HOMESTEAD, Fla. — If you had to guess who in the NASCAR Cup Series owns the best average finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway in a Next Gen car, you would probably guess Kyle Larson or Tyler Reddick.
Nope.
AJ Allmendinger is tied with Christopher Bell for the best average finish (5.3) at Homestead since 2022, the inaugural year of the Next Gen vehicle. Typically known as a road-course ace, Allmendinger has finished third, fifth and eighth in his last three Homestead starts.
“It’s kind of interesting,” Allmendinger told NASCAR.com after Saturday’s practice. “Like, I can look at all three years, and the cars have been different in the sense of how they drove, what their strengths and weaknesses were. … I always got better later in the race, and I think it cooled down. You didn’t have to run against the fence quite as much. So it’ll be interesting to see racing now in March and how that changes it.”
Indeed, each of the past three Homestead races has fallen in autumn as opposed to this year’s spring date for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). But Allmendinger’s success at the 1.5-mile oval is not new, nor is it fair to attribute it to the sport’s transition to the Next Gen car. He’s been strong at the South Florida track dating back to his inaugural trip there in a stock car in 2008, finishing 11th for what was then Gillett Evernham Motorsports in its No. 10 Dodge, kicking off a streak of four straight top 15s at Homestead-Miami.
In total, Allmendinger has six top 10s in his 13 Homestead tries, with three top-five finishes as well.
“I’ve always had a good feel of it, you know?” said Allmendinger, driver of Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Chevrolet. “It’s a mile-and-a-half race track, but it doesn’t drive like (Las) Vegas or Charlotte, where you’re just like constantly in the throttle. You can slide the car a little bit, or you can move around, and you can get away with maybe being a little tighter sometimes, too, and things like that. But every year is different. I’ve had good cars, and that’s always helped. So, hopefully, we do the same this weekend. You’ve just got to constantly keep searching.”
Homestead-Miami, the largest true oval on the Cup calendar, provides drivers with a multitude of lane choices throughout its wide, progressively banked corners. Kyle Larson, the 2022 race winner at Homestead and 2021 Cup champion, is well-known for how well he utilizes the high side, planting his No. 5 Chevrolet centimeters from the SAFER barriers in the corners. But Homestead is not a one-lane-cures-all kind of track, either.
“I think with this car, you don’t have to be pinned against the wall,” Allmendinger said. “And I always say I need to be better at that. I’m always constantly trying to work. Am I ever gonna be Kyle Larson? God, no — or even close to that. So I think this track, at least in October, whenever we raced it with this car, it’s like I can move around and make speed. …
“I can watch the 5 just ripping up there, and it’s sometimes jealousy and sadness and then in awe of watching him do it.”
Allmendinger will roll off 10th in Sunday’s race after a better qualifying session than his 25th-place speed in practice indicated. And as he conceded, Allmendinger tends to run best at the end of a Homestead race rather than on the front end.
“We started off too tight there, and then we got it a little bit better on the front-end side of it,” Allmendinger said. “And then, as the run went on, kind of lost the rear a little bit. But I think it’s competitive. … I’m gonna keep working on it. I think we’re competitive, but we definitely need a little bit more improvement.”
Momentum may be on his side, too. Allmendinger wheeled the No. 16 Chevrolet to an eighth-place finish just one week ago at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for his first top 10 of 2025.
Sports fans and bettors have been focused on the NCAA Tournament since Thursday, but let’s not forget that the NASCAR Cup Series is visiting one of its best tracks, Homestead-Miami Speedway, for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Action Network’s NASCAR GOAT, Nick Giffen, is tied up with college basketball this weekend, meaning you’re stuck with me right now.
But fret not, Giffen’s NASCAR picks for Homestead-Miami will all be posted to the FREE Action Network app, so be sure to download and follow if you’re not already.
Now, back to business.
