NASCAR: Homestead-Miami Speedway, the end of an era
By Asher Fair
This NASCAR Championship 4 weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway marks the end of an era for the sport in Homestead, Florida.
The NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series and Truck Series are set to crown their 2019 champions throughout this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The Truck Series champion is set to be crowned after tonight’s 134-lap Ford EcoBoost 200 around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Homestead-Miami Speedway oval in Homestead, Florida.
The Xfinity Series champion is set to be crowned following tomorrow afternoon’s 200-lap Ford EcoBoost 300 at the track. Finally, the Cup Series champion is set to be crowned after Sunday afternoon’s Ford EcoBoost 400.
It’s just like it is every other year.
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There has never been a Championship 4 at a track other than Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series or the Truck Series. The Championship 4 was implemented ahead of the 2014 season for the Cup Series and ahead of the 2016 season for the Xfinity Series and Truck Series.
But this year, it’s about a lot more than that.
A championship race has not taken place at a track other than Homestead-Miami Speedway in any of these three series in nearly two decades.
The last time a Cup Series championship race was contested at a track other than Homestead-Miami Speedway was in the 2001 season when the season finale was held at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
In the Xfinity Series, the last time a championship race was contested at a track other than Homestead-Miami Speedway was two and a half decades ago when it was held at Rockingham Speedway in the 1994 season.
Finally, in the Truck Series, Auto Club Speedway is the most recent track aside of Homestead-Miami Speedway to host a championship race. It hosted this race back in the 2001 season.
That will all change next year.
ISM Raceway is set to host the season finales for all three of these series starting in the 2020 season.
The four-turn, 1.022-mile (1.645-kilometer) ISM Raceway oval in Avondale, Arizona is set to continue to host regular season races for the Xfinity Series and Cup Series on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8, respectively.
But on Friday, November 6, Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8, it is slated to finish off the 2020 Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Cup Series seasons, respectively.
As for Homestead-Miami Speedway, it will no longer even be a playoff race, although it is still set to host one race in each series. The Truck Series, Xfinity Series and Cup Series races at the track are scheduled to take place on Friday, March 20, Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22, respectively.
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Be sure to tune into all of the Championship 4 action from Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final time in the foreseeable future this weekend. The NASCAR Truck Series season finale is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET this evening, the Xfinity Series season finale is set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:30 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon and the Cup Series season finale is set to be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 17.