MARTIN TRUEX JR. IS HOMESTEAD’S HIDDEN HEAVYWEIGHT

Nov. 19, 2015 – Martin Truex Jr. might be the Holly Holm to Kevin Harvick’s Ronda Rousey in Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Martin Truex Jr.

Considered the Cinderella of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season due to his struggles last year and the fact he’s the only driver for Furniture Row Racing, based far from NASCAR’s North Carolina hotbed in Denver, Colorado, Truex might actually be the driver to beat at Homestead.

In 10 starts at the Miami oval, the No. 78 Chevrolet driver has no wins, three top fives (30%), seven top 10s (70%) and a 10.0 average finish (second among active drivers). What sets him apart from the rest of the Championship 4 at Homestead is his loop data success. He tops the Championship 4 drivers in Homestead average running position (9.0, second among active drivers), driver rating (106.6, third) and average Green Flag speed (162.357 mph, first).

A Truex championship would make him the first title-winner from New Jersey and just the second from the Northeast (Bill Rexford, New York).

Additionally, Truex would be the first driver from a one-car team to win an NSCS championship since Alan Kulwicki achieved the feat in 1992.

Truex would also join Bobby Labonte, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick as the fourth driver to earn a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series championship.

 

 

UNBREAKABLE: KYLE BUSCH AIMS TO FINISH CHAMPIONSHIP RUN NINE MONTHS AFTER DAYTONA ACCIDENT

Nov, 19, 2015 – Kyle Busch’s season has been so improbable, even M. Night Shyamalan couldn’t make it up.

A mere nine months after breaking his right leg and fracturing his left foot in an accident at Daytona, Busch will race for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Busch had cooled off since winning four-of-five races including three in a row earlier in the season, but started to heat up again as the only driver to log a top-five finish in all three Eliminator Round races.

Of the Championship 4 drivers, Kyle Busch has had the least success at Homestead. In 10 starts at the South Florida track he has no wins, one top five (10.0%) and three top 10s (30.0%). Busch owns three finishes worse than 30th at Homestead, including a 39th-place finish there last year. In fact, his 23.1 Homestead average finish ranks 25th among active drivers.

If Busch finishes ahead of Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Martin Truex Jr., he’ll become the first driver to ever pilot a Toyota to a NSCS title, giving the manufacturer a driver’s championship in all three national series. Coincidentally, Busch won Toyota its first NSCS race at Atlanta in 2008.

Busch would also join Bobby Labonte, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick as the fourth driver to earn a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series championship.

 

 

 

 

STILL ALIVE IN THE DRIVE FOR 5: GORDON CAN WALK AWAY WITH SPRINT CUP TITLE ON SUNDAY

Nov. 19, 2015 – Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 just might be the biggest race of Jeff Gordon’s life. And it just so happens that it’ll likely be his last.

Jeff Gordon

If he can finish ahead of Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. in the final event of his last full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, Gordon will walk away with his fifth NSCS championship. Already fourth on the all-time championships list, the No. 24 Chevrolet driver would end his career behind only Jimmie Johnson (six championships), Richard Petty (seven) and Dale Earnhardt (seven) in the NASCAR record books.

Luckily for Gordon, he’s performed well at Homestead-Miami Speedway where the Ford EcoBoost 400 will be held. In 16 starts at the 1.5-mile track, he boasts one win (6.2%), seven top fives (43.8%) and 12 top 10s (75.0%). He finished 10th at Homestead last year after leading a race-high 161 laps.

Gordon gutted his way into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup as its 13th seed, qualifying on points. He’s upped his performance in NASCAR’s playoffs, leading all drivers in average finish (7.7) and top-10 finishes (8, tied with Joey Logano), highlighted by his win at Martinsville.

A Gordon championship would not only be his first since 2001, but his first in the Chase era (2004-present). If he wins the title on Sunday, Gordon’s 14-year gap between championships would surpass 2016 NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee Terry Labonte’s record 12-season drought between titles.

Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports team already owns the NSCS record with 11 NSCS titles.