NASCAR Odds, Best Bet Picks for Homestead-Miami *Odds as of Sunday morning
Trying to beat Kyle Larson at Homestead-Miami isn’t exactly a fun strategy, but it’s the strategy I’m employing today, starting with Blaney.
While Larson is the rightful favorite for this race, Blaney has actually been the top performer over the past two races at Homestead.
The No. 12 car has the top driver rating, the most laps led, the top average running position and the third-most fast laps over the past two races in Miami.
Blaney qualified sixth for today’s race and had plenty of long-run speed in practice, making him a legit contender at +650 odds.
When it comes to “running the wall,” which means drivers running as close to the outside wall as possible to make the most speed as tires wear out, Reddick is right up there with Larson as the best in the Cup Series.
Reddick has parlayed his speed at Homestead to a win last year and the second-best driver rating in Miami since 2023.
And just like Blaney, Reddick was lightning quick in race trim during practice and should be in the mix when the checkered flag waves on Sunday afternoon.
Projections updated after Saturday’s practice and qualifying.
Josh Berry put the NASCAR world on notice last week at Las Vegas by showing top-tier speed and taking home a historic 101st win for Wood Brothers. The triumph also puts more pressure on Cup Series stars who have yet to visit Victory Lane.
Sunday’s race at Homestead-Miami Speedway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) presents a great opportunity for the circuit’s best to challenge each other for a key win early in the season.
The 1.5-mile track in Florida is essentially a neutral ground; no particular manufacturer or team truly dominates the speedway. For example, there have been nine winners over the last nine Homestead races. In a similar tune, Hendrick Motorsports has led 434 of 801 laps at Homestead in the Next Gen era, but the organization has one win in the last three races there. Even when you look back at the last time the Cup Series was at Homestead, we saw 33 lead changes, which set a new track record, and three different drivers led the final three laps, making a case that any of the top-rated drivers could earn a playoff bid.
To further the point of parity, in the last seven races on 1.5-mile tracks, there have been as many winners over that span. As for this season, there have already been 174 lead changes, which is only three off from the most ever through five weeks. Plus, nine different stage winners in the first five races set a new record.
One thing we should expect, though, is for the eventual winner to show speed early. The driver who led the most laps has won six of the last seven Miami races, and six of the last nine winners started the race inside the top five.
As to who we should expect to be in the mix for the win and battle up front? A few big names who haven’t won yet come to mind.
TYLER REDDICK: Starting with the most recent Homestead winner, it’s no secret Reddick is a speed demon when it comes to ripping the fence around Miami, as proven by how he won there in the fall last year. He has four top-four finishes in five career Cup starts there and has been on the cusp of winning a few times this year.
RYAN BLANEY: It’s felt like there hasn’t been a week where the No. 12 Ford hasn’t shown speed to win. Blaney has been unlucky recently with two early exits at Phoenix and Vegas, but at Homestead, he’s finished second there in the last two races and is the only driver with more than one runner-up finish there without a win.
KYLE LARSON: Larson has logged 1,286 laps led on 1.5-mile tracks in the Next Gen car, which nearly doubles Christopher Bell’s total in second place (614). He also has 12 stage wins on intermediate tracks since 2022 … no other driver has more than five.
DENNY HAMLIN: Hamlin has been consistently good at Miami throughout his career, owning three wins and 13 top 10s over 20 starts there. However, his last win on a 1.5-mile track came in the 2023 Kansas spring race.
CHASE ELLIOTT: This year’s Clash winner has yet to finish out of the top 20 in the first four points-paying races, something to keep an eye on as he went the first 19 races last year with top 20 finish. Elliott also led 81 laps at Miami last year to finish fifth, his best finish in the last four races there.
RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE STRAIGHT TALK WIRELESS 400
Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.
HICKORY, N.C. — A new chapter of Earnhardt family history was written Saturday evening at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway.
Wyatt Miller, the 13-year-old grandson of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, captured his first Limited Late Model victory at the historic, 0.363-mile oval.
