It's a NASCAR Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Yes, they know it's only March
There are two ways to look at NASCAR's early spring visit to Homestead-Miami Speedway, which starts Friday with the Craftsman Truck Series Baptist Health 200 at 8 p.m., continues Saturday at 4 p.m. with the XFinity Series Hard Rock Bet 300 and finishes with the NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 400 Sunday at 3 p.m..
Beautiful Days for Motor Car Races: this NASCAR weekend kicks off a glorious time for motor racing in South Florida that will continue with Homestead hosting the Formula E racing series' return to Miami on April 12 and climaxing in Miami Gardens with the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix weekend May 2 through 4. Why, the only thing missing is an IndyCar race!
Clouds and Smoke: NASCAR's as out of place at Homestead in March as turn signals in Hialeah. South Florida's sports calendar says March is for international coolness at Miami Open tennis, gauging the Panthers' and/or Heat's playoff prospects, the Marlins opening their season and arguing over who the Dolphins should draft, not some early season NASCAR rollarounds. Miami's an event town and 'NASCAR in Homestead' should mean something big, like the Championship or at least a Chase race.
However you personally view it, Homestead-Miami Speedway president Guillermo Santa Cruz acknowledges the shift back to spring creates a marketing and sales challenge. Santa Cruz said ticket sales are on track to hit the speedway's target sales, but will be less than last October's NASCAR weekend. Their strategy was as wide open as Junior Johnson's throttle in both social media and traditional media.
'We do radio, we do television, our billboards have been all over town since January,' Santa Cruz said. 'We've been very aggressive in promoting that we're racing in March, and that it's a quick turnaround from October, but I think we've done a very good job of communicating that to our fans here in South Florida.
'Certainly, last week, I couldn't turn on the TV without seeing my face on one of the local newscasts.'
At least Friday, the racing smells of burning rubber and exhaust must compete with smoke from the not-so-distant brush fire that has been burning for days near the 18-mile Stretch and Card Sound Road. Despite warnings about power outages, Homestead city government says there's still a green flag for NASCAR events remaining on schedule.
READ MORE: Fire spreads to Homestead, as 20,000-plus acres burn. No threat to neighborhoods: authorities
'Smoke from the ongoing grass fire may impact air quality, especially fr those with respiratory conditions,' Miami-Dade County warned.
NASCAR arriving early, not on Miami time
From 2002 to 2019, before the Chase for the Cup and through the first couple of Chase formats, the NASCAR season ended with all three series championships decided on NASCAR Championship Weekend in November.
The 2020 race weekend, planned for March, got kicked to June by the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the nation. The 2021 race went off in February as scheduled, but from 2022 to 2024 Homestead was returned to late in the Chase playoff.
Once one of his June podcasts, Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. lamented the move back to March for NASCAR's weekend in Miami-Dade.
'We ran Homestead years ago early in the season,' Earnhardt said. 'It was weird. After having the season finale there for so, so long, it just doesn't feel right to put it anywhere else in the season.'
The only way he saw a March race as right is if it's a one-shot deal.
'They want to give some of these other tracks a little bit of the experience what it's like being in the playoffs,' he said. ''Homestead, you're going to be the finale. We're going to stick you over here in March. You're going to get back to the finale. Go sit over here for a bit, while we entertain these other tracks in the playoffs.''
Santa Cruz would be good with that.
'I think it would be very good for the sport to embrace a rotation when it comes to the championship,' Santa Cruz said during a Zoom call with media on Monday. 'I've made no secret about the fact that I would love for the championship to come back to Homestead.'
Miami-Dade County Commission Vice Chair Kionne McGhee, who represents Homestead, didn't mention the flow of the racing at Homestead during Tuesday's commission meeting as much as the flow of dollars.
NASCAR in March brings people while South Florida's still in the thick of tourist season and the Spring Break sub season. In October and November, tourist season's still doing shakedown laps. McGhee said NASCAR Championship Weekend brings a $200 million economic impact houseguest present when it comes.
The commission passed McGhee's policy proposal that if NASCAR brings the 2026 Championship Weekend back to Homestead, the count would talk with NASCAR about providing services and available tourism tax money.
'We're just trying to get NASCAR to bring its Championship Weekend to Miami-Dade County, specifically the South Miami-Dade district at the Homestead Motor Speedway,' McGhee said.
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