Source: NASCAR

 

 

CHAMPIONSHIP FAVORITE HARVICK HOPES TO BECOME SECOND DRIVER TO WIN CONSECUTIVE CROWNS

Nov. 19, 2015 – Defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series title-winner Kevin Harvick enters Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 Championship Round race (3 p.m. ET on NBC) as the favorite to take home his second straight series crown. If he finishes ahead of fellow Championship 4 drivers Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr., Harvick will become the 11th person in NASCAR history to win consecutive NSCS titles.

Harvick heads to Homestead as its reigning race winner. He had to finish first to win the championship last year, otherwise runner-up Ryan Newman would have taken home the title. In 14 career starts at Homestead, Harvick has one win (7.1%), six top fives (42.9%) and 12 top 10s (85.7%). His 7.6 average finish at the 1.5-mile track ranks first among active drivers. He also owns the fourth-best driver rating (102.5) and average running position (10.0) among active drivers at Homestead.

At Phoenix on Sunday, Harvick placed second – his 15th top-two finish of the season and the most in the NSCS since Jeff Gordon posted 19 in 1998.

A loop statistician’s dream, Harvick leads the NSCS in average running position (7.3; Next-best driver: Kyle Busch, 9.2), fastest laps (1,370; Next-best driver, Brad Keselowski, 650), laps led (2,248; Next-best driver: Joey Logano, 1,359) and driver rating (118.9; Next-best driver: Kyle Busch, 107.1).

A Harvick championship would be the third for Stewart-Haas Racing, which has won titles with Harvick (2014) and Tony Stewart (2011).

 

 

NASCAR CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHIES ARRIVE IN MIAMI; ZOO MIAMI CHEETAH PICKS NSCS CHAMPION

Homestead-Miami Speedway is in Championship form, welcoming the NASCAR industry to South Florida for Ford Championship Weekend.

An honor guard poses with the NASCAR championship trophies in Miami

Nov. 18, 2015 – As part of that, the NASCAR premier series’ trophies arrived at Landmark Aviation at Miami International Airport this morning, where they were brought in by the Homestead Police Honor Guard. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series trophy, XFINITY Series trophy and Sprint Cup Series trophy were then placed on a Brinks truck, where they headed to Zoo Miami for the “Wildlife Prognosticator” event.

The trophies arrived at Zoo Miami for an event featuring Koda, a two-year-old cheetah and the official Zoo Miami “Wildlife Prognosticator.” In a partnership with Homestead-Miami Speedway and Zoo Miami, Koda picked from the Championship 4 drivers diecast cars – Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch – and made his prediction on who he thought would win the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship this Sunday, ultimately picking the defending champion Harvick.

A Brinks Security truck arrives at Zoo Miami with the NASCAR championship trophies

“I’ve got to be honest with you, we had an animal make a pick last year, a binturong, and he picked the guy that came in fourth place,” Zoo Miami Communications Director and Goodwill Ambassador Ron Magill said. “So we fired him, he’s done. So we thought we’d bring in the cheetah. The cheetah is the fastest land animal there is, seems to be a no-brainer, so we thought hopefully he can pick who is going to be the fastest car. If he picks wrong, next year we might do it with a tortoise.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will be decided this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway at the Ford EcoBoost 400. Harvick, Gordon, Truex and Busch will battle it out amongst a full field of 43 cars and whichever of the four finish the highest will claim the 2015 Championship title.

Koda the cheetah chooses Kevin Harvick as the 2015 NSCS champion

“You can expect a lot of thrilling racing this weekend, not just on Sunday but also on Friday and Saturday,” Homestead-Miami Speedway President Matthew Becherer said. “Last year, all four guys in the Championship 4 during the Ford EcoBoost 400 ran within the top five all day, I expect exactly the same this year. In fact, don’t be surprised if the new champion is also the winner of the Ford EcoBoost 400.”

Homestead-Miami Speedway has been the host of the championship race each year since 2002 and as a community partner, Zoo Miami was part of the fun by having Koda, an African cheetah from South Africa, join all of the “experts” in predicting this year’s winner.