Miller is the son of L.W. Miller and Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, Dale Earnhardt’s daughter and sister to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Wyatt Miller (73) races alongside Zach Bruenger Saturday night at Hickory Motor Speedway. (Photo: Gardner Street Photography/Hickory Motor Speedway)
Making just his second start in a Limited Late Model at Hickory, Wyatt Miller started from the pole and led early during the 40-lap feature before giving up the race lead to outside polesitter Zach Bruenger.
Bruenger led the race until Lap 32, when the engine in his car went up in flames coming out of Turn 4.
Miller inherited the race lead and held off a spirited challenge from Aiden King on the final lap. The sequence included contact to the rear of Miller’s car coming out of Turn 4, but Miller held on to collect his first trophy at the track known as the “Birthplace of the NASCAR Stars.”
“We had a really good car,” Miller said in Victory Lane. “I was catching Zach, and then he blew up.
“I think Aiden tried to rattle my cage, but it didn’t work.”
The Limited Late Model class at Hickory is not a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series points-paying division.
The Earnhardt family has a long and extensive history at Hickory. Ralph Earnhardt, father of Dale Earnhardt, won five track championships at the facility during the 1950s.
Dale Earnhardt also scored wins at Hickory during his career, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. competed at the track during his formative years.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — No dice on a Dash 4 Cash grand prize or a race victory at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but Sam Mayer continued his hot start to the 2025 Xfinity Series with a runner-up result in the Sunshine State.
Aside from wrecking out in February at Atlanta, Mayer has finished seventh or better in the first six races of this year’s campaign.
“We’re executing really, really well,” Mayer told NASCAR.com. “Huge shoutout to these Haas Factory boys. They brought a really fast Ford Mustang. It’s a great day being bummed out with P2. Anytime that you finish in the top five and you’re kicking yourself, it’s obviously a good day.”
Mayer was one of the few drivers who could compete in the same zip code as Kyle Larson in the first 194 laps as Friday evening’s Truck Series winner returned to Homestead a day later to lead 132 laps before falling short to Justin Allgaier on an overtime restart.
The No. 41 driver grabbed 15 stage points on the day and only trailed Larson in laps led with 22.
A Taylor Gray spin with six laps to go bunched the field back up for a Lap 199 restart. Only Larson, Allgaier, Mayer, Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed were on the lead lap at the time and were the five battling it out when the green flag waved.
Mayer opted to fall behind Larson on the inside for the restart, and contact between the two in the restart zone ultimately took them both out of contention for the victory. With it went Larson’s bid for a rare weekend tripleheader sweep.
“I haven’t mistimed a restart like that in a long time,” Mayer said. “That’s why I’m so bummed out is because I know that for one, I ruined [Larson’s] race because obviously he’s going for the sweep and I took that away from him just by a silly mistake. I was trying to get everything I could get. But it’s obviously a bummer for both of us and if I ever do get the chance to talk to him, I would. If I would have timed it maybe even a half a second better, it would have been pretty good. I think we would have won the race because I think we were six-tenths a lap faster than him on the short run and if I could have got to his right rear one time it would’ve been game over for him. So screwed myself, screwed him. Did everything but screw the 7 (Allgaier) and 21 (Hill), man. Just can’t be letting those points go like that.”
Homestead is arguably Mayer’s best track on the NASCAR circuit now with four top 10s in four starts, including a victory in 2023.
“For one, it’s good cars. Like when you have really good cars and you’re able to drive it up against the wall, the sky’s the limit,” Mayer said. “You see that with Larson. He’s able to take a really good car and rip the fence and clear us by 10 seconds. So we’ve got to get better. Obviously, we’re decent enough to hang out, but hanging out is not my type of race. We’re gonna continue to get better. But this place is probably my favorite on the schedule so that plays the hand into it as well.”
Mayer will once again be in play for the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash award next Saturday at Martinsville Speedway (5 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). He’ll battle it out with Homestead Dash 4 Cash winner Allgaier, Hill and Haas Factory teammate Sheldon Creed, who completed the top five on Saturday.
