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Homestead-Miami Speedway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Location | 1 Speedway Blvd. Homestead, Florida 33035 |
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| Capacity | 65,000 | |
| Owner | ISC | |
| Operator | ISC | |
| Broke ground | August 24, 1993 | |
| Opened | November 5, 1995 | |
| Construction Cost | $70 million | |
| Former Names | Metro-Dade Homestead Motorsports Complex (1995-1996) |
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| Major events | NASCAR Nextel Cup Ford 400 |
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| Oval | ||
| Circuit Length | 2.4 km (1.5 mi) | |
| Banking | Turns 20° (variable) Straights 3° |
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| Road Course | ||
| Circuit Length | 3.7 km (2.3 mi) | |
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a race track in Homestead, Florida southwest of Miami. It plays host to Ford Championship Weekend, the final races of the season in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series. These races are currently all sponsored by Ford Motors, taking the names Ford 400, Ford 300, and Ford 200, respectively.
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The speedway was constructed, with the efforts of promotor Ralph Sanchez, as part of a plan to help Homestead rebound after the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew. Groundbreaking began August 24, 1993, less than a year after the hurricane. It opened in November 1995 with a NASCAR Busch Series race. In the spring of 1996, the CART series held its first race there.
The facility is considered by some to be one of the most beautiful in the country. Though located southwest of Miami, the track reflects the art deco district of downtown Miami with its liberal use of colors such as aqua, purple and silver, among other colors.
However, the racing at Homestead was initially not considered very good. The track opened as a four-turn, rectangular-oval, based on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's layout. 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 quad-oval 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. Shortly afterwards, 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, including 2005's last-lap battle between Greg Biffle and Mark Martin.
On March 26, 2006 however, Indy Racing League driver Paul Dana suffered fatal injuries in the warm-up session before the season-opening round of the championship. He was involved in a high-speed collision, with Ed Carpenter at over 215 mph. His death is the first in the Indy Racing League since Tony Renna died at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October 2003, and only the 3rd ever since the series started. He also is the only other driver to suffer fatal injuries at the speedway since John Nemechek in a Craftsman Truck Race in March 1997, and Jeff Clinton who died in a Grand Am sports car event at the track in March 2002
As of 11/18/07
- Most Wins - (3) - Greg Biffle
- Most Top 5's - (4) - Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon
- Most Top 10's - (7) - Jeff Gordon
- Starts - (9) - 7 Drivers
- Poles - (2) - Kurt Busch
- Laps Led - (330) - Tony Stewart
- Avg Start (Minimum 3 starts) - (2.8) - Kasey Kahne
- Avg Finish (Minimum 3 starts) - (7.8) - Carl Edwards
- - Race extended due to Green-White-Checker Finish
| Season | Date | Winning Driver | Car # | Sponsor | Make | Distance | Avg Speed | Margin of Victory |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | November 14 | Tony Stewart | 20 | Home Depot | Pontiac Grand Prix | 400.5 mi | 140.355 mph (225.879 km/h) | 5.289 sec |
| 2000 | November 12 | Tony Stewart | 20 | Home Depot | Pontiac Grand Prix | 400.5 mi | 127.48 mph (205.159 km/h) | 4.561 sec |
| 2001 | November 11 | Bill Elliott | 9 | Dodge/UAW | Dodge Intrepid | 400.5 mi | 117.449 mph (189.016 km/h) | 1.42 sec |
| 2002 | November 16 | Kurt Busch | 97 | Rubbermaid | Ford Taurus | 400.5 mi | 116.462 mph (187.427 km/h) | 2.070 sec |
| 2003 | November 16 | Bobby Labonte | 18 | Interstate Batteries | Chevrolet Monte Carlo | 400.5 mi | 116.868 mph (188.081 km/h) | 1.749 sec |
| 2004 | November 21 | Greg Biffle | 16 | National Guard/Subway | Ford Taurus | 406.5 mi * | 105.623 mph (169.984 km/h) | 0.342 sec |
| 2005 | November 20 | Greg Biffle | 16 | National Guard/Post-it | Ford Fusion | 400.5 mi | 131.431 mph (211.518 km/h) | 0.017 sec |
| 2006 | November 19 | Greg Biffle | 16 | National Guard | Ford Fusion | 402 mi * | 125.375 mph (201.772 km/h) | 0.389 sec |
| 2007 | November 18 | Matt Kenseth | 17 | DeWalt Nano | Ford Fusion | 400.5 mi | 131.888 mph (212.253 km/h) | 0.852 sec |
IndyCar
| Type | Distance (miles / km) |
Date | Driver | Chassis / Engine | Time | Average Speed (mph / km/h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying (1 lap) |
1.485 / 2.390 | March 25, 2006 |  Sam Hornish, Jr. |
Dallara / Honda | 0:00:24.462 | 218.539 / 351.704 |
| Race (200 laps) |
297.000 / 477.975 | March 26, 2006 |  Dan Wheldon |
Dallara / Honda | 1:46:15.530 | 167.730 / 269.935 |
NASCAR
| Record | Year | Date | Driver | Car Make | Time | Average Speed (mph) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NASCAR Nextel Cup Series | ||||||
| Qualifying | 2003 | Jamie McMurray |
Dodge | 29.816 | 181.111 | |
| Race (400 miles) | 1999 | November 14 | Tony Stewart |
Pontiac | 2:51:14 | 140.335 (before reconfiguration) |
| NASCAR Busch Series | ||||||
| Qualifying | 2004 | Casey Mears |
Dodge | 30.348 | 177.936 | |
| Race (300 miles) | 2001 | November 10 | Joe Nemechek |
Chevy | 2:16:10 | 132.191 (before reconfiguration) |
| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series | ||||||
| Qualifying | 2007 | November 16 | Jon Wood |
Ford | 31.180 | 173.188 |
| Race (200 miles) | 2002 | November 15 | Ron Hornaday |
Chevy | 1:30:30 | 133.260 (before reconfiguration) |
- Homestead-Miami Speedway Official Site
- Homestead-Miami Speedway Page on NASCAR.com
- Trackpedia guide to driving this track
- High Resolution image from Google Maps
- Homestead-Miami Speedway is at coordinates Coordinates:
- [1]
- 2006 Toyota 300 Indy Race League Video Summary
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