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City of Homestead: NASCAR Races Running as Planned Despite Grass Fire

Joseph Srigley

Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

UPDATE: Thursday, March 20 at 6:00 PM ET

Despite the ongoing brush fires in the vicinity of the racetrack, there are no changes to NASCAR's plans to race this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

On Thursday, the racetrack provided an update to Racing America OnSI:

"Over the past few days, Homestead-Miami Speedway has worked closely with the Florida Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service, local fire departments, and local officials to monitor the brush fire situation in the surrounding areas. 

At this time, there are no changes to the schedule or activities planned for this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. We will continue to monitor the situation and if conditions change, will provide updates as needed.

While the brush fire is in the vicinity of the track, thanks to the efforts of responding fire personnel, the brush fire does not currently pose a threat to HMS or any other structures in the area.

Due to the smoke and changing wind patterns, there may be areas that are experiencing low air quality today and individuals are advised to follow the recommendations of local officials if they are in those areas of concern."

The NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events planned for this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway are set to run as scheduled, per the City of Homestead, despite the ongoing grass fires in the area.

In a report posted to social media just before Noon ET on Thursday, March 20, the City of Homestead says that “the NASCAR Cup Series events at Homestead-Miami Speedway are set to continue as scheduled.”

The same report is cautioning those with respiratory conditions to limit their outdoor exposure as much as possible, and for people driving through smoke, keep all of your windows closed and run air conditioners on recirculate mode.

The City of Homestead is also reporting that some customers may lose power in the area, due to infrastructure damage. There are crew currently working on repairs, and minor tower damage may also impact cell service and internet in some areas.

The Monroe County Sherriff’s Department is currently working with crews on the fire aid and suppression efforts including aircraft water drops. As of the time of The City of Homestead’s last update, the fire remains to be only 20% contained.

Hurricane Chaser Chase on X, a South Florida-area storm chase, shows that there are major fires happening as close as three miles south of Homestead-Miami Speedway (as on Tuesday), with a bunch of smoke being released into the air.

John Haywood (@JHay97) on X, posted a picture of Homestead-Miami Speedway from the sky, where you can see the smoke in the air from the surrounding wildfires.

Racing America On SI has reached out to NASCAR requesting comment from the sanctioning body, but as of the time of publishing this story, has yet to receive a response. NASCAR has yet to make an official comment regarding the grass fires in the Homestead-Miami Speedway area, and what its plans are, as far as the tripleheader weekend coming up.

On-track action is set to commence with NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series practice on Friday, March 21 at 3:35 PM ET, with qualifying and the Baptist Health 200 also set to take place on Friday. The NASCAR Xfinity Series Hard Rock Bet 300 will hit the track for its 300-miler on Saturday, March 22 at 4:00 PM ET.

The weekend will then conclude with the NASCAR Cup Series Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with coverage on FOX Sports 1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90 at 3:00 PM.

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Joseph Srigley
JOSEPH SRIGLEY

Joseph Srigley covers NASCAR for TobyChristie.com, Racing America, and OnSI, and is the owner of the #SrigleyStats brand. With a higher education in the subjects of business, mathematics, and data analytics, Joseph is able to fully understand the inner workings of the sport through multiple points of perspective.

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