Becherer Named HMS President: International Speedway Corporation announced it has named Matthew Becherer as president of Homestead-Miami Speedway effective immediately. Becherer accepts the role from his most recent position of vice president of marketing for Richmond International Raceway. Current Homestead-Miami Speedway President Curtis Gray is leaving the Company to pursue other opportunities. At Richmond International Raceway since 2003, Becherer was integral to the growth of the widely-popular 3/4-mile track into one of ISC’s premier facilities. As vice president of marketing, he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of marketing, advertising, promotions, public relations and ticketing. Prior to Richmond, Becherer was the director of marketing for Darlington Raceway and marketing manager for North Carolina Speedway. Becherer will transition with his family to the Homestead-Miami, FL, area over the next few weeks.(HMS PR)(12-10-2009)
New option for Homestead pit road: NASCAR drivers have been getting used to a slightly new Homestead-Miami Speedway rule this weekend – the way they enter pit road. Drivers in the past had to use the access road (which serves mostly as a deceleration lane) between turns 3 and 4 but now they enter pit road as they do on most tracks when they come off of Turn 4. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby said Sunday that a pass-through penalty in the past would cost a driver two laps because he would have to slow down on the access road. He noted that in the Truck series race Friday, a pass-through for Kyle Busch resulted in him losing one lap, much like it would at most other tracks. “Part of it is trying to create a more fair environment for the competitors,” Darby said in the Homestead-Miami Speedway garage prior to the Ford 400. “There’s some tracks that a trip down pit road is going to be a two- or three-lap penalty – your Martinsvilles, your Bristols – but if we have the opportunity to make a change at a bigger track to make it more in line with the other tracks we race at, we should do that for the competitors.” NASCAR never had a speed limit on that access road. “If you drive slow [on it], it’s not a problem, but our competitors aren’t used to driving slow,” Darby said. “If you force them to use the access road, like we have in the past, then you get into situations where there is no speed limit on that portion – if you go too fast, you slide off, you wind up in the grass and you end up creating a bigger mess.” Drivers can still use the access road entering the pits if they have a problem and they will still use the access road between turns 1 and 2 when exiting pit road.(SceneDaily)(11-22-2009)
Buzz Aldrin to pace the Ford 400: What was once thought impossible came true 40 years ago when the world witnessed the first ever moon landing. Homestead-Miami Speedway will celebrate the 40-year anniversary of this incredible accomplishment by honoring the “best of the best”—the NASA Apollo astronauts—during NASCAR’s Ford Championship Weekend (Nov. 20-22). Legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin will headline pre-race ceremonies as Honorary Race Chairman for Sunday’s Sprint Cup Ford 400. As one of the world’s most recognizable astronauts—the second human to step foot on the moon—Aldrin will be honored on-stage during pre-race festivities before getting into a 1969 Ford Mustang to lead the pace car and race field. For great seats and hospitality options for Ford Championship
Weekend, call (866) 409-RACE or visit THEChampionshipTrack.com. To learn more NASA and the 40th Anniversary of Apollo visit: www.nasa.gov or www.KennedySpaceCenter.com.(HMS)(11-19-2009)
National Anthem at Homestead: Anika Noni Rose—voice of lead-character Tiana in Disney’s upcoming film “The Princess and the Frog” is scheduled to be singing the national anthem for the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday.(HMS)(11-19-2009)
Homestead to hold NASCAR Hauler parade: The celebration of NASCAR’s Championship finales at Homestead-Miami
Speedway kicks into high gear this Wednesday, Nov. 18, as race-car haulers en route to Ford Championship Weekend will gather downtown Miami, rumble across MacArthur Causeway, on to South Beach and up Ocean Drive. At the parade’s conclusion near 9th Street, fans are invited to a FREE South Beach fan festival at Lummus Park that will feature the Championship-contending drivers in two of
NASCAR’s top series. Drivers scheduled to participate include Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards of the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Ron Hornaday Jr. of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. The Top 5 drivers in the Championship standings of both series will be available for autographs, as well as a Q&A session. All three of NASCAR’s top series will be crowned during Ford Championship Weekend Nov. 20-22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and phenomenal seats are still available for NASCAR’s series-crowning weekend by calling (866) 409-RACE or by visiting THEChampionshipTrack.com.
