HOMESTEAD - MIAMI SPEEDWAY - HOMESTEAD FL
The track, which has several configurations, has promoted several series of racing, including NASCAR, the IndyCar Series, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship series, and the Championship Cup Series. The speedway was constructed, with the efforts of promoter Ralph Sanchez, as part of a plan to help Homestead rebound after the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew. Groundbreaking began August 24, 1993, exactly one year after the hurricane. It opened in November 1995 with a NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the last race of that season. In the spring of 1996, the CART series held its first race there. The track opened as a four-turn, rectangular-oval, based on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's layout. However, due to its shorter distance, the track was not able to maintain the racing characteristics of the Indianapolis
Motor Speedway. Instead, the sharp, flat turns and aprons made passing difficult and lowered overall speed. The geometry also created unfavorably severe crash angles. In 1996, track management attempted to correct the problems by widening the aprons of the turns by as much as 24 feet. In the summer of 1997, an $8.2 million reconfiguration project changed the turns from a rectangle to a traditional, continuous turn oval. In 2003, the track was reconfigured once again. The turns were changed from mostly flat to steep variable banking. In 2005, lights were installed to allow night racing for the first time. The renovations were praised by fans, and the track has produced a number of close finishes. The Cup Series started racing here in 1999,
and was the season last event 2002-2019. Dale Jarrett won the Championship the first season. Noteable events at the speedway include Tony Stewart winning the Championship in 2011 after a tie in points with Carl Edwards. Stewart got the win with the tie breaker going to the driver with the most wins. Also, we saw Jimmie Johnson win the Championship from 2006- 2010; an astounding five consecutive years. 2017 saw Martin Truex win the Championship driving for single car team Furniture Row Racing and owner Barney Vissor. At the end of the 2018 season Furniture Row Racing
closed due to lack of sponsorship. On March 26, 2006, Indy Racing League driver Paul Dana suffered fatal injuries in the warm-up session before the race when he was involved in a high-speed collision with Ed Carpenter at over 215 mph. John Nemechek suffered fatal injuries at the track in 1997 while running in the NASCAR Truck Series event. NASCAR currently races at Homestead once a year.
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