Although it was just testing, it was kind of neat to see Indy
Cars on our track the last three days as part of Indy Lights, a developmental
automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar.
It is to the IRL what the XFINITY Series is to the Sprint Cup series.
As we're sure many of you remember, our track was first built to
accommodate Indy Cars. In fact, we
hosted an IRL/CART race each year from 1996-2010. The late Dan Wheldon (2005-07) and Sam
Hornish Jr. (2001-02, 2004) hold the distinction of having won the most such
races with three victories apiece.
Ralph Sanchez, the founder and visionary for Homestead-Miami Speedway, started
the Grand Prix of Miami in 1983, and following Hurricane Andrew in August 1992,
saw an opportunity to not only build a venue which could host many races, but
also revitalize the City of Homestead,
which had been decimated by the Category 5 Hurricane. That vision came to fruition in November 1995
when Homestead-Miami Speedway hosted its first race, the Jiffy Lube Miami 300
in the XFINITY Series.
In 2003, Homestead-Miami
Speedway underwent a major renovation as the most technologically advanced
track reconfiguration project of its time took place. A $12 million re-banking project transformed
the track from a flat 6 degrees to a computer-designed 18-20 degree variable
banking in all four turns. This is one
of the primary reasons why many of the drivers in NASCAR still consider our
track the best 1.5-mile on the circuit.
