Auto Racing Glance

[November 13, 2019]  MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES: FORD ECOBOOST 400 (267 laps, 400 miles around a 1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Homestead-Miami Speedway; Homestead, Fla.

TV: Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 2:46 p.m. ET) -- NBC (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: Denny Hamlin said "this isn't over" after a disastrous day in Texas two weeks ago and then went and proved it by winning Sunday in Phoenix and getting into the championship race this weekend at Homestead. Had Hamlin finished second, reigning series champion Joey Logano would be into the final in his place. ... The Championship four is set, and the drivers competing for the title at Homestead are the four with the most wins this season. ... Joining Hamlin (six wins) are Kevin Harvick (four), Martin Truex Jr. (seven) and Kyle Busch (four). And yes, that's three Toyota Camry drivers of Joe Gibbs Racing all gunning for Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) in a Ford Mustang. ... Logano won this race -- and the title -- last year. Truex did the same in 2017. Busch, Harvick and Hamlin have all won here in the past, as well. ... None of that matters now as each has 5,000 points heading into Sunday. No carryovers, no bonuses, whoever finishes ahead of the other three will be the 2019 champion. ... This is the 36th and final race of the season, and will be the 21st at Homestead-Miami. ... In a statistical oddity, since the championship has been decided by the Homestead finish, the season champion has also won the race. That can't last forever as eight other drivers have won races this year. ... Homestead is not a difficult track, but like most 1.5-mile D-shaped ovals, it rewards patience and consistency.

BEST BETS: Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. are co-favorites at 11/4. Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin are in at 3/1. The first non-playoffs driver is Kyle Larson at 8/1, followed by Joey Logano at 25/1 and Brad Keselowski at 30/1. Betting on any driver with longer odds than those seven is probably just throwing away your money, but if you must, you'll likely never see Jimmie Johnson at 200/1 again until he's on his retirement tour.

Stats and standings per NASCAR.com.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES: FORD ECOBOOST 300 (200 laps, 300 miles around a 1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Homestead-Miami Speedway; Homestead, Fla.

TV: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 3:46 p.m. ET) -- NBCSN (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: Just as in the Cup series, the driver who finishes ahead of the other three to make the championship race takes home the crown. ... This is the 33rd and final race of the season and the 25th at the track for the series. ... Tyler Reddick won this race last season, and if he can do that again he will be the champion. ... Justin Allgaier (Chevrolet Camaro) won last week at Phoenix to get into the final four, his first win of the season. ... He is joined by Christopher Bell (Toyota Supra), Reddick (Chevrolet Camaro) and Cole Custer (Ford Mustang) starting the race with 4,000 points.

Stats and standings per NASCAR.com.

NASCAR GANDER OUTDOORS TRUCK SERIES: FORD ECOBOOST 200 (134 laps, 201 miles around a 1.5-mile D-shaped oval), Homestead-Miami Speedway; Homestead, Fla.

TV: Friday, 8 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 8:15 p.m. ET) -- FS1 (Radio: Motor Racing Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90).

THIS WEEK: It's a Chevrolet Silverado vs. Ford F-150 affair for the crown after Matt Crafton, winless so far this season, slid into the four-driver championship showdown finale on points in his Ford, along with Chevy drivers Stewart Friesen (two wins), Ross Chastain (three) and Brett Moffitt (four). Whichever driver finishes ahead of the other three Friday night is the champion. ... Friesen won last week at Phoenix to make the final four. ... This is the 23rd and final race of the season and the 24th series race at the track. ... Moffitt won the race -- and championship -- here last year. ... The drivers start the race with 4,000 points in the front-runner takes all event.

Stats and standings per NASCAR.com.

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

THIS WEEK: The 2020 season kicks off March 15 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in Florida, for the first of 17 races.

FORMULA ONE: BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX (71 laps, 190 miles around a 2.677-mile, 15-turn permanent road course), Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace; Sao Paolo, Brazil.

TV: Sunday, 12 p.m. ET (Green flag approx. 12:05 p.m. ET) -- ESPN2 (Radio: SiriusXM Radio Channel 132).

THIS WEEK: Lewis Hamilton won his sixth world championship two weeks ago, finishing second in the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. ... Hamilton now trails Michael Schumacher by one championship, and will be the odds-on favorite to win a seventh when the 2020 season opens. ... The series heads this week to Brazil before wrapping up the season in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 1. ... The Pace circuit was around in one form or another since the 1930s, but hosted its first Grand Prix in 1973 with the rise of homegrown stars Emerson Fittipaldi and Pace, with Pace winning the only F1 race of his career at what was then known as Interlagos in 1975. Pace was killed in a private plane crash in 1977 and the circuit was renamed for him. ... Like most pre-WWII tracks, it has banked corners and is quite short by F1 standards. ... This will be the 37th series race at the track and the 20th of 21 races this season. ... Great Britain's Hamilton is the champion with 381 points in his Mercedes, with Finland's Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, second (314), followed by Monaco's Charles Leclerc, Ferrari (249), Belgium's Max Verstappen, Red Bull (235), and Germany's Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari (230).

Standings per F1.com.

NATIONAL HOT ROD ASSOCIATION: AUTO CLUB NHRA FINALS, Thursday-Sunday, Auto Club Raceway at Pomona; Pomona, Calif.

TV: Eliminations, Sunday, 4-7 p.m. ET FS1 (live)

THIS WEEK: The championship in all four pro categories comes down to Pomona after a week off and a tightening of the standings at the top two weeks ago in Las Vegas. ... Winners at Las Vegas were Brittany Force in in Top Fuel, Matt Hagan in Funny Car, Erica Enders in Pro Stock and Matt Smith in Pro Stock Motorcycle. ... Steve Torrence leads the Top Fuel standings (2,488 points), followed by Force (2,472), Doug Kalitta (2,433), Billy Torrence (2,402), Leah Pritchett (2,353), Austin Prock (2,330), Mike Salinas (2,322), Antron Brown (2,279), Richie Crampton (2,261) and Clay Millican (2,241). ... Robert Hight leads Funny Car (2,494), followed by Jack Beckman (2,448), Hagan (2,438), John Force (2,422), Bob Tasca III (2,390), Ron Capps (2,334), J.R. Todd (2,312), Tommy Johnson Jr. (2,306), Shawn Langdon (2,274) and Tim Wilkerson (2,223). ... Enders leads Pro Stock (2,517), followed by Jeg Coughlin Jr. (2,425), Bo Butner (2,404), Jason Line (2,401), Matt Hartford (2,399), Anderson (2,360), Deric Kramer (2,359), Alex Laughlin (2,291), Chris McGaha (2,250) and Val Smeland (2,155). ... Andrew Hines lead Pro Stock Motorcycle (2,540), followed by Jerry Savoie (2,425), Eddie Krawiec (2,424), Smith (2,423), Karen Stoffer (2,416), Hector Arana Jr. (2,306), Angelle Sampey (2,302), Angie Smith (2,233), Ryan Oehler (2,191) and Hector Arana (2,160).

Standings per NHRA.com.

--By K. Lee Davis, Field Level Media

--Field Level Media

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