Before practice began Saturday in Homestead, the NASCAR Cup Series’ controversies from a week earlier were still just about all anyone wanted to talk about at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Bubba Wallace, one of the highest profile drivers in the Cup Series, won’t be racing in the 2022 Dixie Vodka 400 this weekend after spinning out Kyle Larson in a “dangerous act” of retaliation Sunday and earning a one-race suspension. Combine it with the usual late-season, last-chance revenge seeking and the way Homestead-Miami always rewards aggression, and the chaos and controversy of these NASCAR playoffs, rather than strategy or postseason positioning, were the talk of the track.
“There’s always different stories,” said Joey Logano, who drives the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske and has already clinched his spot in the Championship 4, “and this year we’ve had more stories in our sport than we’ve ever had.”
With only three races left on the calendar, the chase for a championship should be front and center, and South Florida’s speedway, with the way it’s designed to foster wild comebacks and photo finishes, could be the perfect venue to bring together any simmering tensions with actual race results to bring the playoffs back into focus.
Logano has punched his ticket to a meaningful end-of-the-season race in Avondale, Arizona, in November, but seven other drivers are still looking to advance past the Round of 8 in the next two races. Ross Chastain, who hails from Alva and drives the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for Pitbull’s Trackhouse Racing Team, heads up the rest of the top eight after finishing second last weekend in Las Vegas, followed by Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, Hendrick’s William Byron, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell.
Any of those seven can clinch a spot in the final four by winning Sunday or Oct. 30 in Ridgeway, Virginia — Byron will be in pole position when the race starts at 2:30 p.m — and the rest of the top four for 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race will next month will be determined off points.
It all means Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) is poised for its most competitive, frenzied race of all time.
“The racetrack is amazing,” said Daniel Suarez, who drives the No. 99 Camaro for Trackhouse Racing. “As a race-car driver, you love when you have a lot of options and this racetrack gives you those options to run pretty much everywhere.”
From 2002 through 2019, HMS was the site of NASCAR’s championship races, meaning only four of the drivers in the field had major incentive to win. This year, seven are desperate to clinch their spot in the championship, which means more passing attempts and potentially riskier maneuvering to try to top the field, especially since drivers worry about how difficult it will be to pass at Martinsville Speedway next weekend.
It all suits Chastain well. Chastain, the closest thing the field has to a hometown driver, has built himself a reputation this year for his aggressive driving, which often infuriates opponents and polarizes fans. The 29-year-old is in the playoffs for the first time and is one win — or two good races — away from reaching the championship.
“I smile. It’s just kind of been my natural reaction,” Chastain said. “It’s not something that as a kid — no kid wants to be booed. You don’t want to be booed on the playground at recess and you don’t want to be booed in a NASCAR race, but I’m a big boy now and I’ve learned it’s going to happen. We get a lot more cheers than boos, I can say that.”
As much as aggressive driving can turn into a sideshow, it also has real effects on the championship chase, which includes the Dixie Vodka 400.
Everything came to a head with Wallace’s suspension this week, but it was nothing new in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series.
“I feel like that’s kind of been the story all year,” Blaney said. “I feel like we’ve talked about it all year, of, ‘Gosh, the racing’s been so much more aggressive than what it has been in the past because I just think the emphasis on winning’ — it’s weird because winning means the same now as what it did in years prior, when you win and you’re in. It’s the same deal. I think it’s just so hard to win and these cars are so sturdy that you can be more aggressive.
“It’s definitely put a bigger emphasis on trying to be aggressive.”
What’s at stake in Homestead
Logano is already through to the Championship 4 after winning the 2022 South Point 400. He’ll start 17th on Sunday, but has mostly shifted his attention to getting ready for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race.
The top three starters are all still in championship contention, with Byron taking the pole, Bell grabbing second and Elliott finishing third in qualifying Saturday.
For the rest of the top eight: Blaney starts 13th, Hamlin starts 14th, Briscoe starts 19th and Chastain starts 20th.
Of those not qualified, Chastain leads the top eight with 4,063 points, followed closely by Elliott with 4,061 and Hamlin with 4,051. Byron, Briscoe, Blaney and Bell are all below the cut line with 4,045, 4,042, 4,040 and 4,028 points, respectively.
Points are awarded based on finishing position at the end of the race, as well as each of a race’s three stages.
