The 2019 Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami
Speedway wrapped up with Kyle Busch winning his second Monster Energy
NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) title.
The Las Vegas, Nevada native qualified fourth, led 120
laps and went on to also capture his second Ford EcoBoost 400 win. Crew chief
Adam Stevens was on top of the pit box and since 2016 the pair have won 22
times with 69 top-5 finishes and have 99 top-10s.
“Everybody always says you never give up,” said Busch,
who picked up his 56th victory, breaking a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty
Wallace for ninth all-time. “Today we had a really good car, and I could race
around and move around. That’s what’s so special about Homestead-Miami Speedway,
is the ability to put on a show. I felt like we did that there racing those
guys.”
The weekend got off to a hot start with the battle for
the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Championship (NGOTS) race. Austin Hill
won the Ford Ecoboost 200 and Matt Crafton picked up his third NGOTS title.
Among the Championship 4 was Florida’s Ross Chastain (finished
fourth), last year’s champion Brett Moffitt (finished fifth), and Stewart
Friesen (finished 11th). Chastain led the most laps out of all the
Championship 4 drivers but Crafton was able to come up on top.
“I guess I finally got out of the wheelchair and got
up one the wheel and got it done,” said Crafton. “There was nothing sweeter, to
be honest. It was that little jab in the side — and I don’t know if I needed
that, but it just ticked me off. And I just said, I’m going to prove you
really, really wrong tonight.”
On Saturday, the NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) hit the
track and got off to a racy start. The 2020 MENCS rookies battled throughout
the afternoon for the top spot to capture the title.
Last year’s Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick was
able to lead 84 laps and win his second straight NXS title. The California
native also captured his second consecutive Ford EcoBoost 300 win.
“It was perfect, it came down to us three,” Reddick
said of his fellow championship contenders. “And that Stage 3 before the
caution (flag) we were battling like we have all year long. It was just awesome
we were able to come out on top of the deal. It’s been a lot of fun racing them
and I’m looking forward to racing them and a lot of other talented drivers on
Sunday.”
Reddick was promoted earlier this year to the Cup
Series along with Christopher Bell and Cole Custer. All three drivers have been
racing each other in the NXS the last few years and in 2020 will race on
Sunday’s.
With less than 100 days to Speedweeks in Daytona
Beach, Florida, Homestead-Miami Speedway will prepare for their new March (20-22)
race weekend. The weekend will host the NGOTS, NXS, and NASCAR Cup Series.
The Speedway will also be celebrating their 25th anniversary.
Along with the anniversary celebration, Homestead-Miami Speedway will allow
fans to experience the Ally Beach and the iHeart Media Fan Village, which both
debuted during Ford Championship Weekend.
Homestead-Miami Speedway is also excited to partner
with Dixie Vodka as they will be the entitlement sponsor of the NASCAR Cup
Series race on Sunday, March 22. The race weekend is still months away but fans should
start gearing up for what will be an exciting 2020 season and March race
weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway!