Homestead will host the NASCAR title deciders for the last time.
Home to the season finale since 2004, the Miami oval will move its date to March starting in 2020.
This time around, we nearly saw a repeat of last year’s Championship 4.
In the end, outgoing champion Joey Logano will not have a chance to defend his title.
The Ford EcoBoost 400 winner also clinched the title in each of the five editions of this race under the playoff format.
A similar scenario seems extremely likely for 2019.
What: Ford EcoBoost 400
Where: Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, FL
When: Sunday, November 17th at 3:00 PM EST
How: NBC (TV) | Motor Racing Network (Web radio) | NBC Sports App
Martin Truex Jr. looks like the man to beat in 2019.
It shouldn’t be any different for Homestead.
The Joe Gibbs driver finished second last year, losing the lead of the race with 12 laps to go.
Truex led 20 laps and came very close to winning two championships in a row.
He won the 2017 title after leading 76 laps and holding off Kyle Busch.
Having won the most races in 2019, Truex will be the title favorite heading into Homestead.
Kevin Harvick was the second driver to qualify for Homestead, and also has a very good record at the track.
The Stewart-Haas driver won there in 2014, securing the championship that year.
Since then, Harvick has finished every race at Homestead inside the top 4.
He has an impressive record of eight top 5 finishes in the last 11 starts.
In 18 starts at the Miami oval, Harvick has only missed out on the top 10 twice.
He also led at least 40 laps in four of the last five races, scoring one stage win and a second place last year.
Joey Logano is the defending race winner, a result that secured him the 2018 championship.
It was his first career win at Homestead after near-misses in 2015 and 2016.
Logano has made six starts at the Miami track since joining Team Penske, and finished five times inside the top 10.
He led a combined 158 laps in the last four races, including a race high 80 last year.
Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers and is the only one with multiple wins at Homestead.
The Joe Gibbs driver started three of the last four races from the pole, although he has struggled to convert his qualifying form into race pace.
While he finished four of the last five races in the top 10, his best result was a seventh place in 2014.
His most recent win came in 2013, with his other victory coming in 2009.
Hamlin led a combined 91 laps in the five starts since his most recent win.
Kyle Busch took quite some time to find his groove around Homestead.
He only had one top 10 finish in his first seven starts at the track.
The Joe Gibbs driver finally managed to turn things around in 2012.
In his most recent seven starts, Busch has only missed out on the top 10 once.
His first and only win at Homestead came in 2015, which also earned him the championship that year.
Surprisingly, it was his first ever win in 150 postseason races.
Busch was known early in his career for a terrible record under the Chase format.
Since his 2015 title, the Joe Gibbs driver has been among the contenders at Homestead.
He finished sixth in 2017, second in 2018 and fourth last year, running close to his championship rivals every single time.
Busch led a combined 105 laps in his last five starts at Homestead.
Kyle Larson has shown plenty of pace at Homestead in previous races, but never turned it into a race win.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver had a streak of three consecutive top 5 finishes before last year’s race.
Larson led the most laps both in 2016 and 2017, with 132 and 145 respectively.
He also led 45 laps last year, and won both stages in 2017, finishing first and second in 2018.
A flat tire cost his shot at the win in last year’s edition.
If Larson manages to replicate that form, he should be in contention again this year.
Homestead should also benefit his trademark racing style, as the progressive banking favors cars racing the high line.
The latest odds for Ford EcoBoost 400 are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Good luck!
Team | DraftKings |
---|---|
Kyle Busch | +325 |
Denny Hamlin | +325 |
Kevin Harvick | +325 |
Martin Truex Jr | +325 |
Kyle Larson | +800 |
Joey Logano | +1400 |
Brad Keselowski | +2000 |
Chase Elliott | +2500 |
Ryan Blaney | +4000 |
Alex Bowman | +5000 |
Kurt Busch | +5000 |
Erik Jones | +5000 |
Clint Bowyer | +6000 |
William Byron | +6600 |
Aric Almirola | +8000 |
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