Haulers are tentatively scheduled to depart from Bicentennial Olympic Park downtown Miami at 2:30pm/et, with an estimated arrival at Lummus Park set for 3:00pm/et.(HMS)(11-17-2009)
Bobby Allison Named Ford 400 Honorary Starter: With a history dotted with legendary family names like Petty, Earnhardt and Allison, NASCAR runs deep in tradition. Homestead-Miami Speedway will honor that tradition by naming Miami-native Bobby Allison as Honorary Starter for the Ford 400 during NASCAR’s Ford Championship Weekend, Nov. 20-22. One of NASCAR’s most beloved competitors, the 1983 Sprint Cup Champion and three-time Daytona 500 winner will wave the Green Flag to start NASCAR’s Championship-finale Ford 400 on Nov. 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In addition, Allison will be honored during pre-race festivities and be available to fans via exclusive hospitality appearances. For great seats and hospitality options for Ford Championship Weekend, please visit THEChampionshipTrack.com or by calling (866) 409-RACE.(HMS)(11-16-2009)
Grand Marshal named for Ford 400: Stock cars weighing in at 3400 pounds tearing around a 1.5-mile oval, trading paint and burning rubber, charging through dust and debris. Competing for motorsports’ ultimate prize—the Sprint Cup Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway —can be a dirty job, so who better to deliver the most famous words in racing at NASCAR’s Nov. 22 Championship finale than Mike Rowe, host of Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs”? Creator and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated series, Rowe will provide the Grand Marshal command of “Gentlemen, start your engines!” to the 43 Sprint Cup drivers competing in the Nov. 22 Ford 400, the headline event of NASCAR’s series-crowning Ford Championship Weekend. “I'm very proud to be the Grand Marshal of the Ford 400 Sprint Cup Championship,” said Rowe, CEO of mikeroweWORKS.com. For great seats and hospitality options for Ford Championship Weekend, please visit THEChampionshipTrack.com or by calling (866) 409-RACE.(HMS)(11-16-2009)
Championships Tickets on sale at Homestead: New Value Pricing for 2009: Racing fans are invited to be a part of history in 2009—and at a very special value. Homestead-Miami Speedway announced that all children ages 12 and younger will be: Admitted FREE of charge to both the grandstands and the exclusive paddock area during the Oct. 10 NextEra Energy Resources SpeedJam Championships Weekend and admitted FREE of charge to the Grandstands for the Nov. 20 Camping World Truck Series Championship finale during NASCAR’s Ford Championship Weekend. Tickets for all Six Championships—NASCAR, IndyCar and Grand-Am Sports Cars—are on sale, via (866) 409-RACE and www.HomesteadMiamiSpeedway.com. Adult prices start at just $30 for the IndyCar/Grand-Am Championships and $55 for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Championship. Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2009 becomes the first venue ever to host all of North America’s premier motorsports championships. The SpeedJam Championships (Oct. 9-10) feature the finales of the IndyCar, Firestone Indy Lights and Grand-Am Sports Car Series. Six weeks later (Nov. 20-22), NASCAR’s Ford Championship Weekend features the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series finales. Morer details by calling (866) 409-RACE or going to www.HomesteadMiamiSpeedway.com.(HMS PR)(4-21-2009)
- Smith wants Las Vegas to hold season-finale: Bruton Smith wants NASCAR to yank its final race of the season out of south Florida. Never at a loss for words, the track owner said the championship-deciding race should return to Atlanta Motor Speedway, where it was held through 2001, or Las Vegas Motor Speedway -- both facilities he owns. "Why have the last race of the season at some Godforsaken area just north of Cuba?" he said, referring to Homestead Miami Speedway. Atlanta's fall race shifted a few weeks earlier in 2002 and this year it moves to an even earlier spot on Labor Day weekend. While plagued by weather issues when held in November, Smith said his track would still be a better location for NASCAR to hold the final race than Homestead. "If they'll give us our date back," he said, "we'll fill up the place again and do something major for the sport. If that doesn't work, put it in Las Vegas. We'll add more seats -- and sell out every one of them." Smith, who controls Atlanta and six other Sprint Cup tracks through Speedway Motorsports Inc., has long feuded with NASCAR and a related company that owns a majority of the facilities used on the circuit, including Homestead. NASCAR officials shrugged off Smith's complaints and disputed his claims that attendance was poor, saying last year's race was sold out. "We think Homestead-Miami is an excellent venue for NASCAR's Ford Championship Weekend," Jim Hunter, the vice president of corporate communications, said in a statement. Smith also renewed his call for NASCAR to hold a Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway, which he purchased last year. IndyCar and Nationwide Series events have been held there, but NASCAR has balked at scheduling a Cup race.(Associated Press)(3-7-2009)
- NextEra Energy partners with Daytona, Homestead: Daytona International Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway announced a multi-year partnership with NextEra Energy Resources, a subsidiary of Florida-based FPL Group, and the nation’s largest provider of wind and solar energy. Financial terms were not disclosed. Under terms of the agreement, NextEra Energy Resources becomes the Official Renewable Energy Provider of Daytona International Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Rights include entitlement of the NextEra Energy Resources 250 Camping World Truck Series race at Daytona and title sponsorship of Homestead-Miami Speedway’s Speedjam IndyCar and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Championship weekend. NextEra Energy Resources will support its position through both a financial investment and a commitment for annual promotion around events at both facilities. Also as part of the arrangement, International Speedway Corporation, parent company of both racing facilities, will purchase certain renewable energy certificates (RECs) from NextEra Energy Resources. The RECs will help fund a number of renewable energy projects, including the development of wind and solar energy plants.(HMS PR)(1-8-2009)
