NXS: Then There Were Four

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final race of the 2016 and to crown a champion in the inaugural Chase.

 

45 drivers have made the trip to South Florida to compete for 40 spots in Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers who qualified for the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup are ineligible to compete in the race.

 

Homestead-Miami Speedway is located in Homestead, Florida. The track is 1.5-miles in length and features progressive banking ranging from 18 to 20 degrees. In 2004, Casey Mears set the qualifying record at 177.936 mph. In 2001, Joe Nemechek set the race record at 132.191 mph.

 

The championship comes down to a battle between Joe Gibbs Racing and JR Motorsports. For JGR, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones will battle Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier from JRM to become a champion in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

 

The four Chase drivers talk about the importance of the Ford EcoBoost 300.

 

“We have done everything that we need to do to get ready for Homestead and we are as prepared as we can be as a race team. We have saved our Darlington car which is our best car for Homestead. I have a lot of experience, I need to be a leader, and I need to stay focused. We are fortunate to be in this position to go fight three other guys for the driver championship and a few others for the owner championship. We are going to go make the most of it,” said Sadler.

 

“Going into Homestead, we’re all even. We’ve got a 25- percent chance, a one-in-four shot at winning it (the championship), the same as everybody else does. For us, you sit on the pole and you win the race, that’s all you can do. We have to do as close to that as we can. The faster we go in qualifying, the faster we are in the race. All of that makes our job a lot easier when it comes down to the checkered flag and the championship. I’m confident that our BRANDT Professional Agriculture team can go out and make it happen,” said Allgaier.

 

“One day I had a dream about it, but I didn’t know how fast it was going to come. The only thing I know is that I was working super hard to try to make it happen as soon as possible and right now we’re in the position to do it, so very grateful to be in this position and very thankful as well with everyone that has been making this possible. I think it’s been a really good journey. Now we have to make it happen in the most important race of the year in Homestead,” said Suarez.

 

“It’s pretty special for me having a shot to go Homestead again this year and win a championship in the XFINITY Series. It would be pretty cool to win back-to-back championships in the Truck and the XFINITY Series, so it’s pretty awesome. We just have to get everything right and execute like we need to in Homestead and I’m sure we’ll have a good shot at it,” said Jones.

 

The Ford EcoBoost will be live on Motor Racing Network and NBCSN beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Caleb Whisler
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