“We hold ourselves to that standard,” Mayer said. “We want to go out there and win every race and win every stage and get all the points for ourselves. We’re just a little bit off, but today was the first day in the right direction I think. I’m really excited to keep it going with these boys. We worked really hard during the offseason and into the season as well to get better, and we’re just gonna keep it rolling.”
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — With eight laps to go, Kyle Larson was in his own zip code at Homestead-Miami Speedway, 16 seconds ahead of second-place runner Sam Mayer in the late stages of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race.
A caution changed everything — as did the overtime restart that followed.
Ultimately, Larson was relegated to a fourth-place finish in Saturday’s Hard Rock Bet 300 after an overambitious push from Mayer stymied Larson’s momentum on the re-fire, ending any hopes of Larson’s bid to sweep the weekend’s Craftsman Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Cup Series events at Homestead.
Taylor Gray spun exiting Turn 4 on Lap 193, necessitating the yellow flag at a time when just five cars were on the lead lap — Larson, Mayer, Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier and Sheldon Creed. After pit stops, Larson maintained his advantage in the lead, but erased was his half-lap lead over Mayer.
Preparing for the ensuing two-lap shootout, Larson opted to lead from the inside lane and Mayer chose to follow suit. Hill leapt from third to the front row while Allgaier took the outside of Row 2. Approaching the restart zone, Larson waited a beat to return to full song; Mayer, behind him, did not.
“Lagged back and just slammed the [expletive] out of me and had my rear tires off the ground,” Larson said.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Larson said he likely would have tried the same move Mayer made if in his position, but the shove to Larson’s bumper was too hard, forcing Larson’s rear tires to spin and lose traction as he tried to correct his No. 17 Chevrolet down the frontstretch.
“He was playing games on that last restart, which he was all day whenever he was leading,” Mayer, the Haas Factory Team driver, said. “But that’s what you do at this level, and I just wasn’t ready for him to not go and yeah, just mistimed it, unfortunately. Got him squirrely, choked our entire lane up, let all those guys get going on the outside.”
Indeed, Hill instead scurried to the lead with Allgaier hot in pursuit — and one circuit later, Allgaier surged ahead of Hill for the victory on the final lap in Turns 1 and 2.
Larson’s pursuit of a tripleheader weekend sweep will have to wait until the April 13 weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. The feat has been accomplished just twice before, both times by Kyle Busch at Bristol. The sting of missing out on his opportunity Saturday was obvious.
“Disappointed, probably like I have been here probably seven, eight times or more,” Larson said. “I wish it would have stayed green. For some reason, nobody can keep it straight at the end of the races that I’m leading. But yeah, I thought we’d still have a good shot to win. I think had I gotten a normal launch on the frontstretch, I would have been fine. But yeah, he just ran right into the back of me.”
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — In one of the most dramatic finishes of the season, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier took the lead on the final lap of overtime and held off his former teammate Sam Mayer for the win — the ultimate “Dash 4 Cash” in the Hard Rock Bet 300 Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
For much of the day, it looked like 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson would answer his win in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Friday night. He led 132 of the 201 laps and held a 16-second advantage on the field when a caution flag flew with eight laps remaining, bunching up the field for that final overtime restart.
Larson chose the bottom lane for the restart, with second-place Mayer opting to pull his No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford directly behind Larson’s No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet instead of on the front row alongside him. Just as the green flag flew for that final two laps, Mayer’s car hit the rear of Larson’s and knocked Larson’s Chevrolet out of shape.
As that happened, the outside line of Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and Allgaier zoomed forward with Hill taking the race lead. A lap later, Allgaier caught Hill and got around him for the victory — his first top five in 16 Homestead races and the second straight win for the reigning series champion
Hill finished third after Mayer passed him as well on the last lap.
“Just a testament to this team,” the 39-year-old Allgaier said. “Honestly, it was looking like it was one those days that wasn’t our day. We got behind but were able to persevere and to get this Chevrolet to Victory Lane is special.
