What makes Homestead a lot enjoyable for NASCAR drivers?

A number of lanes, progressive banking, and excessive tire put on make Homestead one of the beloved tracks on the schedule by each followers and drivers. Final yr’s race noticed a spectacular three-way struggle for the win with Tyler Reddick going from third to first to win on the ultimate lap. That very same race featured a document 33 lead modifications between 11 completely different drivers.

There’s fixed motion and no scarcity of line selections across the 1.5-mile speedway, which hosted the NASCAR Cup Collection title decider yearly between 2003 and 2019. It was chosen for a purpose, and even now, there’s loads of help for reinstating it because the finale. Others declare the monitor can also be one thing sorely wanted in trendy NASCAR, with the present technology of automobile and tightness of the sector making passing tougher than it is ever been earlier than.

So what do the drivers suppose?

Loads of choices

Alex Bowman, who begins Sunday’s race from pole place, famous how the monitor “simply offers you choices” that many different tracks do not. He additionally earned pole place because of a sudden cloud transferring over the monitor, exhibiting simply how weather-sensitive the 20+ yr previous floor could be.

“Yeah, when your race automobile is nice, it’s actually, actually enjoyable,” he continued. “It’s nonetheless actually arduous to cross, for positive, similar to anyplace else we go. However there’s so many alternative strains you may run, and working the wall could be so technical and quite a lot of enjoyable.

“It is so excessive danger that there is not many different issues that we do which might be that prime danger. Other than possibly making pace on the Chicago road course or a few of these locations. And possibly not a lot with this automobile because it was with the metal physique automobile, however it nonetheless makes it quite a lot of enjoyable. So yeah, I get pleasure from it. This hasn’t been one among my higher racetracks, so a spot that I am engaged on quite a bit, and I am glad to at the very least be on the great facet of issues on Saturday, thus far.”

Off-throttle time and tire put on

Denny Hamlin leads all lively drivers with three wins at Homestead, so he has a purpose to like this place much more than others. He was additionally one of many drivers on the shedding finish of final yr’s epic battle.

“I believe there’s a mixture between the tire put on you’ve at this monitor versus the way in which the monitor units up itself,” defined Hamlin when requested about what makes it so good for drivers. “Actually could make quite a lot of completely different strikes – you may reduce distance or you may attempt to hold momentum, and that’s one thing that must be fluid all through the run. As a driver, you’ve quite a lot of instruments at your disposal whenever you come to this monitor to alter your line to assist the race automobile do issues it’s not doing nicely on the time. Definitely, it is quite a lot of off throttle time and that often, when it’s a must to use each pedals, the motive force is examined extra.”

Watch: Thrilling last lap sees Tyler Reddick cross Ryan Blaney, win at Homestead

Proper up in opposition to the wall

Josh Berry joins Bowman on the entrance row for Sunday’s race and is NASCAR’s most up-to-date winner after a powerful victory at Las Vegas within the No. 21 Wooden Brothers Racing Ford.

One of many defining traits of Homestead is that the quickest means across the monitor is often proper up in opposition to the surface wall, one thing perfected by drivers like Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. 

“I believe you see the fellows that may run the wall a bit of bit higher than others, which might be a bit of bit extra dedicated to it, after which a few of us see it, like I mentioned a minute in the past, that you could be a bit of bit extra versatile and be capable to run completely different lanes,” mentioned Berry. “So everyone type of has their very own technique, however I really feel like every time we see tire put on and issues like we see right here, actually the automobiles that drive good and keep beneath of you for a long term actually present out simply as a lot as the motive force’s expertise.”

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, Valvoline Chevrolet Camaro

Photograph by: David Rosenblum / NKP / Motorsport Pictures

A real ‘drivers’ monitor

A number of drivers have known as Homestead their favourite race monitor and Austin Dillon is amongst them, who mentioned he “seems to be ahead to returning to Homestead-Miami Speedway. It’s my favourite monitor that we race at. Homestead-Miami Speedway is a driver’s racetrack. It’s a lot enjoyable to run proper up in opposition to the fence. It’s important to be disciplined in the way you drive and save your tires. It’s a monitor that’s been good for me in my profession successful a NASCAR Truck Collection and NASCAR Xfinity Collection Championship. The Miami environment is simply one of many issues I like about this time of yr. There’s good climate, and followers all the time present as much as help NASCAR racing.”

It is a sentiment shared by his Richard Childress Racing teammate Kyle Busch, who received at Homestead in each 2015 and 2019 en path to claiming the Cup Collection title.

Watch: No regrets: Kyle Larson’s tackle his Homestead-Miami spin

“Homestead-Miami Speedway is all the time a enjoyable racetrack,” mentioned the veteran driver. “It lends itself to drivers nicely as a result of it may be a 3, even 4 lane monitor as we enterprise from the underside all the way in which to the wall. I’ve all the time appeared ahead to going to Homestead. It is a distinctive mile-and-a-half. We have run nicely there. I’ve received there. It has been a terrific monitor for me. I’ve received two championships by successful races there.”

Each races this yr noticed the ultimate cross for the win come within the last two laps with Larson working down Layne Riggs late within the Truck race whereas Justin Allgaier prevailed in an time beyond regulation restart in Saturday’s Xfinity race [although Larson had a massive 16-second lead before a late caution].

Primarily based on final yr’s end at Homestead, that development is more likely to proceed on Sunday.