Xfinity Series gears up for Homestead-Miami Speedway
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to the Sunshine State for a double-header at Homestead-Miami Speedway after an action-packed race at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend.
Noah Gragson collected his second win of the season in the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet last weekend at Atlanta. Gragson also won the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway to kick things off for the series.
His win at Atlanta also earned him the first installment of the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash program. Gragson won $100,000 and is eligible to win it again this weekend along with three other fulltime drivers in the series that qualified.
The double-header will begin on Saturday afternoon for the Hooters 250 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and the series will return to the track on Sunday for the Contender Boats 250 (12 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Sunday’s race will be the Dash 4 Cash race.
Homestead-Miami Speedway has been the season finale for all three NASCAR national series since 2002, but it was announced last season, the track was scheduled to race in March 2020. But, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the original date was postponed until this weekend.
Homestead-Miami Speedway has hosted 25 NASCAR Xfinity Series races dating back to the inaugural event in 1995 (won by Dale Jarrett). The 28 Xfinity races have produced 20 different pole winners and 18 different race winners. Kyle Busch, Jeff Green, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Tyler Reddick are all tied with two poles at the track. Joe Nemechek leads the series in wins (three), Kyle Busch and Mark Martin have the most top fives (seven) and Matt Kenseth has the most top 10s (10) at the 1.5-mile track. Joe Gibbs Racing has the most wins of any team at Homestead-Miami Speedway with four.
Homestead-Miami Speedway has a 1,760-foot frontstretch and backstretch with four degrees of banking on straights and 18-20 degrees of variable banking in the corners.
Both Xfinity Series races at Homestead this weekend with be 250.5 miles and 167 laps total. The first stage will end on Lap 40, the second stage will end on Lap 80 and the race will conclude on Lap 167.
Stay updated on Dash 4 Cash
The Dash 4 Cash program is back for the NASCAR Xfinity Series and this time the schedule is a little different compared to past years due to a revised 2020 schedule as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dash 4 Cash kicked off last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Noah Gragson, Chase Briscoe, Brandon Jones and Harrison Burton were the four qualifiers. Gragson, who finished runner-up to AJ Allmendinger, ultimately won the Dash 4 Cash bonus.
As the Xfinity Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend for a double-header, the second installment of Dash 4 Cash will be for Sunday’s race, the Contender Boats 250 (12 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Since Gragson won the prize and finished runner-up, he earned a spot in this weekend’s competition along with AJ Allmendinger, Justin Haley and Daniel Hemric. So, it will be two drivers from Kaulig Racing and two drivers from JR Motorsports competing for the big prize.
The first of the four competitors to finish at Homestead-Miami will win the $100,000 bonus. The Homestead bonus winner and the top three highest finishing drivers (who have declared points in the series) will qualify for the next Dash 4 Cash event at Talladega Superspeedway.
In addition, Xfinity is planning to make donations in each Dash 4 Cash race market to continue showing their companywide commitment of connecting families, veterans and seniors to necessary digital tools during this difficult time.
Dash 4 Cash Qualifiers for Homestead:
· Noah Gragson (No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) – Gragson has one Xfinity Series start at Homestead, a fourth-place finish last season. Gragson has three Gander Trucks starts at Homestead with a best finish of third in 2018.
· AJ Allmendinger (No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet) – Allmendinger has one Xfinity Series start at Homestead, a 21st-place finish in 2007 for Chip Ganassi Racing. He has 10 Cup Series starts at Homestead, with a best finish of fifth in 2010.
· Justin Haley (No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet) – Haley has one Xfinity Series start at Homestead, finishing 33rd last season after starting eighth and was unable to finish the race. Haley has two starts at the track in the Gander Trucks, finished ninth in 2017 and eighth in 2018.
· Daniel Hemric (No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet) – Hemric has two Xfinity Series starts at Homestead, finishing fourth in 2018. He has one Cup Series start at the track in 2019 and finished 12th. Hemric has three Gander Trucks starts at Homestead, with a best finish of fifth in 2016.
Chevrolets at Homestead
As the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for a double-header and a Dash 4 Cash bonus race, it looks like the strongest manufacturer at the track is Chevrolet.
Interestingly enough, all four of the Dash 4 Cash participants drive a Chevrolet, too. Currently, Chevrolet holds the track record for the most Xfinity Series wins by a manufacturer with 11.
A Chevrolet has won the last two races at the track, for the season finale. Tyler Reddick won both of those but for two different teams. In 2018, he won for JR Motorsports and in 2019, he won for Richard Childress Racing.
Reddick also holds the race record in a Chevrolet at 140.515 mph in November 2018.
If a Chevrolet is to win either race this weekend at Homestead, it will mark the manufacturers’ third win of the season, tying them with Toyota for the most thus far.
Dale Jr. is back again!
The wait to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. back behind the wheel of a car is almost over. After the postponement of the originally scheduled race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Earnhardt will pilot the No. 8 JR Motorsports Hellmann’s Chevrolet in Saturday’s Hooters 250 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Since retiring from full-time racing as a NASCAR Cup Series driver, Earnhardt has participated in one Xfinity Series race each year with his JR Motorsports team. He finished fourth at Richmond Raceway in 2018 and fifth at Darlington Raceway last season. This year, he’s taking on the 1.5-mile South Florida track.
He has five previous starts at the track with one top five and three top 10s and an average start of 12.0. He has a series best finish of second in 1999. Earnhardt has 17 starts to his name in the Cup Series at Homestead with one top five, two tops 10s and 121 laps led.
Since his retirement in 2017 and participation in one Xfinity race each season, he’s finished inside the top-five in all of them.