“I just feel like this place has gotten me so many times.”
“I was actually bummed to see the caution flag come out but it worked out in my favor,” Allgaier added. “I’m bummed I maybe got the [weekend] triple from Kyle [Larson] because I think he’s going to have a great shot at [winning] it tomorrow. But we were at the right place at the right time and I’m really proud of this race team.”
The final caution flag came for a spin by polesitter Taylor Gray of Joe Gibbs Racing. At the time, only five drivers were on the lead lap.
The last series of pit stops proved pivotal to those pursuing Larson. Twelve cars came out on the lead lap, eager to see what they could do in the closing sprint toward the checkered.
Larson, who won the Craftsman Truck Series race on Friday night, looked well on his way to try and join Kyle Busch as the only drivers in NASCAR history to sweep three national series race wins in one weekend. In fact, he showed up in South Florida for the NASCAR weekend fresh off a sprint car win earlier in the week.
The outcome was understandably a huge disappointment for Larson, the frustration evident on his face as he climbed out of his Hendrick Chevrolet on pit road after the race.
“I’ve lived through it a number of times here, obviously a bummer to have another Homestead race play out that way,” said Larson, who finished fourth.
“I can’t go when my rear tires are off the ground,” he said of the contact from Mayer’s car on the restart. “I did everything I thought I could and the 41 just lagged back and slammed the [expletive] of me. Bummer, but cool to have had that big lead at the end.
“Loved to have gotten a win for everybody at the 17 car. They don’t get to race all the time, so it’s good we can run up front. Got one more opportunity at this [in the 17 car] in a few weeks and see if we can get it done then.”
While the first half of Saturday’s race had all five of the day’s caution flags, Larson essentially put it in cruise control for the final 100 laps — and pulled a zip code ahead of Mayer, who doggedly pursued all afternoon.
“I unfortunately got to his [Larson] bumper a little too early,” Mayer said of the contact with Larson on that final restart. “He went really, really late in the box, just played games and that’s what you’ve got to do at this level to get the advantage. But he just waited really long and I wasn’t ready for him to wait that long.
“Anytime you’re finishing second you’re super bummed out but that’s a good day. We’re going to keep it going and try to get better.”
Not only did Allgaier get a trophy to take home, but he also won the first $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus check from series sponsor Xfinity. He, Mayer, third-place finisher Hill, and 10th-place finisher Jesse Love were all eligible for the extra pay based on their finishes last week at Las Vegas.
The second of the four Dash 4 Cash races is next Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, with Allgaier, Mayer, Hill and Sheldon Creed eligible to race for the next $100,000 bonus.
Love, JGR’s Brandon Jones and rookies Nick Sanchez, Daniel Dye and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top 10.
Allgaier is now the first series driver with multiple wins in 2025 and takes a 29-point lead in the championship standings over Mayer.
The Xfinity Series returns to competition next Saturday with the US Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville (5 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Aric Almirola is the defending race winner.
Note: Inspection in the Xfinity Series garage was completed without major issue, confirming Allgaier as the race winner. Four teams were flagged for having one unsecured lug nut each in a post-race check — the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevy and the No. 42 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet. Those infractions will result in a fine for each team in next week’s penalty report, according to guidelines in the NASCAR Rule Book.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Josh Berry’s maiden NASCAR Cup Series victory at Las Vegas last weekend may have come as a surprise to the racing world, but it was no fluke.
Six days removed from the Wood Brothers’ second win in as many seasons, Berry’s contemporaries had nothing but praise for the second-year Cup driver. From his success in late models to Xfinity Series success and now a trip to Victory Lane in NASCAR’s premier series, Berry’s rise came as no shock.
“I expected him to win,” said Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford. “I think for people that aren’t looking at it as close as we all do, maybe they didn’t, but I know Josh is capable.”
