FORD PERFORMANCE NASCAR: HOMESTEAD-MIAMI PLAYOFF ADVANCE
Ford will have the opportunity to win championships in all three of NASCAR’s top touring series this weekend at Ford Championship Weekend.
The first chance comes in Friday night’s Ford EcoBoost 200, where Austin Cindric will compete for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title. That’s followed by Team Penske going for its fourth NASCAR XFINITY Series owner’s championship in the last five years in Saturday’s Ford EcoBoost 300.
The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season ends with Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 in which Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick will by trying to deliver the first driver’s title for the manufacturer since Kurt Busch won it all in 2004.
Here is a look at Ford’s championship-contending drivers and teams, along with how they have fared at Homestead-Miami Speedway through the years.
MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES
BRAD KESELOWSKI
This marks the first time Keselowski has advanced to the Championship 4 in its current format…He has made nine MENCS starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway with his best finishes being a pair of third-place efforts in 2014 and 2015…Has three top-10 finishes overall at the track…Won the 2012 MENCS championship.
KEVIN HARVICK
This will be the third time Harvick has competed for the championship in the four years this format has been in existence…Captured the title in 2014 after winning the Ford EcoBoost 400…That marks his only win in 16 career starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but he has eight top-five and 14 top-10 efforts overall.
FUSION FIRST?
A championship by either Keselowski or Harvick on Sunday would be the first for Fusion since it became Ford’s flagship vehicle in 2006. It would also mark the first driver’s championship since Kurt Busch won in 2004. Overall, Ford has won eight driver’s championships by seven different drivers.
FORD’S MENCS CHAMPIONSHIP DRIVERS
1965 – Ned Jarrett
1968 – David Pearson
1969 – David Pearson
1988 – Bill Elliott
1992 – Alan Kulwicki
1999 – Dale Jarrett
2003 – Matt Kenseth
2004 – Kurt Busch
NASCAR XFINITY SERIES
NO. 22 DISCOUNT TIRE MUSTANG
Sam Hornish Jr. will drive the No. 22 Discount Tire Mustang as that team looks to give car owner Roger Penske his fourth owner’s championship in the last five years…Hornish is one of five drivers to get behind the wheel of this car in 2017 and has one of the team’s four wins after he took the checkered flag at Mid-Ohio in August…The other four drivers this year include Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric…This will mark Hornish’s sixth series event in 2017 and the 13th time he’s raced at Homestead in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup and NASCAR XFINITY Series combined (5 MENCS, 6 NXS).
MUSTANG LOOKING TO ADD ANOTHER TITLE
Mustang has dominated the NASCAR XFINITY Series since it joined the circuit full-time in 2011, winning at least one championship in five of its first six seasons. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won back-to-back drivers championships in 2011 and 2012 while Team Penske followed that with three straight owner’s titles from 2013-15. Overall, Mustang has won seven driver’s and owner’s championships combined going into Saturday’s finale.
AUSTIN CINDRIC
Cindric qualified for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs with his victory at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in September and advanced to the Championship 4 on points after his ninth-place run last weekend at Phoenix International Raceway…This will mark Cindric’s first time racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
FORD’S NCWTS CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
Ford’s lone series championship came in 2000 when Greg Biffle captured the title by 230 points. The title was the first for owner Jack Roush in NASCAR.
