South Florida’s annual weekend of auto racing will be returning to a more familiar place on the schedule in 2022 – and its familiar television partner.
NASCAR’s Dixie Vodka 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway will take place October 23rd, 2022 and will be part of the sport’s Round of 8 playoffs. The winner of the race will automatically qualify for the sport’s Championship Weekend, which will be held in Phoenix for the third straight season.
“We can’t wait for October of 2022, taking us back to our storied past in the NASCAR Cup Series,” Homestead-Miami Speedway President Al Garcia. “We are excited to welcome fans back to our community during the fall, which is so nice in South Florida. We can’t wait for their return, and we will have the greatest 1.5-mile venue ready for them.”
NASCAR held its annual Championship Weekend at the South Florida track from 2002 to 2019. The race weekend was moved to March of 2020 before being moved to June due to the COVID pandemic.
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It was the third event of the season in 2021, two weeks after the Daytona 500.
“Miami-Dade County and Homestead-Miami Speedway made a statement in June of 2020, setting the standard for following protocols at major sporting events,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “Now, we get ready for a return to NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs with the greatest racing in the world next October, right here in Miami-Dade County.”
The new spot also means a return for the race to the networks of NBC, which holds the television rights to the second half of the NASCAR schedule. NBC televised the race from 1999 to 2006 and again from 2015 to 2019.