Preece, 34, has had a similar path to the Cup Series as Berry, grinding out years in the local scene, racing modifieds before landing his opportunities in the national series. Preece was also in sight of the No. 21 Ford as the checkered flag waved last weekend as he matched a career best third-place finish at Vegas.
Along with Preece, Chase Briscoe was teammates with Berry in the final season for Stewart-Haas Racing last year. Briscoe scored his first Cup win in 2022 at Phoenix Raceway and returned to Victory Lane in rousing fashion last year by holding off Kyle Busch to win the Southern 500.
Briscoe saw Berry winning in Cup as a guarantee based on how Josh ran across certain races in 2024.
“Josh was gonna win a race. Like, there was never a question,” Briscoe said. “Even in the 4 car last year, there was weeks where he was up in the mix and it just never ended up playing out where he was able to win the race. Josh is a great race car driver, the 21 car’s a great car, too. I would say it surprised me how early in the season they were able to win. But I definitely felt like Josh was going to be one of those guys that feel like was kind of similar to me in the 14 where if you won a race, it’s kind of surprising but they are in the mix every now and then.”
In William Byron’s teenage years, he raced with Berry on the late-model scene before landing a full-time ride in the Truck Series and then raced for JR Motorsports in 2017 where he won the Xfinity Series championship.
Berry also raced with JRM from 2021-2023, collecting five wins before moving up to the Cup ranks. “I reached out to him. Josh and I grew up together racing late models, so I felt the need to reach out,” Byron said. “I felt happy for him. That was cool. Good for them. Good for the Wood Brothers. They did a good job there towards the end of the race, and really the last couple weekends, they have been strong.”
Michael McDowell has raced in the Cup Series since 2008 and has seen all sorts of drivers come and go at the top level, as well as seen a lot of drivers reach the pinnacle of grabbing a checkered flag. With his first Cup win not coming until season 14 of his career in the 2021 Daytona 500, McDowell understood just how meaningful Berry’s win was for the sport.
“It’s always very interesting because as a competitor you’re like ‘oh man, should have been us, right?’ That’s how you feel. But when you get home and you watch the race, and you see it from a fan, it’s just really cool,” McDowell explained. “He’s worked really hard to be in this sport and he’s got a great opportunity with the Wood Brothers and with Team Penske to do something special, and he did. It’s cool to see it work out. It’s cool to see the hard work pays off and grinding it out. So I think it’s awesome. I think it’s really cool for the sport.”
Berry may very well return to Victory Lane sooner rather than later as he will start on the front row Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway alongside polesitter Alex Bowman.
Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway Location: Homestead, Florida Track length: 1.5 miles When: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET Where to tune in: FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Race purse: $11,055,250 Race distance: 267 laps | 400 miles Stages: 80 | 165 | 267 Defending winner:Tyler Reddick, October 2024 Starting lineup:Alex Bowman wins Busch Light Pole
Homestead-Miami looms as true test for Cup Series field
“It’s just fun.” — Kyle Larson, 2022 Homestead-Miami winner
“The driver can make a huge difference.” — Tyler Reddick, 2024 Homestead-Miami winner
“It’s a fun track, for sure. It’s a challenging race track.” — Joey Logano, 2018 Homestead-Miami winner
No matter who you ask, Homestead-Miami Speedway is among the drivers’ favorite tracks on the NASCAR schedule.
“This is a favorite for myself and I think a lot of the guys in the field because you feel like, as a driver, when you come here, you actually make a bigger difference than other race tracks we go,” Chase Briscoe said Saturday.
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the 1.5-mile oval for the Straight Talk Wireless 400 on Sunday, the second of two consecutive mile-and-a-half tracks on the schedule. What separates it from last week’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway — and other intermediate tracks on the calendar — are its abrasive surface and progressive banking that create multiple lanes for drivers to put their talents to the test with the added benefit of driving into cleaner air.
