NASCAR is back at Homestead: Will the championship race return someday too?

New York Times

21-03-2025

William Byron smiled when asked his opinion on Homestead-Miami Speedway, one of NASCAR's most competitive tracks that is widely recognized as one of the very best on the circuit. So too did Ryan Blaney.
That both drivers expressed admiration for Homestead comes as no surprise. The 1.5-mile oval is widely beloved by drivers, who praise a configuration featuring multiple grooves that allow them to showcase their ability. To run well here, the site of Sunday's Cup Series race, means you've certainly earned it.
Advertisement
'It's a tough place to get around,' Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion, said. 'There it is like you're sliding around, really pushing the issue to find speed, and your margin of error is really low. I think everyone loves Homestead. It's one of the most fun places we go to.'
Then Blaney, unprompted, added a comment, one that has come to define Homestead in recent years. Will the track, once the annual host of NASCAR's season finale but shifted out of the playoffs altogether this season, not only return to the playoffs in 2026 but again stage the championship race as it did from 2002-19?
A form of this question has been asked countless times from the moment NASCAR shifted its three national championship races to Phoenix Raceway, where they have been held since 2020. (NASCAR owns both tracks.)
Many factors contributed to Phoenix replacing Homestead as the track that determines NASCAR's champions. Part of it was Phoenix undergoing $178 million in infrastructural improvements that guaranteed the Arizona Office of Tourism spending $1.5 million annually for 30 years to promote races at Phoenix, in addition to NASCAR wanting to recoup its sizable investment by bringing a marquee event to that venue.
Also, Homestead, which first opened in 1995, was starting to show its age and needed significant capital improvements that had yet to be approved — and still haven't. The fickle and crowded South Florida sports market further compounded the difficulties, often resulting in what some in the sport deemed less than full, city-wide support for NASCAR's crowning event.
Add it up, and the result is that Homestead lost its main identifiable selling point, effectively placing the track in a state of limbo regarding its long-term future.
These were among the headwinds Guillermo Santa Cruz encountered when he was named Homestead's new track president last July.
Advertisement
'The championship came and went, and it was wonderful, but it didn't have that same connectivity, connection to the rest of the city and the rest of the town that I would like to have seen,' Santa Cruz said. 'A lot of people came from outside Miami for the championship, but it didn't leave a lasting impression with the local residents. And I'm trying to take a different approach.'
As part of his approach to revitalizing Homestead, Santa Cruz has prioritized building a better association with South Florida's Hispanic community. Previously, the track marketed extensively to existing race fans, many of whom didn't live in the area, Santa Cruz said, rather than forging a connection with a local community that is more international than NASCAR's typical fan base.
'It's all about encompassing everything that makes South Florida so great, with this great multicultural culture built in,' Santa Cruz said. 'We need to embrace that. We need to own that.'
How to establish a foothold in South Florida's unique sports culture is a challenge Santa Cruz, who was raised in Miami and is the son of Cuban exiles, understands well. Before his current position at Homestead, he spent 10 years at sports agency IMG as vice president, Latin America, Mexico and U.S. Hispanic. Before that, he had roles at Telemundo and the Univision Network.
Santa Cruz has leaned heavily on those ties to the local community as he works to secure the return of NASCAR's championship weekend.
'It's definitely something I want to see happen,' he said. 'And I'm hopeful in the not-too-distant future the championship will come back.'
The push to bring the championship back to Homestead extends beyond the track president's office; elected local officials have also taken up the cause.
Homestead Vice Mayor Sean Fletcher is one of the point people at the local level working to entice NASCAR to return. In collaboration with Miami-Dade County officials, the state of Florida and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, a financial incentive package is being put together that would be akin, though to a lesser degree, to cities bidding for the Super Bowl or other major sporting events. Fletcher said the goal is to meet the incentive package NASCAR receives to hold the championship at Phoenix.
Advertisement
'We are in very high hopes that Homestead will be the championship host for 2026,' Fletcher, who estimated the race would bring a $350 million economic boost to the area, said. 'It's really a big deal for the city of Homestead. I think it's the perfect race for the drivers; they love the track. It's really a driver's racetrack. And that's a great time of year (in November) to be in South Florida.'
On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners passed a motion stating that if NASCAR names Homestead as host of the 2026 championship, the board would meet with the league about allocating money earned through tourism toward the event.
A more formal proposal with specific dollars guaranteed could be approved as soon as next month, Fletcher said. But there are no assurances, especially in an ultra-competitive sports market that over the next year-plus includes Miami-Dade County hosting the FIFA Men's World Cup, a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game and a Formula One grand prix.
It's a lot. And there's only so much money to support everything, Fletcher acknowledged. Still, he's optimistic that after a long hiatus, NASCAR's championship will return to the area next year.
'I'm going to go out on a limb here and say 70 percent,' Fletcher said when asked the odds he'd give of a deal being completed.
In the meantime, Santa Cruz is focusing his attention on this weekend's race while further working to position Homestead as a destination event, championship race or not.
'It's important (to have the championship back) but not definitive and not the most critical thing,' Santa Cruz said. 'Yes, we would love to have the championship back, but this is a place that is defined by the track itself. The track itself is the star; the drivers love it.
'So we focus on that a lot in our communication and advertising. And hopefully, the cards will fall into place and we'll have the championship back. We'd love to have it.'
(Top photo of Kyle Busch celebrating his win in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series championship race, the most recent edition held at Homestead-Miami Speedway: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)