MIAMI – NASCAR today announced its schedule for the 2020 Cup Series season, which reflects many date changes from 2019, including Homestead-Miami Speedway. In a throwback to its roots, Homestead-Miami Speedway’s 2020 Cup race will be held on Sunday, March 22. It had previously been run in mid-November as the final race of the season.
This new date represents a similar window that the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) ran at Homestead-Miami Speedway during the first six years that the track held a race in that series (1996-2001). In addition, it is the same time period in which the NTT INDYCAR series was staged at Homestead-Miami Speedway from 1996-2008.
Starting in 2002 through this year’s Ford Championship Weekend (Nov. 15-17), Homestead-Miami Speedway has played host to NASCAR’s championship races in all three of its national series, which also includes the Xfinity Series (NXS). The 18 straight years of having hosted championships is one of the longest such stretches in any sport – pro or college.
“Ralph Sanchez’s vision for our track more than 25 years ago was to host spring racing and be a major part of South Florida’s March calendar,” said Homestead-Miami Speedway President Matthew Becherer. “Miami has historically hosted many popular events during March, including the Miami Open, the Florida Derby, Ultra and the Calle Ocho Music Festival, among others, and this move will integrate us into this impressive mix. A March race weekend affords us many unique opportunities to entertain the South Florida community as we host NASCAR races for many years to come.”
The 2020 season will mark the 25th anniversary of Homestead-Miami Speedway, which was founded by the late Ralph Sanchez in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. Since those first races in 1995, the track has become known as the epicenter of racing in South Florida, having hosted racing and non-racing events more than 300 days out of the year, including NASCAR’s championship races, NTT INDYCAR events for 15 years, IMSA races and TransAm events among many others over the past 24 years of its existence.
The 2019 NASCAR season will culminate at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Ford Championship Weekend, November 15-17, as the Championship 4 in the Monster Energy Series, Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series will compete for their respective series title amongst a full field of drivers. Tickets to 2019 Ford Championship Weekend will be available starting the first week of May. For more information on tickets please visit www.HomesteadMiamiSpeedway.com or call (866) 409-RACE (7223).
About Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead-Miami Speedway has been open since 1995 following an initiative to spur economic recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. The Speedway, which was founded by Miami businessman, racing enthusiast and philanthropist Ralph Sanchez, is a 650-acre facility that features a 1.5-mile oval and 2.21-mile road course. The Speedway hosts on-track events nearly 300 days per year and generates more than $301 million annually for the region. In 2018, NASCAR crowned champions in all three of its national series at Homestead-Miami Speedway during Ford Championship Weekend for the 17th consecutive year (2002-18). Champions crowned at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2018 were Joey Logano (Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series), Tyler Reddick (NASCAR XFINITY Series) and Brett Moffitt (NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series). 2019 Ford Championship Weekend will be held November 15-17.