Homestead-Miami Speedway will host the season-ending races in the NASCAR’s three premier series – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, XFINITY Series and Camping World Truck Series – this weekend during Ford Championship Weekend (November 20-22). Tickets for the Ford EcoBoost 200 and Ford EcoBoost 300 still remain, and can be purchased by calling (305) 230-5255 or by visiting www.HomesteadMiamiSpeedway.com. The Ford EcoBoost 400 is officially sold out.

Source: Homestead-Miami Speedway

 

 

CHEVROLET WELL REPRESENTED IN CHAMPIONSHIP RACE AT HOMESTEAD

2015 Manufacturer Champions Head to Homestead Looking to Collect more Hardware

DETROIT – Nov. 18, 2015 – The time has come – the final race of the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is at hand.  Chevrolet will be well represented in the 267-lap/400-mile championship battle at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Team Chevy drivers occupy three of the four spots in final battle for the title. Each one has a unique story that will potentially be fulfilled in the award-winning Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Kevin Harvick returns to Homestead at the defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. Driving his No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John’s Chevy SS, Harvick is racing to become the 11th driver in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series history to win back-to-back titles.

Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, Jeff Gordon enters Homestead looking for his fifth series title.  The race will mark the final time he will climb behind the wheel of his No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet SS racecar as a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver.  Gordon has made 796 consecutive Cup Series starts, earned 93 wins, and 81 poles; all behind the wheel of Chevrolets.

Martin Truex, Jr. heads to Homestead chasing a dream.  The driver of the No. 78 Chevrolet SS could make Furniture Row Racing the first single-car team to win the championship since Dale Earnhardt, Sr. in 1994.

All three Chevrolet SS drivers enter the final race of the season armed with all the tools, data and engineering support that the Chevrolet competition team can provide.  The three championship contenders are looking to take the Bowtie Brand to Victory Lane for the 16th time this season and earn Chevrolet its 31st NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver’s title.

The southern Florida track’s asphalt has aged well over the hot Florida summers.  The track boasts multiple grooves and progressive banking which allows for plenty of side-by-side racing.  As the competitors and teams race from afternoon to evening, they will have to adjust to an ever-changing track and manage their tires so they have enough for a late-race caution which could provide an edge in the final laps of the 400-mile race.

Chevrolet drivers and teams have won the last three consecutive races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and have won three of the last four races at the 1.5-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway.

One championship title has already been decided.  With Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s win at Phoenix International Raceway last weekend, the brand collected its 13th consecutive, 39th overall NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Championship.

The 267-lap/400-mile Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m., ET on Sunday November 22. Live coverage will be available on NBC, MRN, Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 90 and NASCAR.com.

 

 

ENGINEER EXPERTISE FROM THE GARAGE AREA – PAT SUHY, GROUP MANAGER, NASCAR PROGRAMS:

Pat Suhy

Nov. 18, 2015 – “Congratulations to Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Greg Ives, the whole No. 88 Nationwide Chevy SS crew along with everyone at Hendrick Motorsports on the win at Phoenix International Raceway.  Their finish, along with wins and strong performances all year long from several drivers and organizations brought Team Chevy its 39th Sprint Cup Manufacturers’ Championship.  A big thanks to all the drivers and organizations that contributed!

“Homestead Miami Speedway is up next, and we won’t know until the end of the race who is the new Sprint Cup Drivers Champion.  Team Chevy is well represented by Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex, Jr. and they, along with Hendrick Motorsports, Stewart Haas Racing and Furniture Row Racing all get a big ‘thank you’ from us at Chevrolet.  They never gave up, and proved that they deserved to be part of the Championship 4 round.  The rules are simple – the first driver of the four to cross the finish line is the new champ, but there’s nothing simple about being that driver or team.

“Preparing for the championship race at Homestead means using all the tools we’ve been using all year long, and looking for something a little extra without adding too much risk.  Many of our tools, and our teams’ tools are geared toward quantifying the improvements of what a particular chassis setup, engine power level, component, or aero choice will mean on the race track.  With limited track testing, vehicle performance simulations have become key tools.  Chevrolet and our teams perform simulations on many levels, from simple desktop models to complex dynamic systems that provide some feedback to the driver.  Over time, they all get better and better; but Friday’s practice sessions are still critical for the drivers and crew chiefs to validate the output of those simulations.  Speed on Sunday often tracks speed on Friday, so all eyes will be on the championship contenders to see how they run when they unload and hit the track for first practice.

