A Saturday playoff doubleheader featuring the NASCAR Craftsman Truck and NASCAR Xfinity Series highlights this weekend’s action at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  That will be followed on Sunday by the middle race in the Round of 8 for the NASCAR Cup Series.

CURRENT CUP PLAYOFF STANDINGS

The Round of 8 continues this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Ford drivers Ryan Blaney and Chris Buescher both below the cut line.  Here’s where they stand with two races remaining in the elimination round.

7th – Ryan Blaney (-17)

8th – Chris Buescher (-23)

NOTE: The Championship 4 field will be determined after Martinsville

CUSTER AND BRISCOE RETURN TO SCENE OF FIRST VICTORIES

Homestead-Miami Speedway is sure to bring back good memories for Cole Custer and Chase Briscoe, who both earned victories on back-to-back days at the track in 2017. Briscoe won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race to kickoff the weekend, marking the first national series victory in his rookie season while Custer dominated the NASCAR Xfinity Series race the following day, leading 182-of-200 laps to post his first career series triumph.

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI IS TOPS FOR HARVICK

Kevin Harvick is good everywhere on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit, but statistically Homestead-Miami Speedway is his best.  Harvick has finished fifth or better in seven of the last nine events on the 1.5-mile track.  In 22 career starts at HMS, Harvick has completed all but two of the 5,880 laps run during that time and has an average finishing position of 7.3.  That includes 19 top-10 and 12 top-5 efforts.

FIVE-YEAR WIN STREAK HIGHLIGHTS ROUSH HISTORY AT HMS

Car owner Jack Roush has had his share of success on intermediate speedways, but his streak of winning seven times in nine years at Homestead-Miami is arguably one of the best.  Kurt Busch won the organization’s first Cup race at the track in 2002 before Greg Biffle won three straight from 2004-06.  That was part of a five-year winning streak that saw Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards go to victory lane in ’07 and ’08, respectively.  Edwards eventually capped the run by winning for a second time in 2010.  Since then, Roush has celebrated NASCAR Xfinity Series championships at the track, twice with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2011 and 2012, and once with Chris Buescher in 2015.

CUSTER OFF TO GOOD START

Cole Custer was strong in the Round of 8 opener last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as he won Stage 1, finished second in Stage 2 and ended up third in the race.  His 53 points were the most accumulated by any driver in the field and enabled him to go above the cut line where he now sits firmly in fourth place with a 15-point advantage over fifth-place Chandler Smith.  Additionally, Custer closed the gap on those in front of him and now trails third-place Austin Hill by four points and second-place Justin Allgaier by six.

CURRENT NCTS PLAYOFF STANDINGS

The Championship 4 for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will be determined this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway with Ford’s three championship contenders needing a good day to advance.  Here’s where they stand going into the elimination race.

6th – Ben Rhodes (-5)

7th – Ty Majeski (-19)

8th – Zane Smith (-36)

NOTE: The top 4 drivers will advance after Homestead

MAJESKI GOING FOR REPEAT

ThorSport’s Ty Majeski goes into this weekend 19 points out of a transfer spot for the Championship 4, but he heads to Homestead-Miami with a good feeling after winning last year’s race.  Majeski led 67 laps in winning for the second time in his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career.  That victory automatically put him in the Championship 4, along with Ben Rhodes and Zane Smith.  Rhodes, who won the title in 2021, made the cut by one point after a sixth-place finish while Smith advanced for the third straight season and eventually won the title.