“A lot of tracks, it’s kind of one-thing-fits-all — like you have to drive it this way,” Briscoe said. “Where here, you can run the wall; you can run the bottom; you can run the middle. Your car changes so much throughout the run that you can do different things to make up time. A Kyle Larson or a Reddick, you could put them in a bad Xfinity car and they’re going to be able to get that car way higher just because of drivers’ feel here. At other tracks, you just can’t do that.”
James Gilbert | Getty Images
With a surface that was last repaved in 2003, the abrasive aggregate creates significant tire wear that drivers must manage as well.
“I think there’s a combination between the tire wear that you have at this track versus the way the track sets up itself,” Denny Hamlin said. “So really, you can make a lot of different moves. You can cut distance or you can try to keep momentum, and that’s sometimes something that has to be fluid throughout a run. And so as a driver, you have a lot of tools at your disposal when you come to this track to change your line, to help the race car do things that it’s not doing well at the time. It’s just a lot of off-throttle time, and usually, any time you have to use both pedals, the driver’s tested more.”
In the corners, Larson and Reddick are renowned for their ability to pin their cars against the wall — centimeters from the SAFER barrier — with the momentum coming off the banking propelling them down the frontstretch. Their fellow competitors take notice each trip to South Florida, perhaps with a tinge of envy.
“There are the lines that everybody runs — and then there’s Larson’s line that he’s really freaking good at, and he showed it again (Friday) night,” Logano said, noting how Larson rode the high groove to a Craftsman Truck Series win. “Yes, I expect him to be solid up there again, but there’s a lot of different lanes, for sure, and it’s fun as a driver to be able to move around, whether it’s short run versus long run or top versus bottom.”
Ultimately, Homestead serves as a litmus test that proves which drivers can adapt to the changing conditions and which struggle. Larson cautioned, though, that Homestead isn’t exactly a make-or-break track.
“There are guys that aren’t that good here that are great at other tracks,” Larson said. “For me, obviously I’m great here, but there’s tracks I struggle. So I don’t know if you can really just solely (say) if somebody’s good here, that means they’re a great race-car driver. I think it’s still (that) certain tracks and styles suit drivers’ styles, so I don’t know.
“But I like being good here because it’s fun.”
From atop the pit box …
What do crew chiefs have in focus to win Sunday’s race?
The worn-out surface at Homestead-Miami combined with its progressive banking — 18 degrees on the bottom of the turns and a steeper 20 degrees near the wall — provides drivers with multiple lanes to utilize the speed of their cars. That offers an interesting challenge for the crew chiefs dealt with preparing those vehicles.
“The thing about setting up a car for this track is you have to be versatile, right?” Travis Peterson, crew chief of Michael McDowell’s No. 71 Chevrolet, told NASCAR.com on Saturday. “You have to be able to run low, you have to be able to run high. You have to be good when the pace is two seconds faster and your attitude of the car is completely different. So a lot of it is about building a car that’s versatile for all the changing conditions at Homestead.”
The South Florida sun significantly contributes to the grip level of the track. Saturday’s practice kicked off at 1 p.m. ET Saturday under sunny skies with ambient temperatures around 76 degrees Fahrenheit. Sunday’s race is forecasted by AccuWeather to go green under “hazy sunshine” with temps around 80 degrees at 3 p.m. ET. Though the differences seem minute, crew chiefs are plugged into every detail.
“As the weekend goes here specifically, it’s going to get hotter, and we’ll practice earlier in the day here and then race later into the day, kind of at peak temperature,” said Blake Harris, crew chief of Alex Bowman’s No. 48 Chevrolet, before the team won the pole for Sunday’s 267-lap event. “So really just trying to find the balance of the car for all those conditions because you still need to practice well, you need to qualify well and get a good pit stall and get some track position to start off. And some of those things are a little bit different than what you necessarily will need at the end of the race.”
James Gilbert | Getty Images
Strategy will still come into play Sunday, particularly through long green-flag runs and timing appointments to pit road. But the abrasive surface at Homestead makes decisions much easier to make.
