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Homestead-Miami Speedway
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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 Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. These races are currently all sponsored by Ford Motor Company, taking the names Ford 400, Ford 300, and Ford 200, respectively.
Beginning in 2009 Homestead will be home to four season-ending racing series events, with the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 for the IRL IndyCar Series moving to October from its traditional early season slot.
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.
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Encyclopedia
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 Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. These races are currently all sponsored by Ford Motor Company, taking the names Ford 400, Ford 300, and Ford 200, respectively.
Beginning in 2009 Homestead will be home to four season-ending racing series events, with the GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 for the IRL IndyCar Series moving to October from its traditional early season slot.
History
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, less than a year after the hurricane. It opened in November 1995 with a NASCAR Busch Series (currently the Nationwide 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 . 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. 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 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 . Other drivers to suffer fatal injuries at the speedway are John Nemechek in a Camping World Truck Race in March 1997, and Jeff Clinton who died in a Grand Am sports car event at the track in March 2002.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Stats
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Records
As of 11/18/07
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Winners
- - Race extended due to Green-White-Checker Finish
Records
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 Sprint 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 Nationwide 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 Camping World 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) |
Simulation / Video Game List
Nacar80 Yes
See also
External links
- on
- High Resolution image from
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