Briscoe looks for third 2020 victory
With two victories to his name already and a runner-up result, Chase Briscoe is the top of the Xfinity Series class and heading to Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend could help him get his third victory.
Briscoe is the highest returning finisher from last season’s championship race at the 1.5-mile track and claimed the final spot on the podium.
Briscoe won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and again in the return to racing at Darlington Raceway. He had an extremely strong showing at Atlanta last weekend, too, before a pit road speeding penalty ruined his day.
Homestead’s features are similar to Atlanta’s, which Briscoe tends to favor. Briscoe is ranked fourth for average running position with an average finish of 8.0. He also has the sixth-best driver rating at the track.
Briscoe has two Xfinity Series starts at Homestead and finished 13th in 2018 and third last season.
“I’m excited to race there in the heat of day. I always love when it’s hot and slick. It used to be we’d start the race in the afternoon, around the same time actually, but it was a different time of year, so it wasn’t as hot and we’d end the race at night. I’ve always said this style of track and racing suits my style best, and Homestead is my favorite racetrack. It’s a special place to me since that’s where I got my first NASCAR win. Hopefully, we can add two more wins with Ford Performance Racing School this weekend,” Briscoe said.
Early glance at Xfinity’s Driver Playoff Outlook
Rank
Driver
Points
Race Wins
Stage Wins
Playoff Points
Points From Cutoff
1
Chase Briscoe
340
2
1
11
In On Wins
2
Noah Gragson
336
2
3
13
3
Harrison Burton #
308
1
0
5
4
Brandon Jones
258
1
2
7
5
Justin Allgaier
297
0
4
4
133
6
Ross Chastain
295
0
0
1
131
7
Austin Cindric
285
0
2
2
121
8
Justin Haley
267
0
0
0
103
9
Ryan Sieg
217
0
0
0
53
10
Riley Herbst #
201
0
0
0
37
11
Brandon Brown
199
0
0
0
35
12
Michael Annett
198
0
0
0
34
13
Josh Williams
164
0
0
0
-34
14
Myatt Snider
152
0
0
0
-46
15
Alex Labbe
142
0
0
0
-56
There are currently only four drivers locked into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with wins. Chase Briscoe, Noah Gragson, Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones.
Burton, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, is the highest-ranked rookie and has continued to have an exceptional season braking multiple records and has winning every weekly rookie award.
Briscoe and Gragson are both tied with two wins. Currently, there is one Ford, one Chevrolet and two Toyota’s locked into the Playoffs. Jones and Burton are both Joe Gibbs Racing drivers while Briscoe is the sole Stewart-Haas Racing driver and Gragson represents Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.
There are some new and unfamiliar faces in the current Playoff outlook, though. Riley Herbst is another Sunoco Rooke of the Year contender and is currently taking the 10th spot. Below him is Brandon Brown who runs the No. 68 for his own team, Brandonbilt Motorsports.
Brown has shown a lot of improvement this season, finishing in the top-10 three times, the most of any season prior. He finished seventh in the season-opening race at Daytona and finished eighth and seventh at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway, respectively.
Josh Williams is tied with Michael Annett, who takes that final 12th spot in the Playoff picture with Myatt Snider and Alex Labbe following him in 14th and 15th.
Williams has had a career-best season with two top 10s in eight starts. He finished 10th at Auto Club Speedway and ninth at Bristol Motor Speedway. Prior to this season, Williams had only one top 10 in his five-year career.
Myatt Snider expands Xfinity Series schedule
Myatt Snider, driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and No. 93 RSS Racing Chevrolet, is adding additional races to complete his 2020 schedule with both team as a fulltime competitor. Snider’s sponsors for the remainder of the season include TaxSlayer, Louisiana Hot Sauce and Superior Essex.
The expansion of the season will include competing in the No. 93 for RSS Racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway before heading back to the No. 21 at Pocono Raceway.
In total, Snider will compete with RSS in the No. 93 in all but three of the remaining events for the season.
“I’m so excited to go full time racing this year with great partners in TaxSlayer, Louisiana Hot Sauce and Superior Essex. We’re going to have great looking race cars all year,” Snider said. “I think with the way we’ve been running; we will have a really good chance to make the Playoffs in 2020. I’m really looking forward to getting the rest of the season going during the next couple of races. We’re going to slay it.”
Pit selection, starting lineup for Homestead
Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series pit selection order will be based on finishing position from the June 6 race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, followed by new entries in order of points.
The starting lineup is determined by:
- Positions 1 – 12: The first 12 NXS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up Eligibility will be assigned starting positions 1st – 12th using a random draw.
- Positions 12 – 24: The next 12 NXS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up eligibility will be assigned starting positions 12th- 24th using a random draw.
- Starting positions 25 – 36: The next 12 NXS Teams based on the Adverse Conditions Line Up eligibility will be assigned starting positions 25th -36th using a random draw.
- Any vehicles that are eligible for the Event in position 37th – 40th will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.
Sunday’s pit selection order is based on finishing position from the June 13 race at Homestead, followed by new entries in order of points.
The starting lineup is determined by:
- Positions 1-15: Invert the top 15 from the June 13 race at Homestead
- Positions 16-40: In finishing order from the June 13 race at Homestead, followed by new entries
Xfinity Series teams will use the same car for both races. The teams will be three hours post-race on Saturday and one hour on Sunday to prep the car for inspection.
They can’t make any changes to these items or they will have to start at the rear:
Car, engine system and headers, transmission, rear gear, cooling and oiling system, brake calipers, hubs, rear end housing.
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