“To some extent, it does simplify it from a strategy standpoint because you’re really running to the end of tire life,” Peterson said, “and you’re not really probably ever considering two (tires) unless you’re just throwing a Hail Mary because you’re gonna need four tires every time. You’re gonna pit because of tires, not because of fuel, and you’re gonna do whatever that says.
“Now, given that, depending on the fall-off curve of each race and the way the segments play out, you could be looking at two stops, one stop, three stops, right? There’s different things that could pop up depending on the fall-off. So it opens one channel with the multiple pit stops, but it closes several others in terms of options you have because if you came down and took two, you’re gonna get obliterated.”
History tells us …
Want to win at Homestead? Lead often. In six of the last seven Cup races at Homestead, the driver who led the most laps has gone on to win the race. The only exception since 2018 has been Christopher Bell, who surged to the victory in October 2023 after leading 26 laps, fourth-best that day.
He may not be the favorite to win, but watch out for …
RYAN PREECE. The newest RFK Racing driver has had quite the couple of weeks behind the wheel of the No. 60 Ford, scoring significant stage points en route to a 15th-place finish at Phoenix Raceway on an alternate strategy and backing it up one week later at Las Vegas, where he finished third. In two Next Gen starts at Homestead, Preece has finished 13th (2023) and 10th (2024). On the heels of a strong run at a 1.5-mile track one week ago, perhaps another is on deck for Preece on Sunday.
Fantasy update
NASCAR Fantasy Live expert Dustin Albino provides insight for your Sunday lineup.
Practice and qualifying left me flustered on Saturday. The six drivers that were featured in my lineup to begin the weekend cracked the top eight in 10-lap averages during practice, but just two of them (William Byron and Ryan Blaney) qualified inside the top 10. Noah Gragson is a sleeper for Sunday, tying the best qualifying effort of his career (third) and ranking inside the top 10 in all practice categories. The lone switch for me this weekend is replacing Carson Hocevar with Bubba Wallace, who topped the chart on 10- and 15-lap averages.
Lineup: Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles. • NASCAR clarifies pit-road rules: Christopher Bell’s Vegas stop in Briscoe’s box signals specification | Read more
• Racing Insights: Full finishing order projections for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 | Read more
• Turning Point to Miami: On Josh Berry’s ability to contend for a championship and a favorable slate for Kyle Larson | Read more
• Photos to frame: Best shots so far from Homestead-Miami Speedway | Read more
• NASCAR Classics: Rewind the tape on past Cup races at Homestead-Miami | Watch races
• Paint Scheme Preview: See the fun under the sun from Homestead-Miami | View gallery
HOMESTEAD, Fla. — One of the more heralded rookies this season is former Australian Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, who turned heads and earned high praise for his historic victory at the Chicago Street Course two years ago in his first NASCAR Cup Series start.
With a strong background in road and street courses before coming to America as a full-time NASCAR Competitor, the 35-year-old New Zealand native said it has been a legitimate learning curve in the Cup Series on the ovals.
His lone top-10 result of the year in the No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet came at the Circuit of The Americas road course. He says it has been an education on the assortment of long and short ovals in this first full Cup Series schedule. Twice — in the last two races at Phoenix and Las Vegas — he’s been collected in crashes not of his own doing.
“I feel like we’ve showed a lot of promise, but we have nothing to show for it, really,” van Gisbergen said. “COTA was a good day, but on the ovals we’ve really struggled and we’ve had a lot of accidents and they haven’t really been our fault.
“It’s really tough results-wise but I see a lot of potential and speed. Just got to put it together and get to the end of the races and things will start clicking for us, I think.”
“It has been hard because I’m not really known for crashing too much and not finishing, so it’s been a bit of a pain really,” van Gisbergen added. “Just have to stay out of trouble and get through it. The first stage we’re always going good and improving and thinking the rest of the race is going to be good then something seems to happen, so hopefully we stop that this weekend.”
Van Gisbergen will roll off 35th for Sunday’s Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio).
