For a racetrack that has only been around since 1995, Homestead-Miami Speedway has undergone more than its share of changes.
Homestead-Miami Speedway actually started as an idea to help Dade County recover after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Ralph Sanchez, a longtime motorsports promoter in South Florida, struck a deal to build the track.
When it opened in 1995, the track’s original configuration was a flat oval with short-chute straightaways between Turns 1 and 2 and Turns 3 and 4. Five years later, an $8 million renovation turned the track into a more conventional oval with 6 degrees of banking in its turns.
Then, in 2003, Homestead-Miami Speedway took on its current shape. The track’s turns were rebuilt with variable banking from 18 degrees in the bottom groove to 20 degrees near the outside wall.
That project cost another $12 million and set Homestead-Miami Speedway up to host Ford Championship Weekend, a climactic tripleheader featuring the season finales in all three of NASCAR’s top national series: Nextel Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck.
Since it opened, Homestead-Miami Speedway has doubled its seating capacity to 80,000.
(Courtesy of NASCAR)
Race records
Nextel Cup: Greg Biffle, 131.431, mph, Nov. 20, 2005
Busch Series: Matt Kenseth, 126.523 mph, Nov. 18, 2006
This is now Jimmie Johnson's Chase to lose: after trailing Jeff Gordon for much of the season and the first seven races of the Chase to the Championship, Johnson is now in the driver's seat with a 86-point lead. He doesn't need to win on Sunday and won't try – a consistent run will be enough to win the title, and that's what he'll do. Those who could win include Gordon, Tony Stewart and Martin Truex Jr., with Greg Biffle looming. -MR