“Sunday is sure to be exciting, with the dual storylines of seeing who wins the race, and who brings home the championship trophy.  With all of the hard work that we and our teams have put in throughout the season, I wouldn’t bet against us having a contender for both; and having an opportunity to visit both celebrations.”

 

 

CARLOS MUÑOZ RETURNING TO ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT IN 2016

Nov. 17, 2015 – Munoz Returning to Andretti Autosport in 2016: Carlos Munoz will return to the No. 26 Honda with Andretti Autosport for the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season, the team announced.

Carlos Munoz, Andretti Autosport Honda

Munoz, who turns 24 on Jan. 2, will join teammates Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay for the third successive year on the starting grid March 13 for the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

“I’m really happy to be able to return for another year. The 2016 schedule looks really nice and we hope to fight for an Indy 500 win and a championship,” said Munoz, the 2013 Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year when he started on the front row and finished second in his Verizon IndyCar Series debut.

Munoz, who resides in Miami, posted his maiden Verizon IndyCar Series win this past season at Belle Isle. He added two other top-five finishes (fifth at Iowa Speedway and Pocono Raceway) in the final four races of the season.

In 2014, Munoz recorded five top-five finishes and earned the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award. He competed for Andretti Autosport in Indy Lights in 2013, posting four victories on the way to placing third in the championship.

“Carlos has been part of the Andretti family of drivers for several years now,” team owner Michael Andretti said. “We’re really pleased with his growth as a driver and look forward to a competitive 2016.”

 

 

LAMBORGHINI SUPER TROFEO WORLD FINAL BEGINS THURSDAY!

It’s “the Running of the Bulls” – Sebring style!

Nov. 17, 2015 – Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo drivers and teams from around the world will converge this week (Nov. 19-22) at Sebring International Raceway to race for the title of World Final champion.

All three Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Series – Europe, Asia and North America – will come to Sebring for the final rounds in an exciting four day battle on the legendary 3.74-mile Sebring circuit. Admission is only $5 per day on Thursday, Friday and Sunday; $10 on Saturday. Sorry, no overnight camping. Please note racing ends on Sunday at 12:30 pm. Green Park will not be open for this event but spectators will have access to the paddock via the two pedestrian bridges over the front straight. In addition, ticket prices include parking!

The exciting final weekend at Sebring will start with free practices for all series on Thursday, Nov. 19, followed by qualifying for each series’ final two regular-season rounds. Those final two rounds will take place Friday, Nov. 20 with North America running solo and Europe and Asia running combined rounds.

Qualifying for the World Final races will take place Saturday morning, Nov. 21. The World Final will be split into two fields. The Huracan Pro and Pro-Am drivers will compete together, and the Huracan Amateur and Gallardo drivers will race together.

The first two World Final races, one for each group, will take place Saturday afternoon with the conclusion Sunday, Nov. 22 (racing concludes Sunday at 12:30 pm). The World Final Champions will be decided based on combined performance from the two races, with tiebreakers in place.

Source: Sebring International Raceway

 

 

TICKETS ON SALE FOR THE 64TH 12-HOUR CLASSIC, MARCH 16-19

Nov. 17, 2015 – Tickets are now on sale for the 64th running of the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida. The greatest tradition in American endurance racing runs March 16-19, 2016.

The 2016 edition should be one of the most exciting ever at Sebring with the debut of the new Ford GT in the GT Le Mans class, plus new GT3 cars from Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, Audi, Lamborghini, Nissan and many others. The Prototype class will feature the debut of new P2 machines and the return of last year’s Sebring-winning Action Express DP team.

Gates open at 6 am on Wednesday, March 16th. A wide variety of tickets are available for Sebring, and remember that children 12 and under are always admitted free. For complete information visit sebringraceway.com or call 800.626.7223.