do just that, leading 41 laps and holding off Kevin Harvick to win his first career Cup championship. 

2016 

Despite winning five consecutive titles not even a decade prior -- not to mention earning title No. 6 in 2013 -- Johnson had yet to claim a race victory at Homestead. He finally crossed that hurdle this year as the No. 48 won there to earn his seventh Cup Series title. 

2020 

After Homestead acted as the season finale for 18 consecutive years, the honor was transferred to Phoenix Raceway beginning in 2020. However, the change -- not to mention a global pandemic -- didn't prevent quality racing from occurring at the Florida track. In this case, Denny Hamlin held off eventual 2020 champion Chase Elliott to find Victory Lane. 

2023

Heading into the 2023 campaign, Bell had a grand total of four laps led at Homestead in three Cup starts. However, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota cranked it up a notch during the second Round of 8 NASCAR Playoffs race, leading 26 laps and winning at the track to claim his second consecutive Championship 4 appearance. Who said Homestead couldn't have magical moments despite no longer being the championship race?  

2024

A beautiful day at the Florida facility saw the cream of the Cup Series crop ride the high line to near perfection, with the bulk of the Round of 8 field battling near the front for the majority of the contest. A late-race caution, however, bunched the field together in what amounted to a dash to the finish, and it was Tyler Reddick who prevailed and clinched a Championship 4 berth following a last-lap pass over 2023 Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney.